Abolishing daylight saving time is not a new idea. Here’s why this won’t happen again anytime soon
We’re approaching the time of year that everyone dreads – the switch to daylight saving time and the loss of a precious hour in bed that comes with it – and naturally people are wondering if it’s time to leave daylight saving time behind.
As my learned colleague explains in the article linked above, there is a whole pile of evidence suggesting that switching the clock back and forth every year is a truly terrible idea, and people seem to agree with the experts, and the most are in favor of sticking to a standard time that applies all year round.
Sounds like a done deal, right? Unfortunately, I’m here to tell you why it’s not going to happen. At least, not that fast.
Permanent Daylight Saving Time in the US
The point is: the US has already tried to switch to permanent daylight saving time, and… it didn’t work out so well. In January 1974, President Richard Nixon instituted year-round daylight saving time as a two-year energy savings experiment in response to the 1973 oil crisis. It was initially a popular move; in a December 1973 survey, 79 percent of Americans supported it.
However, it did not take long for the public mood to change; in February 1974 only 42 percent were in favor of the changeover. The most important reason? The increased risk of traffic accidents involving children going to school on dark winter mornings. The two-year experiment lasted only until October 1974when the clock returned to normal.
British Standard Time
The same concerns led to the end of a similar experiment in Britain a few years earlier. Between 1968 and 1971 the British government introduced British Standard Time, shifting the entire country to daylight saving time year-round. This measure led to an increase in the number of road casualties in the morning, but it also turned out that there was a much greater reduction in the number of road casualties in the evening. However, this decline was distorted by the introduction of new drink driving laws around the same time.
Ultimately, it was the small increase in the number of children injured on the way to school that led to the end of this experiment. However, the move to dark winter mornings also made life more difficult for farmers and other workers who were more dependent on daylight to do their work effectively.
Nevertheless, even in the middle of winter, half the population was in favor of staying on BST; that said, in Scotland 61 percent wanted to return to GMT. And this raises an important point: how badly you are affected by permanent daylight saving time depends on how far north (or south) you are.
For people in the north of Scotland, during the British Standard Time experiment in mid-winter, the sun didn’t rise until 10am, which is a terribly late start to the day. Where I live in the West of England, sunrise would have been at 9.15am, and I don’t think an extra hour of daylight while at work would have been much of a compensation.
And I have to say, you have it pretty easy in comparison in the US (except maybe Alaska. Sorry, Alaska), because you’re a lot further south. Even then, in most states (even Florida) you would still be looking at children having to walk to school on dark winter mornings, and even if the overall result were fewer traffic accidents overall, an increase in the number of accidents involving children because of a switch to permanent daylight saving time would be a tough pill to swallow.
Keep changing the clocks
Obviously, I’m talking about the switch to daylight saving time, while many are instead advocating a switch to standard time all year round. However, that also has its disadvantages: the sun sets earlier, meaning winter evenings are as dark and long as ever, and rises earlier in the morning, which would mean a much greater need for blackout curtains in the summer months.
An eventual switch to permanent daylight saving time or standard time isn’t an impossibility – more of the world has abandoned summer than is currently using it, and there are a slew of equatorial countries that have never had the need for daylight saving time – but the potential risks being connected to it Switching means that despite the clear benefits, there is not much interest in actually doing it.
Numerous states voted in favor of permanent daylight saving time, but the switch depends on Congress changing federal law to make it possible. But while the Sunshine Protection Act for permanent daylight saving time passed the Senate in 2022, it failed in the House; it was reintroduced in 2023 but has not made any progress. And it doesn’t help that while there is a clear vote for a certain time all year round, there is disagreement over whether that time should be Daylight Savings Time or Standard Time, which is proving to be a major hurdle for the Sunshine Protection Act. Ultimately, it’s much easier to muddle along with what we have than to make a change that won’t be popular with some.
Basically, don’t hold your breath.