Despite the annoyances of switching between standard time and daylight saving time affecting our sleeping habits – spring before, behind, all of that – there are dire consequences than for a semi-annual transition: A new study says the change in time contributes to 37,000 vehicle collisions with deer on US roads.
The report, published this week in magazine Current biologysays that year-round daylight saving time will reduce evening rush hour traffic time in the dark each year, preventing 33 deaths, 2,000 injuries and saving about $1.2 billion fix costs arising from the accident.
“The number is surprisingly large,” said Laura Prugh, an associate professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington and an author of the study. “It’s worth noting that a seemingly simple change – no clock change in the fall, no rollback – would result in a dramatic reduction in crashes across the country.”
“If you’re driving two hours after dark, you’re 14 times more likely to hit a deer than if you were driving,” said Calum Cunningham, postdoctoral researcher at UW and co-author of the study. before dark.
Meanwhile, permanently switching to standard time would cost 66 more lives a year and $2 billion in damage from an additional 74,000 collisions.
To understand the impact of seasonal time changes, the researchers gathered wildlife and vehicle collision data from more than 1 million crashes in 23 states to estimate the impact. Deer are most active at both dawn and dusk, and data shows motorists are more likely to hit deer when commuting to work in the dark at night.
About 2.1 million deer-to-deer collisions occur in the United States each year, causing economic losses of more than $10 billion – with 59,000 injuries and 440 deaths.
Washington is one of 19 states where legislatures have approved permanent daylight saving time, but they require congressional action to take effect. In March, Senate considersunanimously voted in favor of the Sun Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent all year round for all states, except Hawaii and most of Arizona. Those two states will continue to follow standard time year-round. But the bill has stalled in the House.
Until the State takes action, we’re stuck with the current system – so be aware that clocks across the country will “fall back down” in an hour at 2 a.m. next Sunday. November 6
