End Daylight Saving Time, Say NC Patch Readers: Survey Results

NORTH CAROLINA — As if this past year hasn't required enough personal adjustment, this weekend ushers in one more non-negotiable ask. This weekend, the time changes.

And, according to the majority of the thousands of Patch Readers in North Carolina who took our survey recently, the biannual wrecker of body clocks just needs to stop.

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 14 this year in North Carolina. Not all states in the U.S. change their clocks during the year, however. Hawaii and Arizona have long opted out of the practice while other states, such as Georgia, have proposed laws to end the practice altogether. (The Georgia physician who sponsored the bill said the twice-yearly time switch hurts Georgians' health — and makes them cranky.)

More than 2,500 readers replied to the survey, with 68.2 percent saying they thought the state should end Daylight Saving Time.

While not a scientific poll, the survey presents a broad idea of public sentiment regarding the semi-annual time change ritual. Respondents were asked what they loved or hated about it most, and how tinkering with it could impact their quality of life.

Not everyone hates the idea of springing clocks ahead one hour. Almost 32 percent of respondents said they thought the state should keep DST. Furthermore, a majority of all survey takers — 54.6 percent — said they enjoyed longer daylight hours in the spring and summer. More than 23 percent of readers said they also really liked earlier, brighter mornings.

While most enjoyed the extra hours of daylight in the spring and summer, more than 30 percent said they hated that it came with the cost of longer nighttime hours in the fall and winter. Nearly 23 percent of respondents said they didn't like that it was inconsistent with clocks in the rest of the world, and nearly 9 percent of survey takers said they hated the earlier, brighter starts to their days in the spring.

Most, however, said geographical consistency was key, with nearly 57 percent saying that North Carolina's time should remain the same with other Eastern Time Zone states.

If the state were ever to end Daylight Saving Time, however, readers were nearly split on when it should be done. Slightly more than 53 percent said any change should be made in the fall, with no more "falling" back an hour, while nearly 47 percent said it should stop in the spring.

Nearly two out of every three survey takers said ending Daylight Saving Time would affect their lives positively, with fewer than 18 percent saying it wouldn't.

Kara McIntyre, Patch Staff, contributed.

Click through the slide show to see all survey results: