Fall is many people's favorite season for good reason. Temperatures start to cool down, the leaves become beautiful colors, and the holidays are just around the corner. Unfortunately, it also brings a few unique road hazards. Keep your eyes out for these things when you're on the road this fall.
How to Handle Weather Changes
Winter probably comes to mind when you think of the most dangerous time of the year to drive. But fall also presents certain hazards as the season’s first rains, fog, and morning frost appear. To stay safe, you need to adjust your driving habits. Turn on your headlights in bad weather, slow down, and keep a safe following distance.
Fall is also a good time to prep your car for winter. Make sure your tires are fit for the snow, your wipers are up to the task, and your fluids are all good. You'll also probably have to put air in your tires on the first cool morning. If you drive without enough air in your tires, the tire will make additional contact with the ground, causing extra friction, and potentially a blowout. Six hundred and twenty-two people died from tire-related incidents in 2021.
How to Handle Less Sunlight
Every year on the first Sunday in November, the clocks turn back. That means sunset will arrive an hour earlier. It’s time to turn your car lights on earlier and drive slightly slower. If you're nearsighted or have other vision-related problems, like night blindness, test your eyes at the start of fall.
Poor night vision can affect depth perception, and the glare from streetlights and oncoming headlights can compromise your vision. Night vision also deteriorates as you get older. If you find it challenging to drive at night, try to avoid it as much as you can.
If you don't feel like you're safe to drive at night, stay off of the road if possible. Half of all traffic fatalities occur at night, even though only a quarter of travel happens in the dark.
How to Handle Road Debris
As pretty as the fall leaves are, they can wreak havoc on roads. When it rains, wet leaves on the roadway are almost as dangerous as ice, making it hard for your tires to grip. Hitting the leaves wrong can cause the vehicle to go into a scary slide and regaining control of the car can be difficult. If you do start to slide on leaves, treat it as if you are hydroplaning. Take your foot off of the gas, don't brake, and steer the car in the direction you want to go.
How to Handle School Zones
School starts as summer starts to roll into fall. This means school buses are back on the road, and school zones are busy. Kids can be unpredictable. Watch out for children boarding and exiting buses and crossing streets, and follow the rules that govern driving in school zones and near school buses. At least school buses are safe for children, with only 61 passengers dying between 2012 and 2021.
How to Handle Trick-or-treaters
On Halloween, excited children take to the streets for a night of trick-or-treating. Their minds are only focused on the bounty of candy they hope to bag, not on their own safety. In the U.S., Halloween is one of the deadliest nights of the year for kids. Children are twice as likely to be killed in a car-related accident on Halloween. At night, if kids are wearing dark-colored costumes you won’t easily see them running into a road. Be vigilant when driving on Halloween!
How to Handle Wildlife
Fall is a busy time for deer. It’s mating season, hunters are out, and deer are on the move more than any other time of year. Many find their way onto roads and highways, and the result is an increase in deer-vehicle collisions. State Farm reports that around 1.8 million animal collisions occurred between July 2022 and June 2023. If you live in an area with a large deer population, drive carefully, especially at dawn and dusk. If you do hit a deer, be sure you know what to do.
Drive Safely Every Fall
Fall is one of the prettiest times of the year, but it does have its drawbacks. But as long as you're on the lookout for children and deer and watch the weather changes, you'll be fine. Another way you can prepare yourself for fall driving is by taking a driver's ed course at DriversEd.com. Our online lessons will prepare you to drive at any time of the year with our short, easy-to-digest lessons.
Updated 11/17/23