No seasonal time change is set to create some different conditions for kids heading to school this fall and winter. (Image Credit: Dreamstime)

By Alex Rawnsley

drivers and students beware

Darker mornings coming for Nanaimo students without seasonal time change

Oct 8, 2026 | 6:10 AM

NANAIMO — The absence of the typical ‘fall back’ of the clocks in early November is set to make for some dark mornings on local roads.

Announced in March, B.C. will no longer change the clocks twice a year for daylight saving time, meaning morning commuters and students will have to grapple with sunrises much later than normal, in favour of a bit more sunshine at the end of the work or school day.

RCMP Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien said the lack of time change will be tricky for all, with the late fall/early winter commute already typically leading to more crashes involving pedestrians.

“Driver inattentiveness, or drivers going too fast. There’s also an onus on the pedestrians where they’re not wearing reflective clothing, they’re [not] crossing crosswalks, and not looking to make eye contact with the vehicles, so there’s a responsibility on both sides.”

Under the new timing for B.C., the sunrise in Nanaimo on the shortest day of the year, Dec. 21, is expected at 9:07 a.m., with sunset at 5:20 p.m.

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For weeks, complete or partial darkness is expected for kids heading to class or people taking their morning commute.

O’Brien said parents need to ensure their children are easily seen.

“They’re wearing bright, reflective clothing, using sidewalks and crosswalks, and stressing with your children to cross only at those crosswalks and to look both ways and make sure that there’s eye contact with any car approaching before you cross.”

For drivers, their responsibility is ensuring their “head is on a swivel,” O’Brien noted.

“You have to be careful. We stress that the children have to cross at crosswalks, but sometimes they won’t, so cars have to be prepared to stop quickly.”

Those further north will feel the impacts more, with sunrises not occurring until around 9:30 a.m. in mid-December, with sunsets before 5 p.m.

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by Alex Rawnsley

Darker mornings coming for Nanaimo students without seasonal time change

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