"Fall Back" On Nov. 7

From the City of Dunedin:

November 4, 2021

*The simple habit of changing your smoke detector battery when you change your clocks to daylight savings time will help protect your family. On November 7, when you turn your clocks backward, take an extra minute to install fresh batteries into your smoke detectors.

Daylight saving time was first enacted by the federal government during World War I as a way to conserve coal. Daylight saving time persisted in various forms on local and state levels until the federal government passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966.

Here's what we know about daylight saving time:

What time does daylight saving time officially happen?

Saturday night is the night you move your clocks back one hour. The time change officially happens at 2 a.m.

Who is in charge of daylight saving time?

The Department of Transportation oversees daylight saving time, a federal mandate under the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The agency cites many reasons for daylight saving time, including energy reduction and reduced crime.

Who doesn't follow it?

Not every state follows daylight saving time, however. Hawaii and most of Arizona opt out. Indiana did not observe DST until 2006. Because the state had two time zones, some of its counties changed their clocks in the fall and in the spring and some didn't. Because time zones were difficult to keep track of, a bill was passed in 2005 to unify the practice throughout the state. But the law was controversial, and it made the governor at the time, Mitch Daniels, unpopular.

Does daylight saving time help or hurt traffic safety?

The Department of Transportation, which is in charge of daylight saving time, says the practice saves energy, prevents traffic accidents and reduces crime.

But a 2020 study, determined the risk of fatal traffic accidents increasing time. Light is essential to circadian rhythm because it suppresses the brain’s release of melatonin (aka the "sleep hormone), experts say.

“There’s really no reason we should continue to do this back and forth,” said Erin Flynn-Evans, a consultant to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Public Safety Committee. “The negative health consequences and the negative effect on multivehicular crashes in the spring are just not worth it.”

This press release was produced by the City of Dunedin. The views expressed here are the author’s own.