Daylight Saving Time does not save energy

Phys.org ^ | Mar 05, 2014 | Gail Bambrick

[contrarian]

OK I am willing to compromise... move it forward 30 minutes and leave the time alone !!!!

[Synthesist]

I have always thought that the government mandate that I set all my timepieces to the *wrong* time each and every year was absolutely ridiculous.

Even the title of this silly yearly ritual, Daylight Savings Time, is ridiculous, because of course, setting clocks to the *wrong* time does NOT save any daylight.

A long time ago (mid 1980s), as one Spring DST approached, I decided: “I’m not doing this stupid thing anymore.” Ever since then, I have set all manual timepieces under my control to the correct standard time all year round.

What I find very sad is that *so many* people act like mindless sheep and follow this ridiculous government mandated ritual every year. There are much better ways to achieve the claimed benefits of getting off an hour earlier from work or school without mandating something so stupid as setting every clock to the *wrong* time… like just freely allowing business and schools to have a “summertime” hours of operation schedule. So many businesses and other entities have freely and for practical reasons adapted seasonal hours of operation that it really is totally unnecessary for government to impose such a stupid mandate.

[Synthesist]

There was a news report long ago where some researchers found that there was a spike of reported traffic accidents and fatalities in the time period just after “springing forward” compared to the equal time period just before incorrectly setting clocks one hour earlier. If I recall correctly, the researchers or other commentators offered at least two theories for this spike:

1: Many people’s “body clock” had not adjusted to waking up an hour earlier which left them fatigued and irritable which in turn made them more prone to being less attentive to safe driving.

2: There were suddenly more people getting up an hour earlier and driving in the dark than the previous week or two (premised on nighttime driving being more dangerous than daylight driving).