When Does Daylight Saving Time 2017 End In NJ?

It's almost time to fall back: Daylight Saving Time ends in New Jersey at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. Setting the clock back an hour this weekend means you'll be able to pack in an extra hour of fun with friends and family on Saturday or languish in bed for an extra hour on Sunday morning.

With the change will come earlier sunsets, an increased risk for car-deer crashes and drowsy driving.

As the days shorten (they don't begin lengthening again after the Winter Solstice on Thursday, Dec. 21), the loss of an hour of daylight means many Americans in the Eastern and Central Standard Time zones will be leaving their workplaces around sunset. And that can spell some danger.

In general, deer are most active between dusk and 11 p.m., and they're especially frisky at this time of year. It's prime breeding season — you may have heard it referred to as "in rut" — and they run about more wildly than usual, increasing the chances of a collision.

So slow down, know that if you see one deer more are likely to follow, pay attention to deer crossing signs and use your high beams — unless you're meeting an oncoming car, of course — to increase your chances of spotting them. Brake if you can, but don't swerve, because that could result in a more serious collision.

Longer nights can also induce drowsy driving. Of course, most of us don't go to sleep the moment it gets dark or wake up the moment the sun peeks over the horizon in the morning, but our internal clocks hardwire us for that kind of sleep cycle.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research shows drowsy-driving crashes most frequently occur between midnight and 6 a.m., or in the late-afternoon — both times when there are dips in your circadian rhythm (that's your internal human body clock). About 100,000 police-reported crashes a year are a result of driver fatigue, according to the agency's website.

With reporting by Beth Dalby