Crashes Involving Pedestrians and Bicyclists Double in Bakersfield's Early Evenings After Clocks Fall Back

State crash data also shows pedestrians and bicyclists were involved in the highest share of Bakersfield intersection crashes in 11 years of data

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In the four weeks after the fall time change, injury and fatal crashes between 5 and 7 p.m. on Bakersfield streets rise by 39%. Crashes involving a pedestrian or bicyclist in those hours double, according to an analysis of state crash data from 2015 through 2025 by Chain | Cohn | Clark, a Bakersfield personal injury law firm. Morning crashes decrease 36% over the same period of time as mornings get lighter. This pattern—the number of evening crashes increasing after the time change—held in nine of the 11 years reviewed.

Pedestrians and bicyclists are also involved in a larger share of the city's intersection crashes than at any previous point in the data. In 2025, 16.1% of mapped intersection crashes in Bakersfield involved a pedestrian or bicyclist, compared with a 10-year average of 12%. From 2015 through 2025, 34 pedestrians and eight bicyclists were killed in intersection crashes in the city, including four pedestrians in 2025.

After dark is when pedestrians are typically most at risk: from 2015 through 2025, 81% of Bakersfield crashes that killed a pedestrian happened in the dark, compared with 76% of pedestrian deaths nationwide in 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Bakersfield was ranked third-worst for pedestrian safety in the U.S. by Smart Growth America's 2026 Dangerous by Design report.

Chain | Cohn | Clark's updated list of Bakersfield's 10 most dangerous intersections, published Oct. 28, ranks the city's intersections by the number of injury and fatal crashes recorded there from 2015 through 2025. The firm found that in 2025, officers coded 40.9% of Bakersfield's 660 intersection crashes as traffic signal and sign violations and another 22.9% as right-of-way violations. Together, that is nearly two in three crashes.

"When roughly two out of three crashes at these intersections come down to a signal or a failure to yield, you are looking at moments of decision," Clark said. "Stopping at the line. Waiting for the gap. Slowing down for the turn. Those are small choices with enormous consequences for the person in the other car or the crosswalk."

In July, the U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. The bill is now before the Senate. In 2018, California voters approved Proposition 7, which allows the Legislature to adopt year-round daylight saving time by a two-thirds vote if federal law changes. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety told a Senate committee that its research does not favor permanent daylight saving time on road-safety grounds alone.

Over the coming weeks, Chain | Cohn | Clark will connect with local leaders, law enforcement, community advocates and neighbors who use these streets every day to discuss what is causing the crashes. The full list of Bakersfield's 10 most dangerous intersections is available on the firm's website, along with a Spanish-language version.

About Chain | Cohn | Clark

Chain | Cohn | Clark is a Bakersfield personal injury and workers' compensation law firm that has represented injured people and their families in Kern County since 1934. The firm's practice areas include car and truck accidents, pedestrian and bicycle accidents, wrongful death, workers' compensation and premises liability. Chain | Cohn | Clark is located at 1731 Chester Ave., Suite 100, Bakersfield, CA 93301. For more information, visit www.chainlaw.com.

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SOURCE Chain | Cohn | Clark