There is a long-running campaign in the UK to scrap daylight savings to save energy and improve road safety.
The idea is that we stick with British Summer Time – ie when the clocks go forward – for the whole year. It would mean an end to Greenwich Mean Time.
Major campaigners Brake, the road safety charity, and RoSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, believe that we should stick with BST all year round. Here is what Brake has to say on the issue, and here are RoSPA’s thoughts.
The area that interests us at DMA Law is road safety – our personal injury and litigation teams often work with families who have been affected by serious injuries on the roads.
October is a traditional ‘peak’ time for injuries on the roads, especially involving children. This time of year creates ‘perfect storm’ conditions for children’s injuries on roads across the UK.
At the end of October, there are three factors that come into play, all of which can contribute to an increased risk of injury on the roads.
1) Clocks go back – reports suggest that drivers are up to 30% more likely to crash when the clocks go back. The evenings are already darker, but they become darker still when the clocks go back. This year the clocks are going back in the early hours of Sunday, 29th October.
2) Half term – children are off school, and they are excited! This means more children on the streets during the day and, if their bedtime is extended because they’re not at school, then they might be out later, too.
3) Halloween – as Halloween becomes bigger and more popular, parties and trick or treating takes place for several nights, usually on the night of Halloween and the closest weekend.
If the evenings were lighter, then the hope is that
We would also avoid the ‘peak accident’ period caused by the clocks going back.
So what do you think? Are things ok the way they are, or would you he happy to see GMT scrapped altogether? Let us know your thoughts!
