The US Senate passed legislation on Tuesday that would end that old rulefrom our more agricultural past, Daylight Saving Time. While the benefits of DST are hotly debated, one thing is clear: This practice leads to an increase in all types of injuries and deaths, including an increase in fatal car crashes. people.
The bill has an uncertain future in the House, but given that it has been met with applause, cheers and passionate speeches in the Senate, its chances look good. . Called Sun Protection Actthe bill was introduced seemingly on a whim, with almost no warning or argument, New York Times:
Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to speak in support of his bill, called Sun Protection Act, which will end the practice of turning the clock back one hour to standard time in November each year, making daylight saving time, now beginning in March, lasting all year long. ? “Most of the American people’s preference is just to stop switching back and forth,” added Mr. Rubio.
When he campaigned for the bill to pass unanimously, not a single senator opposed it. But some celebrate clearly.
“Yes!” Said Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, who flashed a huge smile and clenched both hands in victory as she presided over the conference room.
The best laws were written by a dim-witted legislator who was absolutely sick of This Shit. Seriously, in these divisive times, it’s heartwarming to see the Senate act with such unity. It leaves me feeling confused when I agree with Marco Rubio on something, but I will accept it.
A University of Colorado study in 2020 found that our next spring every year leads to a six percent increase in auto crashes for the entire week that follows. Are from Health line:
The researchers looked at 732,835 auto accidents recorded through the US Fatal Analysis Reporting System that took place between 1996 and 2017.
The researchers found a consistent increase in fatal auto crashes during the week we “started.”
That increase spiked in 2007 when the Energy Policy Act moved DST to March changes from April, further reinforcing the link between auto accidents and daylight savings.
On average, the time change increases the number of fatal car crashes by 6 percent in the week following the spring DST transition, which adds up to about 28 deaths per year.
“Our findings are more consistent with the overall study showing that the ‘mini jetlag’ caused by a 1-hour loss due to DST is most severe in the first days after conversion and can be observed up to 2 weeks,” co-research author Josef FritzPhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the sleep and biological epidemiology lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder, told Healthline.
A week of being late for a mini jet sounds like a pretty awful way of life when you put it that way. It certainly wouldn’t be good to drive like that.
And it’s not just car accidents that come up. Everything from strokes to accidents at work increased in the week or so after DST. It’s a myth that changing our habits for just an hour can affect our ability to function and focus, but we are certainly creatures of habit. Experts recommend getting plenty of rest before changing, but why should we prepare our bodies for some ancient ritual that seemed like a good idea back in 1918?
Do what’s right for America. Save some lives by giving up Daylight Saving Time.
