Perhaps I’m more sympathetic to difficulties in adjusting to time changes and schedule changes this week, but it struck me as entirely likely that the Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy, James Council,  who struck and killed two competitive bicyclists in Cupertino over the weekend, was affected adversely by only 10.5 hours off between 12 hour shifts:

Council was 4 1/2 hours into a 12 1/2-hour shift when the accident occurred at 10:25 a.m. Sunday. He worked a 6 a.m.-to-6:30 p.m. shift on Saturday, the sheriff’s office said, meaning that with the switch to daylight-saving time Sunday, Council had 10 1/2 hours off between shifts.

“A 12 1/2-hour shift is brutal,” said Sansen, who specializes in representing law enforcement officers. “You’re not sitting behind a desk. Even if you don’t work in a high-crime area, you’re always on alert for 12 1/2 hours. It is exhausting.”

She added, “Nobody goes home at the end of a 12 1/2-hour shift and goes right to bed.”