Daylight Saving Time

Prepare for the shift to Daylight Saving Time

Article by BeSafer.ca

BeSafer is calling on all drivers to get some extra rest to prepare for the shift to Daylight Saving Time. On the start of Daylight Saving Time or summer time, we will be turning our clocks forward one hour to mark the beginning of the shift into longer daylight hours during spring and summer seasons. This means the sun will rise later but daylight will extend into our evenings, which means early commutes will face darker mornings and more daylight during the late afternoon and early evening. Clock shifts are usually scheduled near a weekend midnight to lessen disruption to weekday schedules.

Losing just an hour of sleep may have an impact on your body clock, your alertness and reaction time when driving. That's why we are reminding drivers to make an extra effort to adjust their body clock and an easy adapt to the time change. It is also important for drivers to be aware of the changes in visibility and variable weather conditions as winter technically turns to spring.

Daylight Saving Time clock shifts disrupt much more than our sleep patterns.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) sometimes complicate timekeeping, it can disrupt travel, record keeping, medical devices, programmable thermostats, heavy equipment, and billing. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates and timings may be very confusing sometimes.

Here are our tips to help you mitigate effects to the time change:

1. Plan to adjust your slipping pattern in chunks if you are having problem with one hour adjustment. Start by going to bed 20 minutes earlier on Friday, and getting up 20 minutes earlier on Saturday. Repeat on Saturday and Sunday and you will be ready for the Monday commute.

2. Avoid using your cell phone to wake up and use some other wake up device or regular clock. Most people who use cell phones as wake up devices are having trouble sleeping and their sleep pattern can be ruined by late calls and notifications from their apps.

3. Be aware of how your reactions and how your body adapts to the time change and how that may affect your ability to concentrate, drive, operate machinery and avoid hazards.

4. Expect darker morning commutes and driving home in brighter conditions. Make sure you have properly working and clean headlights for darker mornings and a pair of sunglasses for brighter conditions in your vehicle.

5. Remember to share the road. Be prepared and watch for more pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists on the road as the weather improves.

6. It's always important to avoid distractions while driving, so leave your mobile phone and other electronic devices alone.

Did You Know?

Coordination strategies differ when adjacent time zones shift clocks. The European Union shifts all zones at the same instant, at 01:00 Greenwich Mean Time or 02:00 CET or 03:00 EET. The result of this procedure is that Eastern European Time is always one hour ahead of Central European Time, at the cost of the shift happening at different local times.

In contrast most of North America shifts at 02:00 local time, so its zones do not shift at the same instant; for example, Mountain Time is temporarily (for one hour) zero hours ahead of Pacific Time, instead of one hour ahead, in the autumn and two hours, instead of one, ahead of Pacific Time in the spring.

DST Followers

One-fifth of the world (in more than 70 countries) follow the Daylight Saving Time (DST), with some exceptions. In some cases only part of a country shifts; for example, in the United States Arizona and Hawaii don't follow DST.

In Canada, Saskatchewan, parts of British Columbia, and some parts of Ontario's and Quebec's north shore don't follow the time change.

DST is generally not observed near the equator, where sunrise times do not vary enough to justify it. Some countries observe it only in some regions; for example, southern Brazil observes it while equatorial Brazil does not. Asia and Africa generally do not observe DST, so countries like China, India, Japan and several other nations don't abide by DST.