DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME: EXPECT MORE CAR CRACK-UPS

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME: EXPECT MORE CAR CRACK-UPS

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Wireless Flash) -- The upcoming switch to Daylight Saving time will be a real crack-up for drivers -- literally. According to San Jose State psychology professor Robert A. Hicks, traffic accidents increase by four percent in the week immediately following the time change. In California alone, that amounts to about 1000 more injuries and 20 more deaths. The research suggests the upswing in car wrecks is mostly due to sleepy drivers who haven't yet adjusted to the one-hour time change. Hicks says there's also a connection between Daylight Saving Time and drunk drivers, because the even small amounts of booze compound sleepiness caused by the time change. Interestingly, humans aren't the only ones who get a little loopy from Daylight Saving Time: Hicks says chimpanzees in zoos often become cranky and stressed out whenever the clock moves forward an hour. Daylight Saving Time starts April 3rd.

CONTACT: Robert A. Hicks, ***; San Jose, CA; (408) 924-5658