PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Tonight we will move our clocks back one hour and it’s a time to put safety first, particularly when it comes to driving.

PennDot’s Jenny Robinson says now is the time to be more alert because rush hour traffic will now take place in the dark:

“Car crashes during non-daylight conditions have a 60 percent higher rate of fatalities then daylight crashes.”

And Lower Gwynedd Police Chief John Scholly has this caution for morning drivers:

“Especially with children walking to the school bus, even waiting for the school bus, it really has to be a combination of motorists being more careful, and the parents being very aware of how they are sending their children out (dressed) to school. And the motorists need to be very aware.”

Both Robinson and Scholly say the change in sleep hours could contribute to sluggishness behind the wheel, so they recommend you be extremely cautious.

Reported By Michelle Durham, KYW Newsradio