Daylight Savings Time definitely helped to benefit war efforts, but after WWI and WWII had ended, conserving energy was not the only reason Daylight Savings Time continued for many years. One other reason is that kids of all ages were waiting at bus stops and walking to school in the dark during the winter time, which put these children in danger of being hit by automobiles and being involved in greater incidences of traffic accidents.
In addition, adults were also forced to travel to work (many of them walking to trains or buses) in the darkness of winter mornings. Subsequent to these ongoing incidents, the winter became a period classified by a breakdown in safety measures for children and adults alike, who were en-route to their schools or jobs under cover of darkness. In response to these events, the U.S. government decided to institute the changeover to Daylight Savings Time each year, so that the safety of both children and adults could be
prioritized.
Interesting to note is that this attempt to institute permanent Daylight Savings Time is not a first of its kind. Back in the winter of 1974, the attempt to make Daylight Savings Time a year-round event was put into action. To no one’s surprise, it ended up being reversed after a mere 10 months as crime, traffic and vehicular accidents skyrocketed, and the public’s sense of general well-being plummeted. In much of the United States, sunrise was at 8:30am or later, leaving morning commutes requiring flashlights, heightened awareness to nighttime animals and human predators, as well as colder temperatures. This certainly proved that despite the fact that
the conservation of war energy resources was no longer needed after war had ended, Daylight Savings Time still had other important purposes.
So here we are, in a world so recently rattled by great change, confronted with yet another decision being made by Washington politicians that may end up significantly impacting even more things we took for granted as basic creature comforts. How many of us have ever truly paid attention to the fact that we begin our days in ‘light’ rather than in the same darkness that we left upon lying down to sleep? Should these changes become law, we shall soon see just how many of us not only notice the difference, but find it safe and acceptable at that.