Permanent daylight saving time has a dark side, scientists warn
A new study warns that permanent daylight saving time could force American children to make at least 2 billion additional school commutes in darkness, potentially increasing safety risks and disrupting their biological clocks. Researchers found that fatal crashes involving school-aged pedestrians were roughly twice as likely during dark mornings as after sunrise.
Key points
- Permanent daylight saving time could add at least 2 billion school trips in darkness nationwide.
- Fatal crashes involving school-aged pedestrians were about twice as likely in dark mornings.
- The bill passed the House but remains stalled in the Senate over school start times.
New research from the University of Washington suggests that keeping daylight saving time all year would mean at least 2 billion additional trips to school in darkness across the United States. The study, published October 29 in Current Biology, warns of safety risks and less morning sunlight for children.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation this past summer to end the annual return to standard time, and 19 states including Washington have backed the change. The bill is stalled in the Senate, where school start times are a major concern.
How the study was done
Researchers examined 14 of the 19 states that approved permanent daylight saving time measures, combining enrollment figures, school start times and geographic coordinates to count trips made before sunrise. Washington state alone would see nearly 35 million more dark commutes, and Georgia the largest increase at about 71 million.
The nationwide estimate assumed students leave for school around 8 a.m., which the team says likely understates the real number. An analysis of traffic records found fatal crashes involving school-aged pedestrians were roughly twice as likely in dark mornings.
Nobody wants their kids to go to school in the dark.
— Horacio de la Iglesia
Concerns about morning light
Morning light helps set the body's circadian clock, which affects sleep, mood and appetite. Children on fixed school schedules could lose that exposure, and schools near western time zone boundaries or with early start times would be hit hardest. In Mississippi and Alabama, dark trips would rise from about 2 million to more than 20 million per state.
