# Time again for a Daylight Saving thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 10, 2025, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394 "2025-03-10T15:01:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/121 "2025-03-11T22:17:09Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > But on the other, the 2nd Sunday matches Spring Break week for most schools around here, so it helps with the schedule disruption. > > On the whole, if we’re going to switch, I kind of like having both schedule disruptions linked. I guess it depends on where you live. Since the date for the time change is set at the Federal level, it unfortunately can’t match up with the school schedules of all 50 states. Here in Maryland, Good Friday and “Easter Monday” are state-mandated school holidays, so most counties have their spring break during Easter week. (No way to coincide with that moving target!) ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/122 "2025-03-11T22:20:00Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > DST is managed at the federal level. Spring Break is decided by states for their colleges, and states and school districts for lower public school grades. I get that. It’s more of a personal preference. It’s usually been the 2nd week of March down here in the South, so it lines up nicely. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/123 "2025-03-11T22:22:09Z")
As long as we have DST, one adjustment I’ve always wanted that I’ve never heard anyone propose is: “fall back” should be on Sunday night, so you get that extra hour’s sleep before having to get up and go to work, school, or whatever on Monday morning. And similarly, “spring forward” should be on Friday night, to give people who work on weekdays an extra day to adjust to the change. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/124 "2025-03-11T22:25:04Z")
That is probably the smartest serious proposal I’ve ever heard of in respect to DST. And yes, one I’ve never heard before just now. Bravo Good Sir! ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2025, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/125 "2025-03-11T22:33:16Z")
That seems like such an obviously good idea that I can’t believe I’ve never heard it before. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/126 "2025-03-12T00:41:16Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I’m not seeing anything directly relating to the argument that DST reduces traffic deaths, though, and traffic deaths are obviously a major cause of death and injury in America. (Personal theory) I wonder if it’s as much about suddenly having to deal with driving into the sun on part of one’s commute - this seems to be what always gets me. It would be interesting if one could get stats on direction of travel and sun angle for the DST related accidents. This is my second biggest problem. My first is > **[Supervillain Plan](https://xkcd.com/1883/)** ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/127 "2025-03-12T00:47:09Z")
I don’t think it’s really relevant to this thread, but I’d certainly bet that by far the most dangerous time is right at dawn and sunset, when the sun is right at driver’s eye level. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/128 "2025-03-12T00:49:17Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > So, if driving at night _doubles_ your risk of a fatal accident, then having several weeks more or less of commuting in the dark seems like a big deal. But there ISN’T more hours of driving in the dark, since you drive back in the daylight- instead of the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/129 "2025-03-12T00:49:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now it is 60% say get rid of it. I would really, really like to know the exact phrasing of that question ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/130 "2025-03-12T00:51:30Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > I would really, really like to know the exact phrasing of that question It is in the link- “Are you in favor of daylight saving time, or not?” > **[More Than Half in U.S. Want Daylight Saving Time Sunsetted](https://news.gallup.com/poll/657584/half-daylight-saving-time-sunsetted.aspx)** > > Most Americans now oppose daylight saving time, with support dropping sharply since 1999. Almost half prefer year-round standard time. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/131 "2025-03-12T01:00:10Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But there ISN’T more hours of driving in the dark, since you drive back in the daylight- instead of the dark. Say “rush hour” is 5 to 7. When we made the switch here in Chicago, sunset went from 5:40 to 6:40, so rush hour went from mostly dark to mostly light. Sunrise was still early enough that the morning commute wasn’t affected. Without DST, we would have had to wait another couple months for sunset to get that late. OTOH, with year-round DST, the morning commute would be mostly dark in winter. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/132 "2025-03-12T01:06:45Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Say “rush hour” is 5 to 7. When we made the switch here in Chicago, sunset went from 5:40 to 6:40, so rush hour went from mostly dark to mostly light. Sunrise was still early enough that the morning commute wasn’t affected. Okay, that seems like a long rush hours, but it makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/133 "2025-03-12T01:59:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > “Are you in favor of daylight saving time, or not?” Then I disagree with your disagreement. We see 3 basic outcomes in this thread - Go back to regular time - Keep the hour advanced all year - Continue changing back and forth each year. That question doesn’t distinguish correctly between all 3 options. So, anyone who wants to go back to regular time will be in the first group, or not in favor of DST. Everyone who wants to keep switching will be in favor of DST. But the people who would prefer to keep the later sunset could have read that question two different ways: “do you want to continue switching twice a year” and “Do you like the later sunset, so want to keep it”. And some are going to recognize both interpretations and bow out. And we don’t know what portion of the 40% meant the 1st, and what portion meant the second. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/134 "2025-03-12T11:34:48Z")
I live right at the middle of the bloated Eastern time zone. I would love DST all year round - as would those to the east. The perfect western boundary would be through Detroit (rather than Chicago); the eastern one is fairly accurate in the US, but extends much further east in Canada. Sunset today at the far eastern point of EDT in Canada is 6:06 pm; at my midpoint it’s 6:56 pm; at the far western point it’s 7:58 pm. (latitudes vary, but not by much). A time zone should be one hour wide - Eastern is almost two hours, so definitely “easterners” would want permanent DST; “westerners” would want permanent Standard Time. Central Time is also “bloated” - making Mountain and Pacific times too far west (and thus earlier than they should be) in many areas. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/135 "2025-03-12T11:51:01Z")
'Zactly. I have argued this loud and long for years here. You’ve said it much more succinctly than I have. A two hour wide timezone set to a particular single hour of time cannot be a happy place. Add in the fact the population within it is concentrated in the northern latitudes where the winter/summer daylight difference is most pronounced and “unhappy” transitions to “miserable” when you’re in the locale where the clock is most wrong vs the sun. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/136 "2025-03-12T12:11:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Now it is 60% say get rid of it. How do you get 60% out of 54%? Not that it matters, but that’s not a correct summary. You can say 40% want to keep it; you can say 54% want to get rid of it. You should probably mention that 6% don’t know. But that poll does not say 60% want to get rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/137 "2025-03-12T17:32:03Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > I and many others have a hard time accepting the sort of claims you’ve linked to, despite the impressive credentials of the authors, precisely because they are so very much at odds with our own lived experience. It actually does jibe with my experience. I have noticed that I have a harder time waking up in the morning during the part of the year we’re on DST. Not just the transition to DST, the entire time we’re on DST I find it more difficult to wake up on time. From what I understand, it pretty much boils down to more light in the morning makes it easier to wake up, and more darkness in the evening makes it easier to fall asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/138 "2025-03-12T17:57:35Z")
Whether we change the clocks or not is something I really do not care about one way or another. Continue changing them, or pick one or the other - I don’t care. I AM surprised, however, that Trump has not issued an XO on this yet. Sure strikes me as more of a “debate” than the Gulf of Mexico. The kinda posturing I could imagine appealing to that imbecile. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/139 "2025-03-12T18:20:58Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I AM surprised, however, that Trump has not issued an XO on this yet. DUDE! I was just thinking about that this morning. In addition to setting one time during the year (standard as God intended), the zones are renamed to Eastern American Time Central American Time Mountain American Time Pacific American Time Alaskan American Time Hawaii (no glottal stop as that’s not English) American Time ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394/140 "2025-03-12T18:39:36Z")
If he did issue an XO to rename, good bet where you’ve inserted “American” he’d insert his name instead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-a-daylight-saving-thread/1015394.md?page=8)