Overview
- This weekend the clock will be set back one hour — at 03:00 the time moves to 02:00, marking the start of wintertime and giving most people an extra hour of sleep.
- The European Commission has opened a new study to resolve disagreements between member states about ending the semiannual switch, and it expects findings by the end of 2026 with national decisions to follow.
- Dutch road-safety research and ANWB data show a measurable rise in collisions after the switch, with ANWB figures indicating about 25% more accidents in the month after wintertime than the month before.
- Experts say the immediate safety and health risks come from commuting peaks shifting into darkness and short-term disruption of the biological clock, which can lower driver reaction time and has been linked to spikes in some heart and mental-health events.
- Local authorities and hunters in Groningen report roughly 800 deer-vehicle collisions a year concentrated in wintertime, a problem they tie to limits on population control and illustrate how local ecology and policy can amplify the seasonal impacts.