Having grown up with Daylight Savings Time, I learned the little jingle of "spring ahead" and "fall back" from an early age. The little jingle allowed you to remember which way the clock went, and what time of the year. I never truly understood the whole concept of why we did this, but it seemed to lead to a lot of confusion even as an adult. There was always one clock you forgot to adjust, usually the one in your car, and someone was always an hour late to an important meeting or event in spring and an hour early in fall. I was very excited when I moved to Arizona 10 years ago, and no longer had to worry about Daylight Savings Time. Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings Time, goodbye changing clocks and all the chaos that surrounds it. Well my joy is over as I sit here and write this article, having moved back to the island recently, and the jingle is back in my head. So as I sit here and prepare for Daylight Savings once again, I truly ponder why we still have it.
After being asked by my kiddos why do we set our clocks ahead in March and why do we sent them back an hour in fall, I finally did the research and was surprised to learn it had to do with the war. I seem to recall someone telling me in my childhood that it had to do with farmers and saving daylight hours for harvesting crops. The truth however is that the first time Daylight Saving Time happened was during World War I to save electricity in the evening because it gave us an extra hour of daylight after work in the summer months.
But why has it continued? It seems that a practice set up during World War I is outdated and has no real relevance in todays world, other than to lead to chaos and confusion. The practice saves energy, prevents traffic accidents, and reduces crime, according to the Department of Transportation, which, believe it or not, is in charge of Daylight Saving Time. However, there have been many Canadian studies to prove otherwise, with some even suggesting an increase in traffic accidents, heart attacks, workplace accidents, and several days or even weeks of poor sleep. Check our the article HERE
On the other hand, there are some pros, such as setting the clock forward an hour in spring does create more daylight hours to encourage people to get outdoors. The afternoon and evening daylight hours are perfect for a walk, golf, soccer, baseball, or doing some yard work. The tourism industry also benefits as people partake in more outdoor events, dine at restaurants more, and stroll and shop. It is also been shown that more daylight hours lead to a decrease in crime.
So it does seem that on one hand Daylight Savings Time is a FRIEND and on the other hand it is a FOE, no pun intended!
CBC/Radio Canada. (2017, March 9). Spring is coming: What you need to know about daylight saving time | CBC News. CBCnews. Retrieved March 7, 2022, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/daylight-saving-time-facts-figures-1.3485261
