Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, which this year is November 1, 2026. Once clocks fall back, it gets dark an hour earlier by the clock, and many people in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton will walk home from work, school or a bus stop in the dark.
The short answer: darkness is when pedestrians are most likely to be killed. Drivers must use their headlights and keep a safe speed around pedestrians, and pedestrians have their own rules to follow. If you are hit, your own auto policy may cover your medical bills even though you were on foot, and you generally have two years to file an injury lawsuit.
Why Darker Evenings Raise the Risk for Pedestrians
- Most pedestrian deaths happen in the dark. According to NHTSA, 76% of pedestrian fatalities nationwide in 2024 occurred in the dark, compared with 20% in daylight, 2% at dusk and 2% at dawn.
- Fall evenings are the worst stretch. NHTSA reports that nationwide, during September through November 2024, 29% of pedestrian fatalities happened between 6 and 8:59 p.m., the largest share of any three-hour block that season.
- Many drivers do not stop. Nearly 1 in 4 pedestrians killed nationwide in 2024 (24%) were struck by hit-and-run drivers, according to NHTSA.
- Pennsylvania follows the pattern. PennDOT's 2025 Crash Facts and Statistics reports that in 2025 most Pennsylvania pedestrians were injured in daylight (61.8%), but 65% of pedestrian fatalities occurred outside daylight hours.
Pedestrian crashes are a small share of all crashes but a large share of deaths. PennDOT reports that pedestrian-related crashes were 2.6% of reported crashes in Pennsylvania in 2025 but 15.3% of all traffic fatalities. That year, 160 pedestrians were killed and 2,802 were injured statewide.
The Lehigh Valley is not immune. In 2025, PennDOT counted 5 pedestrian deaths and at least 115 pedestrian injuries in Lehigh County, and 1 pedestrian death and at least 69 pedestrian injuries in Northampton County. From 2021 through 2025, 40 pedestrians were killed in the two counties combined.
For a closer look at where crashes happen in each city, see our guides to pedestrian accident hotspots in Allentown, pedestrian safety in historic Bethlehem and high-risk areas for pedestrians in Easton.
Pennsylvania Pedestrian Right-of-Way Rules
Darkness does not change who has the right-of-way. The Vehicle Code sets out the basics:
- Crosswalks. Where traffic-control signals are not in place or not working, drivers must yield to a pedestrian crossing in a marked crosswalk or in an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection. Drivers may not pass a vehicle that has stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. Pedestrians may not suddenly leave the curb and walk or run into the path of a vehicle that is so close it is a hazard (75 Pa.C.S. § 3542).
- Crossing elsewhere. A pedestrian crossing anywhere other than a marked crosswalk or a crosswalk at an intersection must yield to vehicles. In urban districts, between adjacent intersections with working traffic signals, pedestrians may cross only in a marked crosswalk (75 Pa.C.S. § 3543).
- Walking along the road. If a sidewalk is available and practicable to use, pedestrians must use it. With no sidewalk, walk on the shoulder as far from the road as practicable. With no sidewalk or shoulder, walk as near the outside edge as practicable and, on a two-way road, only on the left side, facing traffic (75 Pa.C.S. § 3544).
What the Law Expects of Drivers After Dark
A pedestrian's duty to yield in some situations does not free drivers from their own duties. Two rules matter most after dark:
- Headlights. Drivers must have their headlights on between sunset and sunrise. They must also use them any time they cannot see a person or vehicle 1,000 feet ahead because of poor light or weather, and any time their windshield wipers are in use because of rain, snow or mist (75 Pa.C.S. § 4302(a)).
- Safe speed. No one may drive faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions, or faster than allows the driver to stop within the assured clear distance ahead. The law specifically requires a safe and appropriate speed when special hazards exist with respect to pedestrians or because of weather or highway conditions (75 Pa.C.S. § 3361).
A driver who was speeding on a dark street, driving without headlights or passing a car stopped at a crosswalk may be found negligent. That makes evidence of visibility and speed important.
What to Do After You Are Hit
- Call 911 or ask someone to. When anyone is injured, the driver must immediately notify police (75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(a)). The investigating officer must give each driver a signed statement that the crash was reported (75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(c)).
- Get medical care and keep every record. Some injuries do not show up right away.
- Document the darkness. If you can, have someone photograph the scene that night, including any streetlights that were out, the crosswalk and the vehicle. Note the time.
- Get names and keep what you wore. Collect contact details for the driver and witnesses. Your clothing and any reflective gear can matter if the insurer argues you could not be seen.
- If the driver fled, report the crash to police and notify your own auto insurer of your claim within 30 days, or as soon as practicable after that. An unidentified vehicle that causes an injury crash is treated as an "uninsured motor vehicle" when those steps are taken (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702). You may then be able to claim uninsured motorist coverage on your policy or a household relative's policy. Insurers must offer it and buying it is optional, but it can be rejected only by a signed written form (75 Pa.C.S. § 1731(a)-(c.1)). See our guide to uninsured and underinsured motorist claims.
Who Pays Your Medical Bills
Your own car insurance can cover you even when you were on foot. Pennsylvania auto policies must include a $5,000 medical benefit (75 Pa.C.S. § 1711(a)), and these first-party benefits are paid in a set order of priority (75 Pa.C.S. § 1713(a)):
- The policy on which you are the named insured.
- A policy that covers you as an insured. That includes a spouse or other relative who lives in the household of the named insured (75 Pa.C.S. § 1702).
- If no policy covers you and you were not in a vehicle, the policy on any motor vehicle involved in the crash.
One catch: the owner of a currently registered vehicle who does not carry the required insurance cannot recover first-party benefits (75 Pa.C.S. § 1714). Check your declarations page for your medical benefit limit.
What If the Insurer Says You Were Partly at Fault?
The driver's insurer may argue that you wore dark clothing or crossed mid-block. Under Pennsylvania's comparative negligence law, your own negligence does not bar recovery where it was “not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought,” but your damages are “diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to” you (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)). So if you are more at fault than the defendants you sue, you recover nothing.
Deadline to File
In general, a lawsuit for injuries caused by another person's negligence must be filed within two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2)). Evidence from a nighttime crash, such as nearby video and witness memories, fades fast, so act well before then.
Frequently asked questions
When do the clocks fall back in 2026?
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the first Sunday of November.
Do drivers have to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk at night?
Yes. Where traffic signals are not in place or not working, drivers must yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks and in unmarked crosswalks at intersections, day or night (75 Pa.C.S. § 3542(a)).
Can I recover if I was wearing dark clothes or crossing outside a crosswalk?
Possibly. Your share of fault reduces your damages and bars recovery only if it is greater than the fault of the drivers you sue (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102(a)).
Whose insurance pays my medical bills if I was hit while walking?
If you have your own auto policy, it is first in line for first-party medical benefits, even though you were walking. If not, a policy covering you as a relative in the household may apply. If neither applies, the policy on a vehicle involved in the crash pays (75 Pa.C.S. § 1713(a)).
Talk to a Lehigh Valley Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
If you were hit while walking after dark, you do not have to deal with the insurance companies alone. Leeson & Leeson Accident and Injury Attorneys has practiced in the Lehigh Valley since 1969. Our attorneys serve clients in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. See our Allentown pedestrian accident lawyer and Bethlehem pedestrian accident lawyer pages to learn how we help.
Do not wait to get the help you deserve. Call (610) 691-3320 to schedule a consultation today.