ASHEBORO NC – Tonight we get back that hour of sleep we lost back in March as we “fall back” to the time of year when it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon. At 2 AM on Sunday November 7th clocks will be set back 1 AM to repeat the hour.
Originally started in the US in 1918 as a war-time measure to help conserve energy, the tradition stayed around after the war and is still going today. Does it actually conserve energy? Not really, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, daylight saving time reduced electricity usage by only 1 percent but had no impact on home heating. Studies have also found a link between daylight saving time and increases in fatal vehicle crashes, workplace injuries, and increased risk of strokes, and even a temporary rise in the number of suicides each year. An AP-NORC Center poll finds most prefer just staying on daylight saving time year round, and while the number of Americans who prefer not to make the switch has gone down, pollsters say that’s likely due to us not having to to physically change as many clocks anymore.
So if most people don’t want to do it, its puts our health at risk, and does not help with conserving energy then why is daylight saving time still a thing? The short answer, congress. Nineteen states have enacted legislation or resolutions to go to year-round daylight saving time but because federal law does not currently allow full-time DST, Congress would have to act before states could adopt changes. There have been attempts in the past.The Sunshine Protection Act would keep the entire country in DST year-round. The bill was introduced in 2018 and 2019 , but both times it died in committee. This year the bill was introduced in the Senate and the House, and are currently in committee. Every year the number of cosponsors on the bill has grown, from just 3 in 2018 to 37 this year.
Do you think we should stay on DST year-round? Take the poll at the bottom and we will post the results tomorrow night.
Don’t Forget!
If you have a smoke and/or CO detector in your home that uses a standard battery backup, the start and end of Daylight Saving Time is the perfect opportunity to remember the change the battery. Some newer models have a built in 10 year battery, which does not need to be changed for the life of the detector. If you are not sure which your model is, refer to the instructions.
P.S. – Yes it is Daylight Saving Time, no “S”, don’t believe us, check it out for yourself.