California, Illinois take steps toward permanent daylight saving time

[brooklynite]

Source: The Hill

Two more states have taken steps to make daylight saving time permanent, with Illinois introducing a bill shortly after California advanced its own measure.

Illinois Senate Bill 533 would make daylight saving time the year-round standard for the state beginning on March 8, 2020, according to WREX. State Sen. Andy Manar (D), who introduced the bill, told the news outlet that he was moved to introduce the legislation after talking with a group of high school students from Carlinville High School in Central Illinois.

"I was impressed with the very strong case they presented and that deserves a debate in Springfield," Manar said.

California, meanwhile, advanced its own permanent daylight saving time bill last Wednesday through the state assembly's Utilities and Energy Committee with a 10-0 vote, according to the Desert Sun. The bill next heads to the Assembly floor for a full vote.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/442354-california-illinois-take-steps-toward-permanent-daylight-savings-time

[Mars and Minerva]

1. I hate Daylight Saving Time...

Get over it...The Earth revolves on it axis and orbits the Sun.

[ffr]

3. You prefer Standard time?

I think you mean you don't like Standard time. The whole country is on Daylight Savings time now.

[Mars and Minerva]

7. I just want to stop skipping around every six months...

I don't care what they call it or which hour is which.

[Polybius]

16. It's sorta fun

I like the changes. Keeps things interesting.

[moonscape]

18. I hate it not getting dark until after 9 in the summer ... n/t

[ffr]

2. If California goes, it'll have a snowball effect

Where California goes...

Personally, I'm all for it. Enough already with the crazy clock shifts and trying to figure out what time Europe is on, AZ & LA.

[marlakay]

23. I live in Southern Oregon

So it would be weird every time I drove down there to be a hour off 6 months of the year. I can see myself calling my kids too early or late....

[RicROC]

4. Atlantic Time

Not only should the East Coast states, including New York State, be on year-round Daylight Savings time, they should change another hour forward to be on Atlantic Daylight Savings Time. it would be nice to have a little light at 10:15pm, like Europe has.

[Blues Heron]

6. Dawn would be around noon in the winter if that happens!

europe has that late light because it's so far north. You can't simulate that with DST

[BumRushDaShow]

5. The problem with this, should other states consider it, is like what happened back in 1974

where those in the more northern latitudes end up with it being pitch dark in the morning in the winter months - notably during the hours when children are going to school (been there done that while in junior high at the time, walking to the train station with a flashlight - and no, I had no "yellow school bus" to take me to/from school and had to use public transit).

A refresher (from a California newspaper - https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/30/the-year-daylight-saving-time-went-too-far/).

The promoters of this only think of it in terms of "adults" and refuse to deal with a large chunk of the population who are primary/secondary school age (i.e., those under 18).

[jcgoldie]

8. I'm in Illinois and I'm in favor of this

The reality here is the kids are in the dark at the bus stop in December and January already even on standard time.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. At 8 am?

I know that there are people who live in the farther northern latitudes (e.g., Alaska) who are adapted to it as are their municipalities. But that is certainly not the case in large cities like here in Philly. Point being that the nationwide "experiment" back in '74 documented what happened, which is why it was ended.

Growing up in the '60s and '70s, it was always the standard directive from parents to kids to "be home before it gets dark" when out playing/riding bikes, etc. So to go to school in "the dark" for months at a time, should be similarly unacceptable.

[jcgoldie]

10. Kids arent at the bus stop at 8 AM

Bus comes past my house once at 6:30 and again at 7. School starts at 8 AM.

[BumRushDaShow]

11. Really?

I caught the damn commuter train downtown every friggin' day to school from 1972 to 1975 and then caught a public transit (SEPTA) bus ~8:10ish downtown in the dark, with the sun not yet up, to be at school by ~8:35 (and you were late after 8:45). It was pitch black walking to the train station from my house as it was to catch the train at 7:40 am. I never had any "school bus" to take me to school.

It all depends WHERE you are in the time zone. When I have traveled to places like Detroit, which is just barely in Eastern time, I was shocked at the summer sunset being around 9:30 pm where here in Philly, it was literally almost an hour earlier.

[jcgoldie]

12. I realize its different everywhere

All I know is from December through the start of February I'm outside in the barn milking goats when the bus goes by in both directions... twice... once for the high schoolers and once for the grade schoolers... its pitch dark throughout so the kids waiting in the dark things happens anyway. The bigger argument for me is that some studies show it saves electricity because people use a lot more in the evening hours than in the morning. If climate is involved in the discussion its the only thing that matters as far as I'm concerned.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. When you have kids waiting for a yellow school bus

they are usually at some residential location which is generally "safe" other than speeding cars that refuse to honor the flashing red lights (which was a problem in the dark during that great experiment of year-round DST, because drivers couldn't always "see" the children walking across a street).

But for those children who either walk up to a mile to school or have to catch public transit to school like I did for 9 of my 12 years, and then do so in a city, it ain't pretty with all the kooks.

There is no "savings of electricity". It just gets shifted to the other end of the day (the morning). And since there are rarely any "9 - 5" type work schedules anymore, there are more people who are working earlier shifts in the morning (I did an earlier shift working for the federal government for 30+ years under what they called "flexitime" ), so businesses are going to have those lights on in the mornings and the street lights will be on later in the mornings because it is still dark and they are often activated using light sensors.

[greymattermom]

20. Now that we have LED lightbulbs

does that argument still make sense?

[The Genealogist]

13. When I was in jr high, I was on the bus before 7:00 AM

Heck, the first lunch period started before 11:00 AM. It was cold and dark in the winter standing at that bus stop, and that was during standard time. I grew up in southwest Missouri. I am sure that kids further north with early start times like I had were positively miserable.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. Yes

and it would be like that for extra months if we go to this "permanent" DST.

I say this as a former flash-light carrying junior high schooler in 1974!

[Xolodno]

17. I don't care if its DST or Standard...pick one and be done with it.

And the usual BS.....B..B...B..But then our kids, I have to go to work, etc. before dawn! Or...."its still light out at 9 pm!"

I've got two words for you....

FUCK YOU!

You don't think that changing the clocks screws us up who don't live in the northern states? Guess what, it does, a lot. I got a better idea, change your work hours in your own state, a number of companies in So Cal have flex time...who comes in at 7 am, 8 am, or even 9 am...depends on which time system were on.. Even my wife agree's, and she is from a northern state. 1/8th of the nation is dictating the rest on what our clocks should read. So I'll say it again....

FUCK YOU!

[Blues Heron]

26. Don't ever stay up an hour late by accident

might throw you off

[Hekate]

19. Just pick one. We all adjust to the swing of the seasons gradually...

That's fine. It bugs me that all of a sudden, boom, I'm driving home in the pitch dark. I would much rather have it come on gradually.

Hawai'i keeps one time throughout the year, which only makes sense because they are so close to the Equator. If I recall correctly, there's only about a half-hour swing in night/day throughout the year.

[Bengus81]

24. LOL...Hawaii is 25 degrees NORTH of the equator

Many parts of Cuba are further south than Hawaii.

[Hekate]

32. I don't know why that's an LOL. I said it is "close to" the equator. It is a US State...

...so their time zone has more relevance than Cuba's. Hawai'i also is the furthest South of any US State. In any case, they long ago chose to let local time be stable, though it is annoying when Mainland callers can't keep it straight.

Hekate
Kama'aina and ex-pat

[athena]

34. You are correct about Hawaii.

I lived in Hawaii for years. The sun always rises between 6 and 7 A.M. and always sets between 6 and 7 P.M. It would make no sense to switch times. It's really frustrating to see the outrageous comments ignorant people make about this.

You are wrong, however, about keeping the time the same. The problem is that we switch to daylight saving time too soon. (And that's because of the amusement park industry lobby, as I learned on DU). If we switched at the midpoint, it wouldn't make that much of a difference.

[ROB-ROX]

21. THE HUMAN BODY WAS NOT MADE TO "SWITCH" WAKE UP TIMES

We have to wake an hour early which is not GOOD. Then we get to relax a few months later. Years ago it was proven that there is NO savings in money nor health for this BIZARRE out dated plan. People use lights to do what they want and this costs money. I will be ready to go forward in time when this failed experiment is OVER.....I live in Nor Cal and I am ready for the democratic "progressives" to bring us into the 21st century......

[Blues Heron]

27. have you ever traveled a modest 1 time zone in either direction?

It's the same thing. No biggie.

[hunter]

22. Make it so.

Changing the clocks twice a year is annoying.

[Bengus81]

25. LOL...changing clocks twice in an entire YEAR is such hard work!!

Oh please...Most of my clocks switch on their own or I have to push a single DST button--wow,really working up a sweat. The only three I really have to manually change are on the microwave and stove and a larger analog clock in the Dining room.

Meanwhile I'm out mowing the lawn 30-35 times per year in all kinds of weather. Maybe I'll just asphalt the lawn over.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

29. I have a clock radio that apparently knows what time zone I'm in

and what the date is, because it changes itself. It's the radio that wakes me up in the morning, and it's quite nice.

[Hekate]

33. The clock on my car's dashboard is a pain in the butt to reset, so stays the same all year...

It also, for whatever reason, is always 6 minutes behind even after resetting, don't ask me why.

My computer resets itself, but most of the other house clocks don't, so twice a year hubby scurries around resetting them. He's conscientious that way.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. If they're going to go to one year round time it really ought to be standard time.

As others have already noted, year round DST results in an extremely late sunrise for too much of the year.

I think the main problem right now with DST is that it starts too early and ends too late. It currently starts in early March and ends in early November. It should start mid April and end at the end of September. The rational for the late end is so kids can trick or treat in the daylight. Well, even with DST sunset is still fairly early by October 31, and kids are still out in the dark, which is a lot of the fun of Halloween.

The other complaint people make is that is just SO terrible to make a one hour change. Apparently most people never cross a time zone any other time in their life, which is essentially what you're doing when you make the switch on and off DST.

There's also the claim about increased car accidents and things like heart attacks, specifically when the switch is made to DST and an hour is "lost". Those do seem to be real, but the increase is trivial, and is probably offset by the switch back. Not to mention that the majority of people are off on Sundays, when the change is made, so they always have a day to get used to it. And, surprise surprise, the rule of thumb about how long it takes you to adapt to crossing time zones is (are you ready?) one day for each time zone crossed.

I've seen people here claim that it takes them months to adjust, which strikes me as utter nonsense. Months? Really? I take it those people literally never travel more than 20 miles from home.

I recall the year round DST, and that was ended a year earlier than planned because it turned out to be such a bad idea.

If individual states go for year round one time or another, we'll soon be back to the hodge-podge of different start and end times in different places, and parts of some states on DST and other parts not. It was a mess.

Perhaps the real solution would be to split the difference, and everyone move to the half hour between standard time and DST.

[lunasun]

30. Illinois here I say good!

[Yavin4]

31. The big question is: "Does anybody really know what time it is"?

Does anybody really care?