EU to end daylight savings time

[Gnoman]

As a teen who used to hang out in RP chatrooms on Yahoo in the 90s (when we'd all post things like "I will be back 6 hours from now" when we left to explain when we'd be online again since timezone were a pain), I developed the opinion that everyone world-wide should just be on GMT (and use 24 rather than 12 hour time), and post the hours they actually plan to be awake, at work, and/or doing stuff in appropriate places as needed. Twenty years later, this still has some appeal.

I mean, why does it matter that the work day starts at 8 am rather than 2 pm or 3 am? We'd just adjust to the idea of whichever hours actually made sense for local business hours in each place and it would be much less confusing to people in other places in the world when they saw a time posted.

Times are not just a means of scheduling. They are also a means of communication. When somebody says "It's 4 AM and I still can't sleep", you know exactly what they mean - it is near the end of the night, and the person should have been in bed long ago. If you hear somebody talking about an event at 1400, you know that this means early afternoon, in the middle of the day. Your suggestion would destroy that, and not only make communication more difficult between time zones but also render any time reference in media meaningless. Meanwhile, the only thing you have to do with the current system is make a quick lookup, or simply say "it is 2 AM for me, so I need to be getting to bed."

[factotum]

I mean, why does it matter that the work day starts at 8 am rather than 2 pm or 3 am? We'd just adjust to the idea of whichever hours actually made sense for local business hours in each place and it would be much less confusing to people in other places in the world when they saw a time posted.

No, it would still be confusing--for instance, when someone reports how nice it is to sunbathe at 1am! So, are they north of the Arctic Circle during the summer and thus getting midnight sun, or are they in Australia?

[veti]

I don't mind going home in the dark, but I object blearily to getting up in it. So I'll take winter time, thanks.

As a parent, I'd also present for consideration that it's much easier to get kids to go to bed when it's dark outside. Having the sun set at 9 p.m. or later is not a good thing.

[RossN]

This change means that Dublin will now be a different time zone than London (and Belfast) for half the year. I hate losing an hour of sleep as much as anyone but that is going to be really inconvenient.

[Razade]

This change means that Dublin will now be a different time zone than London (and Belfast) for half the year. I hate losing an hour of sleep as much as anyone but that is going to be really inconvenient.

People going to California, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado or Nevada (Or Mexico) from Arizona don't seem to have a problem with it. I suppose the distances makes it a little different, you can't be in Las Vegas in an hour and some change from Phoenix. Still, people make do here and they'll make do over there. People do go from the Navajo Nation to various places in Arizona though (Flagstaff, Page) frequently enough so they've managed just fine.

[Yuki Akuma]

This change means that Dublin will now be a different time zone than London (and Belfast) for half the year. I hate losing an hour of sleep as much as anyone but that is going to be really inconvenient.

The UK will probably just follow along. It's easier in the long run.

[kosh49]

If those are my choices, I'll take winter time. In our part of the world, that means fewer kids wandering around in the dark waiting for school buses and being run over.


Respectfully,

Brian P.

When I was a kid in the 70's the area I lived stayed on DST year round. That lasted 1 year because too many kids got run over while waiting for the buses in the dark.

[factotum]

When I was a kid in the 70's the area I lived stayed on DST year round. That lasted 1 year because too many kids got run over while waiting for the buses in the dark.

I'd be interested to see the actual stats of that, though, or whether it was the typical media-led "2 extra kids died in this 6 month period, we must stop this madness now!" rather than something statistically significant. (Plus, how many extra people get run over in the week of the time change, when drivers have maybe missed an hour's sleep or are rushing because they overslept and are late to work?).

[Rogar Demonblud]

Statistically, accidents triple (actually, a bit over 3x) the week after a time change---in either direction. You're also more likely to die during surgery or be the victim of a workplace incident those days.

[danzibr]

I dunno. I like that extra hour every fall.

[LordEntrails]

I dunno. I like that extra hour every fall.

Yea, it's extra. Cuz changing your clock changes how the sun revolves around the earth...

[danzibr]

Yea, it's extra. Cuz changing your clock changes how the sun revolves around the earth...

I feel like I’m missing something here.

[factotum]

I feel like I’m missing something here.

I think he's sarcastically pointing out that the "extra" hour is nothing of the kind--you have to pay for it by losing an hour at the other clock change in the year.

[Lvl 2 Expert]

I think he's sarcastically pointing out that the "extra" hour is nothing of the kind--you have to pay for it by losing an hour at the other clock change in the year.

But you get to keep it and rake in interest for half a year.

[Rogar Demonblud]

But they pay you less in interest than you pay on the other hour.

[poppy]

EU Banned Memes

[Wardog]

The whole design of "daylight saving time" seems backwards to me.

Where I live (UK), we're currently on summer time (GMT+1). At the moment, as far as I can tell, it gets light about an hour before most people get up, and gets dark about an hour or two before most people leave work. That's sensible for most people. At the end of the month, we'll switch to winter time (GMT), which means it will then start getting light far earlier than most people get up, and get dark at or before most people finish work. Which is really not useful for most people.

Then, in the spring, when days are getting longer and there is starting to get plenty of light in the mornings and evening, we switch back to summer time, which means it stays light long after most people got to bed.

It seems to me that it would mke much more sense (and better meat the description of "daylight saving") if we used summer time in the winter, and winter time in the summer.

[hamishspence]

Where I live (UK), we're currently on summer time (GMT+1). At the moment, as far as I can tell, it gets light about an hour before most people get up, and gets dark about an hour or two before most people leave work. That's sensible for most people. At the end of the month, we'll switch to winter time (GMT), which means it will then start getting light far earlier than most people get up, and get dark at or before most people finish work. Which is really not useful for most people.

By the middle of winter, it will only just be "light enough to go to school by" - which I think was part of the reason behind putting the clocks back in late autumn/early winter - to guarantee that, even in the middle of winter, children will not be setting off when it's completely dark.

[Maelstrom]

Then, in the spring, when days are getting longer and there is starting to get plenty of light in the mornings and evening, we switch back to summer time, which means it stays light long after most people got to bed.

It seems to me that it would mke much more sense (and better meat the description of "daylight saving") if we used summer time in the winter, and winter time in the summer.

In "Summer time" the sun is up before most people are up as well, so switching time to "winter time" makes no sense either. Just leave the entire year in "summer time"... and deal with the light/dark cycles just like we deal with the warm/cold cycles (by accepting them for what they are...)

[AMFV]

As somebody who actually has to work outdoors and has their hours affected by the sun... DST is AWESOME! At least for me. It means that in the summer. I don't have to be up at like 4, which is arbitrary but it's kind of nice to only have to get up before 3 AM when there's a deck pour or something major going on.

[veti]

People talk an awful lot about "most people". I'd really like to see links to the surveys supporting such claims.

I'll only speak for myself here: if it's not light by 6:30 a.m., I am going to be a sad bunny. And if it's still light at 8:30 p.m., my kids are unlikely to get enough sleep. So please, let's not do this daylight saving nonsense.

[hamishspence]

I'll only speak for myself here: if it's not light by 6:30 a.m, I am going to be a sad bunny.

That's a good reason to stick to Greenwich Mean Time in winter in the UK...

And if it's still light at 8:30 p.m., my kids are unlikely to get enough sleep.

True - but if it is light at 5.00 am (which can happen in summer in the UK, especially up north, if you're on Greenwich Mean Time), kids will be waking up early, which can be a problem.

[Brother Oni]

True - but if it is light at 5.00 am (which can happen in summer in the UK, especially up north, if you're on Greenwich Mean Time), kids will be waking up early, which can be a problem.

I usually find getting thicker curtains usually helps with keep children asleep as they tend not to have alarm clocks, so daylight affects their body clocks a lot more.

Alternately, sedatives.

[factotum]

I usually find getting thicker curtains usually helps with keep children asleep

Yeah, the curtains in my bedroom mean it stays pretty dark in there even when the sun is shining full on them, as it does in the mornings in summer time.

[snowblizz]

Yeah, the curtains in my bedroom mean it stays pretty dark in there even when the sun is shining full on them, as it does in the mornings in summer time.

Blackout curtains. And despite the name won't even look or seem much different from normal ones.


It stays absolutely dark even full at noon. The only light escaping is the gap(s) between curtain and wall.

[factotum]

I don't think you need to go that far...the curtains I have are dark enough that, with my eyes shut, I can't tell the difference between that and having my hand over them, which is plenty dark enough for me!

[veti]

True - but if it is light at 5.00 am (which can happen in summer in the UK, especially up north, if you're on Greenwich Mean Time), kids will be waking up early, which can be a problem.

It's a hazard, yes, but less of one. The reason being that starting off asleep, they won't necessarily notice that it's light outside - decent curtains can conceal a lot, and the bedroom faces west. Whereas when they're awake in the evening, there's no concealing it from them.

[Yora]

I'll only speak for myself here: if it's not light by 6:30 a.m., I am going to be a sad bunny. And if it's still light at 8:30 p.m., my kids are unlikely to get enough sleep.

"That's cute." - Northern Europe

Northern Germany is not that far north. But all my life, dawn came in winter by 8:00 and dusk in summer by 23:00.

Actually, moving dusk in summer to 22:00 sounds very neat. I don't care if dawn comes at 3:00 instead of 4:00. And children don't wake up at 4 or 5. Sleeping during daylight is normal.

[snowblizz]

"That's cute." - Northern Europe

Quite. I've seen the sun set at 1am and rise at 3am. I was up for it once.

In winter sun rises at 9ish and sets around 15ish here. I've gone entire days in an office without seeing the sun.

Northern Germany is not that far north. But all my life, dawn came in winter by 8:00 and dusk in summer by 23:00.

Actually, moving dusk in summer to 22:00 sounds very neat. I don't care if dawn comes at 3:00 instead of 4:00.

The further north you are (and guess south) of the equator the more pronoucned the difference becomes.

And children don't wake up at 4 or 5. Sleeping during daylight is normal.

I believe I'm quoting a friend here who would respond with something like "That's cute, where can I exchange my kids for that version".

[Rogar Demonblud]

Yeah, mine didn't sleep during daylight. Not really at night either. As for why, well, that's a long diatribe about stealth sugars.