The clocks went back on Sunday 25 October. For many farm, contracting and van teams, that means journeys made in daylight a fortnight ago now finish in the dark — often on unlit country roads, at the end of a long working day.
Two sets of figures published last week explain why that change deserves attention. AA Accident Assist says the claims it handled rose from 2,949 in the two weeks before the October 2025 clock change to 3,178 in the two weeks after, an increase of 7.8%. Separately, Volvo Car UK’s analysis of Department for Transport STATS19 data for 2021–2025 found 1,503 police-recorded injury collisions involving an animal on the carriageway, with 1,939 people hurt or killed. Some 54% of those collisions happened in darkness, compared with 28% of all reported injury collisions, and 79% were on rural roads.
For rural businesses, that is a familiar combination: dark lanes, wildlife, slow farm traffic, mud and tired drivers. The answer is not alarm, but a short, deliberate reset of how vehicles and people work through the darker months.
What the figures do — and do not — show
It is worth being precise. The AA figure relates to claims handled by its Accident Assist service, not every collision in Great Britain, and it compares two-week periods. The AA has previously reported larger rises using three-week windows, so the two numbers are not directly comparable.
Volvo’s analysis covers only police-recorded personal-injury collisions where an animal was noted as a carriageway hazard. Volvo itself says the true number of animal strikes is likely to be substantially higher, and the British Deer Society estimates that more than 40,000 deer are killed or injured on UK roads each year. Neither data set proves that any particular vehicle or route is unsafe. Together, however, they point clearly to darkness and rural roads as conditions that need planning rather than assumption.
Seven checks for the first dark weeks
1. Re-time the journeys that have changed
List the regular runs that now finish in darkness: school-time deliveries, evening feed rounds, the last trip back from a contract job, the drive home from a market or dealer. Where the work allows, move higher-risk legs earlier, combine trips or agree a later start the next morning rather than pressing on. A simple note on the job sheet — “finishes after dark” — helps managers see the exposure.
2. Make lights a daily walk-round item
The Highway Code requires sidelights and rear number-plate lights between sunset and sunrise, headlights at night on roads without lit street lighting, and headlights when visibility is seriously reduced. A blown bulb that went unnoticed in September becomes a real problem now. Build a quick lights check into the start of each shift for vans, pickups, tractors and trailers, including indicators, brake lights, reflectors and any beacons. Clean lenses on farm machinery as part of the check: mud can hide a working light as effectively as a fault.
3. Deal with glare from both directions
In the AA’s earlier driver research, 73% named dazzle from low autumn sun as their biggest autumn driving complaint. Clean the inside of the windscreen, replace worn wiper blades, keep screenwash topped up and make sure sun visors work. At night, the Highway Code advises drivers to slow down, and stop if necessary, if they are dazzled by oncoming headlights.
4. Set speed by sight line, not the limit
On country roads, the Highway Code asks drivers to reduce speed on the approach to bends and junctions, to expect slow-moving farm vehicles, horse riders, cyclists and mud, and to be able to stop within the distance they can see to be clear. In the dark, that distance is often only as far as the headlights reach. Remind drivers that the national speed limit on an unlit lane is a maximum, not a target — particularly when towing or carrying a load.
5. Brief drivers on animals at dusk and in the evening
Volvo’s data shows October (151) and November (141) among the highest months for animal-related injury collisions across the five-year period, with almost three in ten occurring between 7pm and midnight and 9pm the single highest hour. Share local knowledge: known deer crossing points, woodland edges and stretches where livestock sometimes escape. On a narrow rural road, a sudden swerve can create a second hazard — oncoming traffic, a ditch or a verge — so drivers should already be travelling at a speed that gives them time to react in a controlled way. Agree in advance what drivers should do after a strike: make the scene safe, call 999 if anyone is hurt or the animal is a danger in the road, and report it to the business.
6. Make farm vehicles easy to see on the road
Tractors, telehandlers and trailers travelling between fields are slower than most road users expect, and darkness reduces the time other drivers have to recognise them. Check that lights, reflectors and markers on trailers and implements are clean, working and not hidden by the load. Where practicable, schedule road moves of wide or slow machinery for daylight, and agree who clears mud from the carriageway at field entrances before the end of the day.
7. Prepare the cab and the driver for the conditions
Tiredness and distraction are harder to manage in the dark. Encourage proper breaks on long days and make it acceptable to stop rather than push on. Inside the cab, keep the essentials — a working torch, high-visibility clothing, a phone charger and any warning equipment the business supplies — stowed securely so nothing slides into the footwell under braking. Check that seats are adjusted for the driver using the vehicle that day and that seat belts operate freely.
Fit matters as much as the kit
That last point applies to anything added to a cab. Seat covers and cab accessories should be chosen for the specific vehicle and seat, so they stay in place, do not interfere with seat belts, buckles or seat adjustment, and do not obstruct safety equipment fitted to the seat. Farm Packs supplies tailored seat covers and cab kits for farm and fleet vehicles; if you are reviewing cab set-up as the evenings draw in, check the exact make, model and seat layout before ordering, and follow the vehicle manufacturer’s guidance on anything fitted around the seats.
The practical takeaway
The clock change does not alter the road, but it does alter when and how people use it. Re-time the journeys that have moved into darkness, make lights part of every shift, brief drivers on rural hazards and keep the cab organised. None of these steps is complicated; the value lies in doing them in the first fortnight, when the change is newest and the evidence suggests risk is highest.
Sources
- Fleet News — Clock change increases fleet crash risk, published 23 October 2026.
- Volvo Cars Media UK — Volvo Car UK analysis reveals nearly 2,000 casualties in animal-related road collisions as clocks go back, published 22 October 2026.
- Actuarial Post (AA Accident Assist release) — Crash claims rise 8% after clocks go back, published October 2026; checked 26 October 2026.
- Auto Express — Car crashes jump 8% when the clocks go back, published 22 October 2026.
- GOV.UK — The Highway Code: rules 103 to 158 (including rules 113, 115, 125 and 154), checked 26 October 2026.
- Department for Transport — Road safety open data (STATS19), data set referenced by Volvo; checked 26 October 2026.
This article is general guidance for farm and fleet operators and is not legal advice. Always check the current Highway Code, your vehicle manufacturer’s instructions and your own risk assessments.
