Permanent daylight saving time has a dark side, scientists warn — SkimNews
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- University of Washington researchers calculated that permanent daylight saving time would lead to at least 2 billion more K–12 school commutes in darkness across the U.S., with states like Georgia and Washington seeing tens of millions of additional dark trips.
- Fatal crashes involving school-aged pedestrians were found to be roughly twice as likely during dark mornings compared to after sunrise, according to an analysis of U.S. traffic data published in Current Biology.
- Horacio de la Iglesia, a biology professor at the University of Washington, criticized the Sunshine Protection Act as effectively a 'Sunshine Destruction Act' for shifting daylight from mornings to evenings, disproportionately affecting children.
- Guadalupe Rodríguez Ferrante, lead author of the study, emphasized that morning sunlight is critical for synchronizing children’s circadian rhythms and warned that the 2 billion estimate may be too low due to early school start times and pre-class activities.
- Schools in Mississippi and Alabama would see dark commutes increase from about 2 million to over 20 million annually under permanent daylight saving time, due to early start times and geographic location.
- The Sunshine Protection Act, which would establish permanent daylight saving time, has passed the U.S. House and is pending in the Senate, where concerns about children's safety and health during dark mornings have emerged as key obstacles.
Why it matters: Adopting permanent daylight saving time would shift daylight from morning to evening, increasing risks for 55 million U.S. schoolchildren who rely on morning light for safety and biological regulation. The change could undo efforts to align school schedules with adolescent sleep patterns, particularly in southern and western time zone districts where dark commutes would become widespread.
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