Dr. Jim Surrell, Journal columnist

More and more states are now taking a good look as to whether they should continue with daylight savings time (DST). For reasons noted below, I am not a fan of daylight savings time. The result of DST is that we have an hour of more darkness in the morning and an hour of more daylight in the evening.

I recently looked at several recent polls of the American people and they all showed that nearly two thirds (62%) were not in favor of DST, and having to change their clocks twice a year.

The Federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 mandates the country use daylight saving time, but it also allows states to opt out and exempt themselves from the practice. Many states have passed measures to stay on daylight saving time permanently, a move that some have called “lock the clock.” For some states, they’re willing to go forward with it as long as a few of their neighbors do the same. In the last five years, 19 states have passed legislation or resolutions supporting all year long daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

DST was first introduced in America in 1918, and it was meant to conserve energy for World War I. It has now been learned that DST does not really save energy. In fact, a 2008 study from Indiana found that DST actually increased electricity demand to the tune of $9 million a year in Indiana alone. Farmers are not fans of DST. Farmers work very hard, start very early, and the more daylight they have in the morning, the better it is for them.

Let’s look at the impact of DST when it goes into effect and causes morning darkness. This is the time when school children are leaving home and heading for school, and some may be walking in the dark, or waiting for the school bus in the darkness. This is also the time when many people are driving to work, and driving in the dark is more dangerous than driving in the daylight. It is a well known fact that children are more likely to be struck and killed or severely injured by cars in the dark, and DST means a lot more darkness in the morning.

How often do we see people that are driving when there is only minimal daylight and do not have their headlights on. Of course, this is not safe. Perhaps we should all drive with our headlights on all the time, day or night. I would be very much in favor of headlights going on and staying on whenever any motor vehicle is being driven.

There are multiple scientific studies regarding the impact of DST on our population. A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that most adults are missing an average of about 40 minutes of sleep the night before DST begins in the Spring. Of course, people are more likely to have automobile accidents when they are tired, and there is always a spike in traffic accidents when DST goes into effect. A study in the Journal of Sleep Medicine showed that traffic accidents went up by about 6 percent nationally for the first six days of DST after we move our clocks forward. This significant increase in automobile accidents is believed to be from sleep deprivation that results from a person’s altered sleep pattern as they try to adjust to the DST time changes.

It may be time to take a serious look as to whether we should continue DST. Further, consider driving with your headlights on all the time. Most importantly, be very careful to watch for children when driving near school areas, especially when school is starting and it is still dark in the morning.

The more I think about it, and talk to many others about daylight savings time, perhaps we should seriously consider removing DST from Michigan.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Jim Surrell is the author of the best-selling SOS (Stop Only Sugar) Diet book and his new Joke Book, entitled “Laughter Is Good Medicine”. Dr. Jim’s website is sosdietbook.com.