# Daylight Savings Time: Why is the US congress split on this matter **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 6, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456 "2022-11-06T04:36:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/181 "2022-11-08T19:05:05Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Wouldn’t you still be commuting in the dark from mid-November to mid February when sunrise was more or less between 7:00 and 7:45 standard time? The difference is being in the dark commuting for a couple of months vs 4 or 5 months. I’m not going to be able to get 14 hours of daylight where I live but being on standard time mitigates the issues in October and March. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/182 "2022-11-08T19:10:49Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > Pick one or the other and stick with it. I don’t have a preference which. You seem like a gentleman or gentlewoman who will appreciate the long-overdue return of decimal time. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/183 "2022-11-08T19:19:09Z")
Gentlewoman, the gentle part may be overstated. I’m not sure if that’s a joke. If so it went soaring over my head. 😕 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/184 "2022-11-08T19:21:33Z")
Now that we have the technology to implement this, why don’t we just shift 20 seconds a day forward for six months and then 20 seconds a day back for six months? ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/185 "2022-11-08T20:02:05Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Much of the complaining about Daylight Saving Time revolves around the actual switching back and forth twice a year (disruption of sleep schedules, higher traffic accident rates, etc.). Kind of why I asked “Why not four times a year?” in the first place. Almost every answer can be applied to “Why not twice a year?” It’s a lot of trouble, it results in equal inconvenience for every one who finds it convenient, it’s unnecessary etc. For example, “commuting during daylight” has been cited here as very important, but to me it’s mainly a pain in the ass. I have to drive eastward in the early morning with the sun shining in my eyes, and then westward in the late afternoon, again with the light shining in my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/186 "2022-11-08T20:03:15Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Because two is enough to suit me. And this discussion is all about you? Zero is enough to suit me. How convincing (or relevant) does that feel to you? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2022, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/187 "2022-11-08T20:04:10Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Kind of why I asked “Why not four times a year?” in the first place. Almost every answer can be applied to “Why not twice a year?” It’s a lot of trouble, it results in equal inconvenience for every one who finds it convenient, it’s unnecessary etc. “Twice a year” is materially different from “four times a year” in practical terms. > [@slicedalone](#): > > but to me it’s mainly a pain in the ass. To me, it’s not a pain in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/188 "2022-11-09T00:39:31Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Now that we have the technology to implement this, why don’t we just shift 20 seconds a day forward for six months and then 20 seconds a day back for six months? Clocks don’t dictate when you sleep, you do. If _you_ have the technology (because I don’t think there’s an app for this), and the privilege of having an extra hour on your daily schedule, _you_ can follow _your own_ moving sleep schedule without breaking all clocks ever made. Let’s say you normally reserve eight hours for sleep, from 10pm to 6am. If you have the privilege to reserve 9:30 pm to 6:30 am, you can simply wake up five minutes earlier or later every 1st and 15th of the month. (Sunrise/sunset times taken from [timeanddate.com](http://timeanddate.com).) | Month | Wake         | Sunrise (FL) | Sunset (FL) | Sleep | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | January 1 | 5:45 am | 5:45 am | 5:45 pm | 9:45 pm | | January 15 | 5:50 am | 7:22 am | 5:56 pm | 9:50 pm | | February 1 | 5:45 am | 7:16 am | 6:10 pm | 9:45 pm | | February 15 | 5:40 am | 7:07 am | 6:20 pm | 9:40 pm | | March 1 | 5:35 am | 6:54 am | 6:30 pm | 9:35 pm | | — | — | — | — | — | | March 15 | **6:30 am** | 7:39 am | 7:38 pm | **10:30 pm** | | April 1 | 6:25 am | 7:19 am | 7:47 pm | 10:25 pm | | April 15 | 6:20 am | 7:04 am | 7:55 pm | 10:20 pm | | May 1 | 6:15 am | 6:49 am | 8:04 pm | 10:15 pm | | May 15 | 6:10 am | 6:39 am | 8:12 pm | 10:10 pm | | June 1 | 6:05 am | 6:33 am | 8:22 pm | 10:05 pm | | June 15 | 6:00 am | 6:32 am | 8:27 pm | 10:00 pm | | July 1 | 5:55 am | 6:36 am | 8:30 pm | 9:55 pm | | July 15 | 5:50 am | 6:43 am | 8:28 pm | 9:50 pm | | August 1 | 5:55 am | 6:36 am | 8:30 pm | 9:55 pm | | August 15 | 6:00 am | 6:43 am | 8:28 pm | 10:00 pm | | September 1 | 6:05 am | 7:08 am | 7:50 pm | 10:05 pm | | September 15 | 6:10 am | 7:14 am | 7:35 pm | 10:10 pm | | October 1 | 6:15 am | 7:22 am | 7:15 pm | 10:15 pm | | October 15 | 6:20 am | 7:30 am | 7:00 pm | 10:20 pm | | November 1 | 6:25 am | 7:41 am | 6:45 pm | 10:25 pm | | — | — | — | — | — | | November 15 | **5:30 am** | 6:51am | 5:36 pm | **9:30 pm** | | December 1 | 5:35 am | 7:03 am | 5:33 pm | 9:35 pm | | December 15 | 5:40 am | 7:13 am | 5:36 pm | 9:40 pm | | January 1, 2023 | 5:45 am | 7:21 am | 5:45 pm | 9:45 pm | | January 15, 2023 | 5:50 am | 7:22 am | 5:56 pm | 9:50 pm | | February 1, 2023 | 5:55 am | 7:17 am | 6:09 pm | 9:45 pm | ~Max ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/189 "2022-11-09T01:04:40Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > being on standard time mitigates the issues in October and March. May I say, that although I do not mind DST at all, I was and remain _ **not** _ a fan of when it was stretched to include most of March and all of October. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/190 "2022-11-09T17:13:54Z")
Meh, I never really cared. I would have preferred DST all the time though. More light in the evening. Now, with COVID, millions of us have started working from home. Simply does not matter for us what time the clock says. I can (many can’t of course) work any time I want. I get up around 4-5am. Have for decades. It would be easier to just split the difference by 1/2 hour and just leave it there. Compromise. ---
**Author:** ![Marylou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Marylou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marylou)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/191 "2022-11-10T05:35:00Z")
Farmers vs city folk. I like the natural order of things, so let’s stop jimmying the clock around!! Let it grow lighter and darker on its own accord without mankind trying to improve things and messing them up!! so there. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/192 "2022-11-10T14:53:38Z")
It might have begun as farmers vs. city folks, but it’s changed into selfish vs. sensible people. The selfish folks have no rational basis for DST so they cling to it because it happens to suit their schedule, their particular needs, their habits, their convenience (as they perceive those things–usually, it can be shown that they’d be just fine without DST if they were susceptible to being shown anything). Their chief misunderstanding is that for every person who feels served by DST there is another person who feels disserved by it. They don’t care about that–it’s all me, me, me with them. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/193 "2022-11-10T15:28:01Z")
Doesn’t that cut both ways? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/194 "2022-11-10T15:29:56Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Their chief misunderstanding is that for every person who feels served by DST there is another person who feels disserved by it. They don’t care about that–it’s all me, me, me with them. How is this different for the person who feels served by not having DST. You are coming across as unhinged here. ---
**Author:** ![slicedalone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slicedalone/32/12515_2.png) [@slicedalone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slicedalone)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/195 "2022-11-10T16:39:00Z")
Exactly my point. Everyone on each side of this discussion is purely motivated by selfish personal wants, which is why everyone’s ends cancel out and are irrelevant. Which is why changing clocks is an additional irritant, present in some people’s selfish wants and not in others’, and should be eliminated. We made a huge mistake, gulled by the promise of false economics and happier farmers, that have been shown not to exist, and we can undo that mistake easily, simply by doing nothing the next time DST rolls around and letting the clocks stay where they were. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/196 "2022-11-10T17:07:48Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Daylight Saving Time was made “permanent” in the mid-70s. Just like now, polling showed broad support for the policy at first. I was in high school at the time. It was intended to reduce energy consumption. Dunno if it did or not. Supposedly, these days, with the world evolving toward 24/7 everything, it’s no longer expected to make any real difference. In more northern areas, where the day is shorter anyway, I found that standard time was a problem for me, specifically, when I was driving - at the time, I had cataracts that made nighttime driving more hazardous, and I had to rush to finish one long drive before sunset (which was 4:40 or so, where I was going). I admit, I find it hard to believe that a single hour makes much of a difference, healthwise, but a) I’m > [@enipla](#): > > It would be easier to just split the difference by 1/2 hour and just leave it there. Compromise. Possibly you were being facetious 🙂 but boy, that would make a mess of things! Right now, we’re 5 (or 6) hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. Easy(ish) to remember. But that half hour would really mess up the mental arithmetic. Interestingly, Canada seems to follow the same schedule re DST. If the US changes either way, we’d have the fun of, say, driving from New York to Ontario and having it be an hour earlier (or later). The one time I had something like that was driving from Utah (DST) to Arizona (no DST). We had somewhere we had to be in Arizona, at a specific time, and it was “fun” doing the mental arithmetic trying to make sure I was doing the time math correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/197 "2022-11-10T17:16:04Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > May I say, that although I do not mind DST at all, I was and remain _ **not** _ a fan of when it was stretched to include most of March and all of October. I concur. Before it was an annoyance, but now it angers me. If we do need DST, make it 6 months not 8. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/198 "2022-11-10T17:18:35Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Possibly you were being facetious 🙂 but boy, that would make a mess of things! As I pointed out before, with time-zone creep westward in the United States, we are already de facto at +30 time zones. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/199 "2022-11-10T17:19:21Z")
> [@slicedalone](#): > > Which is why changing clocks is an additional irritant, present in some people’s selfish wants and not in others’, and should be eliminated. If it’s selfish to want to change the clocks, then it’s just as selfish to not want to change the clocks. Everything cancels out. Thus, we should keep things as they are. Q.E.D. > [@slicedalone](#): > > We made a huge mistake This is a claim you have made, but you haven’t proved it. The last 50 years have shown we can live with it just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456/200 "2022-11-10T17:20:01Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Minor nitpick, it’s Daylight Saving Time. Not the plural. Just to correct the title How did “daylight savings” get to be stuck in the popular mind? By analogy with a savings bank? Like gold bars are kept in the bank vault, the impression is of storing shiny yellow daylight in the savings bank just like shiny yellow metal. It’s just funny how human brains connect things and how effects of that turn up in language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/daylight-savings-time-why-is-the-us-congress-split-on-this-matter/974456.md?page=11)