The Illinois General Assembly is considering legislation that would have the state adopt permanent daylight saving time — thus staying on summer DST throughout the winter. This would be a mistake.
There are many advantages to the current time system: spring-to-fall daylight saving time and winter standard time. It’s an excellent compromise, providing the many benefits of DST most of the year and yet avoiding problems of winter DST during the darkest, coldest months.
Permanent daylight saving time is not a new idea. It has been tried across the entire country. It proved quite unpopular and was soon discontinued.
During a national energy crisis in 1974, the federal government initiated nationwide permanent DST for a two-year period. The concept seemed popular when proposed but quickly lost favor. People disliked the pitch-dark winter mornings for arising and going to work. They especially disliked sending children to school on very dark mornings — walking dark streets or waiting for school buses on dark roads.
Opinion polls showed DST popular for most months — but not November through February. And the U.S. Congress agreed with the national judgment and eliminated the planned second year of permanent DST — though the two-year program would have automatically terminated after the second year.
Permanent daylight saving time makes already-late winter sunrises one hour later — sunrises would be 8:20 a.m. in Chicago and Springfield, and even later in parts of Illinois. There would be full darkness for many people leaving for work or for school.
________
The Chicago Tribune opinion section publishes op-eds from readers and experts about specific issues of the day. Op-eds reflect the views of the writer and not necessarily the Chicago Tribune.
________
Furthermore, under winter DST, it would be colder going in the morning to work or school. Many would leave home during the hour before sunrise, often the coldest hour of the day. And, the sun wouldn’t have had a chance to melt any ice or snow before they left.
There are other issues: Sleep and circadian cycle experts state that dark mornings have a worse effect on people’s state of health than dark evenings and stress the importance of exposure to daylight soon after waking. Also, winter DST causes significant problems for certain religious groups that meet each morning to say prayers after sunrise but before work
While many people quickly adjust to the DST clock change, others find it troublesome and there are reports of short-term negative impacts. But its effects generally last just a few days (and often the clock change backward has somewhat opposite effects). In contrast, the benefits of winter standard time last 120 days. The forward clock change is similar to traveling one time zone east (Chicago to Detroit or New York, London to Paris, or Beijing to Tokyo), which multitudes do worldwide every single day.
Other approaches could diminish any negative effects of the clock change. For example, a public service campaign could remind people several days in advance that the clock change is coming, and recommend more sleep and retiring a little earlier near the clock change.
Most people prefer an extra hour of daylight in the evening rather than the morning, except in the darkest months of the year. Since there are significant issues with permanent DST, strong consideration should be given to the option of keeping the very reasonable compromise time system that is now in use, which gives the many benefits of daylight saving time for eight months and yet avoids the numerous problems and hardships that would come with 120 days of winter DST.
David Prerau is an internationally known expert on daylight saving time and is the author of “Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time.” He has co-authored three major U.S. government technical studies on DST, and he has been a DST consultant for the U. S. Congress and the British Parliament.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Get our latest editorials, op-eds and columns, delivered twice a week in our Fighting Words newsletter. Sign up here.
