Clocking in for Daylight Saving Time

Just when the lights turned green, it's just about time for someone to reset the Rumson-Fair Haven tower clock for Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time is the practice of moving clocks ahead one hour in the summer months, so that daylight is shifted to the afternoon hours — allowing for longer evening hours with sunshine.

This year it happens at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 10. And, yes, you lose an hour of sleep. The benefits of the practice include reducing the need for artificial residential lighting, extended daylight during leisure hours, and, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a decrease in traffic and pedestrian fatalities.

Originally proposed in 1895, the first modern obervance of Daylight Saving Time in the United States was in 1918. The current observation of Daylight Saving Time on the second Sunday in March (reversed on the first Sunday in November) began in 2007 as a result of the Energy Policy Act, passed in 2005. All municipalities in New Jersey observe DST.

Generally, people advance their clocks ahead one hour before going to sleep on the Saturday prior to Daylight Saving Time, so they are observing the proper time when they awake the next day.

A popular phrase to remember which way to wind the clock is, "Spring forward, fall backward."  Many people also feel they will "lose" an hour of sleep in the spring, and "gain" an extra hour in the fall.

Local fire, police, and safety authorities also use the event to remind residents to change the batteries in their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Also, a common error made by many people is the actual name — it is "Daylight Saving Time," not the plural "Daylight Savings."

Daylight Saving Time will end on Nov. 3 at 2 a.m., when clocks will be turned back one hour to standard time.