Dakota Beacon

This old story has been told before but it always bears repeating.

Daylight savings time (DST) represents a bi-partisan legislative effort providing for an artificial determination of time, a hodgepodge at best. In the US, DST begins the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time the first Sunday in November. Exceptions: Hawaii and Arizona do not observe DST -- but the Navajo Nation in Arizona does.

Our Canadian neighbors to the north also boast a DST mishmash. British Columbia observes DST except for a small area in the Mountain Time Zone, which does not. Ontario observes DST, but areas in the northwest do not. Most areas of Saskatchewan do not observe DST. Quebec does observe DST except in the Atlantic Time Zone. Newfoundland and Labrador, since 1988, observe Double DST (DDST) adjusting the clock two hours in spring and autumn.

Mexico first observed DST in 1996. DST begins the first Sunday in April and ends the last Sunday in October except for Sonora. That state does not observe DST.

If anyone should be held accountable for DST, Ben Franklin of kites-and-lightning fame must accept the credit or take the blame. Mr. Franklin conceived the idea while in Paris. One morning, rudely awakened by a noise at 6:00 a.m., he was amazed to find his room filled with light. Even more amazing was the amount of daylight lost to those traditionally arising around noon. His idea struck him like a bolt of lightning, so to speak. Whimsically he wrote of his idea in “Journal de Paris” going so far as to calculate potential monetary savings if people arose earlier and capitalized on existing daylight.

Before the mid-1800s most nations determined their own reckoning of time. A nation based its time on a prime meridian that ran through its capitol city. Britain’s prime meridian ran through London, France’s ran through Paris, Russia’s through St. Petersburg and the United States’ through Washington, DC. As long as travel and communications maintained a slow pace and clocks remained notoriously inaccurate, relaxed time arrangements between countries were no bother.

Following the mid-1800s, steam power advanced and other technologies progressed. Expanding railroad systems generated the greatest havoc. Trains traveling east and west caused confusion for train personnel and travelers alike.

Of necessity, railroads implemented standard time in 1883. Previously, most U.S. cities determined their own time as a local matter. Local clocks were set by “sun time” and communities were slow to adopt standard time.

A gentleman named Stanford Fleming instigated the initial effort creating time meridians in both the U.S. and Canada. Railroads, of course, championed the practice in order to standardize their schedules. Congress, with railroad support, codified Fleming’s ideas in the Standard Time Act of 1918 thereby legalizing the imposition of time zones. The Interstate Commerce Commission, the only contemporary federal agency involved with transportation, assumed responsibility for enforcement.

DST has always had supporters and detractors. Opponents have their reasons.

--Sleep Disturbances. People claim it’s difficult to adjust to the new sleep schedule. Protests range from mundane gripes to legitimate complaints of those with existing sleep disorders. Supposedly, switching back and forth to DST disrupts the circadian rhythm, a natural internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

--Severity of Auto Accidents. Some evidence suggests that, during the adjustment to DST, auto accidents increase by 6%. Why? Who knows?

--Pedestrian Fatalities. What is clear are the incidents of pedestrian-auto accidents around 6:00 p.m. after clocks are set back in the autumn as confirmed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.

Reasons favoring DST obviously carry the day.

--Voter Turnout. Increased voter turnout was touted as a benefit. It sounded good, but to date, this reflects mostly wishful thinking. So far, the data doesn’t support the claim.

--Fewer Violent Crimes. If data did not support voter turnout, it certainly does support the claim that DST helps curtail violent crime. The U.S. Law Enforcement Assistance Administration determined that crime was consistently down during DST. With all of the riots and defund-the-police protests, the year 2020 was an exception.

--Fewer Traffic Accidents. Auto accidents tend to decrease slightly during DST although pedestrian fatalities, as noted above, definitely increased.

--Energy Conservation. Energy conservation shows mixed results. The Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Standards produced conflicting results. Also, morning and evening usage during standard time and DST tend to cancel out each other. As one would expect, energy consumption varies during summer and winter and the imposition of DST impacts usage only slightly.

--Economic Benefit. Some benefit accrues during DST when consumers are afforded the opportunity to shop late during hours of daylight. Measurable economic growth followed.

--Popular Support. Most important of all, time and available daylight for evening activities wins the hearts of most urbanites. They enjoy the long summer evenings.

So concludes the refresher on daylight savings time. DST is here to stay -- by law. “Spring” forward on March 12, 2023.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).