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Daylight saving time: the whole concept of moving time is a rip off! - Page 3

post #31 of 34
3/12/08 at 7:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mister Crash View Post
As an actuary, I should mention that traffic accidents go up significantly the Monday after DST begins. As far as I know, there is not an offsetting decline in accidents after DST ends.
As an insurance agent I challenge that contention. If you have evidence, fine, bring it out for examination. If this is conjecture on your part, that's also fine, but call it what it it. I have yet to see insurance industry statistics that support this claim. Rest assured, a very powerful and well financed lobby would be oppoosed to DST if this is true.

Empirically, I don't notice any difference in accident rates from the time period just after DST goes into effect as opposed to the time just before it.

This is not to say that I'm a fan of DST. I'm not.
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post #32 of 34
3/12/08 at 7:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aimless1 View Post
As an insurance agent I challenge that contention. If you have evidence, fine, bring it out for examination. If this is conjecture on your part, that's also fine, but call it what it it. I have yet to see insurance industry statistics that support this claim. Rest assured, a very powerful and well financed lobby would be oppoosed to DST if this is true.

Empirically, I don't notice any difference in accident rates from the time period just after DST goes into effect as opposed to the time just before it.

This is not to say that I'm a fan of DST. I'm not.
I'm not saying this is for or against the claim but here is some info:

Wikipedia
"In 1975 the U.S. DOT conservatively identified a 0.7% reduction in traffic fatalities during DST, and estimated the real reduction to be 1.5% to 2%,[25] but the 1976 NBS review of the DOT study found no differences in traffic fatalities.[21] In 1995 the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimated a reduction of 1.2%, including a 5% reduction in crashes fatal to pedestrians.[5] Others have found similar reductions.[38] Single/Double Summer Time (SDST), a variant where clocks are one hour ahead of the sun in winter and two in summer, has been projected to reduce traffic fatalities by 3% to 4% in the UK, compared to ordinary DST.[39] It is not clear whether sleep disruption contributes to fatal accidents immediately after the spring clock shifts.[40] A correlation between clock shifts and accidents has been observed in North America but not in Sweden. If this effect exists, it is far smaller than the overall reduction in fatalities.[41]"
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post #33 of 34
3/13/08 at 9:53am
Here's the study that I was referencing:

INABIS '98 - Sleep Deficit, Fatal Accidents, and the Spring Shift to Daylight Savings Time

Here are some other links on the matter:

Fatal accidents following changes in daylight savi...[Sleep Med. 2001] - PubMed Result

Time change tied to car crashes | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
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post #34 of 34
3/13/08 at 11:45am
Thank you for the links Mr Crash. Without arguing sample size and length of study, I concede that your links back your statement.

I am more interested in long term studies. The following report helps to address the issue:

Full text - Daylight Saving Time - Congressional Research

"Congress then asked the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) to evaluate the DOT report. NBS found no significant energy savings or differences in traffic fatalities. It did find, however, statistically significant evidence of increased fatalities among school-age children in the mornings during the test period, although it was impossible to determine if this was due to DST." is an excerpt from the report.

I have read NTSA and Insurance Institute reports. They seem to agree that there is not a statistically relevant change in either the fatality rate nor in traffic accident rates as they relate to the implementation of DST. Not to say that several attourneys and opponents to DST haven't had different findings. One such report I've read found an increase in fatalities on the Monday following the Spring implementation of DST and on the Sunday after the impletmentaton of Fall DST. Whether such studies are relavent or not, I'll leave to you to decide.
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