Daylight-Savings Time
Daylight-Saving Time has been a controversial issue for the United States since it was adopted in 1966 (“Extra!: Daylight-Saving Time”). From the beginning Congress has had difficulties with the length, start date, and time of year that Daylight-Saving Time occurs. Though Congress has had problems with Daylight-Saving Time both now and in the past it is still hard to determine whether Daylight-Savings is for the greater good of the country or if it is an unneeded hassle. By examining the effects Daylight-Saving Time has on Energy conservation, transportation, and crime it can be decided if continuing to use Daylight-Savings is for the good of the people of America.
Daylight-Savings Time was originally created for the specific goal of conserving energy in the country. It was thought that with more daylight citizens would not use electronics as much and instead do outdoor activities. Studies have shown that countries with Daylight-Savings save an average of forty to fifty megawatt hours of electricity each day (Prerau, David). On the other hand with more daylight people are more likely to do more errands increasing the consumption of gasoline per day. Though this is only a thought by the DOT and they were not able to find evidence to prove this theory (Prerau, David). In the state of Indiana electrical bills increased overall by 9 million dollars per year (Kotchen, Matthew J., and Laura E. Grant). Though Daylight-Saving Time was intended for energy conservation this goal’s effectiveness varied from place to place it is used in.
Transportation has been largely affected by the use of Daylight-Saving Time in different countries. In one way Daylight-Savings helps to reduce traffic accidents and fatal pedestrian crashes. Observations taken by the Public Health Journal show that fatal pedestrian crashes are severely lower during the Daylight-Saving Time than the standard time periods (Ferguson, Susan A., David F Preusser, Adrian K. Lund, Paul L. Zador, and Robert
Daylight-Savings Time was originally created for the specific goal of conserving energy in the country. It was thought that with more daylight citizens would not use electronics as much and instead do outdoor activities. Studies have shown that countries with Daylight-Savings save an average of forty to fifty megawatt hours of electricity each day (Prerau, David). On the other hand with more daylight people are more likely to do more errands increasing the consumption of gasoline per day. Though this is only a thought by the DOT and they were not able to find evidence to prove this theory (Prerau, David). In the state of Indiana electrical bills increased overall by 9 million dollars per year (Kotchen, Matthew J., and Laura E. Grant). Though Daylight-Saving Time was intended for energy conservation this goal’s effectiveness varied from place to place it is used in.
Transportation has been largely affected by the use of Daylight-Saving Time in different countries. In one way Daylight-Savings helps to reduce traffic accidents and fatal pedestrian crashes. Observations taken by the Public Health Journal show that fatal pedestrian crashes are severely lower during the Daylight-Saving Time than the standard time periods (Ferguson, Susan A., David F Preusser, Adrian K. Lund, Paul L. Zador, and Robert