Post by jinxx47 on Oct 30, 2007 8:11:13 GMT -5
Fall back
Daylight saving time ends Sunday, no matter what the alarm clock thinks
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Some alarm clocks across the country jumped the gun this weekend(oct 28th), automatically setting back to standard time a week ahead of schedule. Computer operating systems that hadn't been updated did the same.
The problem: Their internal calendars weren't adjusted for the new rules that went into effect this year regarding the end of daylight saving time.
Beginning this year, daylight saving time ends the first Sunday of November -- one week later than usual. That means clocks need to be set back an hour on Sunday at 2 a.m. Daylight saving time also started earlier this year; we changed the clocks the second Sunday in March.
The new rules were enacted by Congress in 2005, but weren't put into effect immediately so potential software problems could be worked out, said David Prerau, author of "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time." Prerau also was a consultant to Congress on the law extending daylight saving time.
After the law passed, manufacturers began programming the new dates into electronics.
But for those who own electronics with internal clocks that predate 2005 -- and have no way to change the daylight saving time settings -- the changing of the clocks could be a biannual annoyance, Prerau said. Those people might have to disable the feature altogether.
"It is annoying for people who have equipment that can't be changed," he said. "I'm hoping that anything new has new dates but (also) a relatively easy way to change the dates," just in case the daylight saving time rules change again in the future, he said.
On The bright side...................
Daylight saving time has historically been used as a way to reduce energy usage, Prerau said. That benefit, however, has been debated, Downing pointed out.
But one big advantage of changing the date in the fall is that now daylight saving time includes Halloween, giving children one more hour of daylight as they trick-or-treat.
"That night has a very high rate of children's traffic accidents. The hope was that it would reduce that number to some extent," Prerau said.
The rate of child pedestrian accidents and deaths about quadruple on Oct. 31, he said. An extra hour of daylight means an extra hour that kids will be more visible to drivers.
Of course, the candy manufacturers are likely happy about the change too, Downing said.
"They've been pushing for it for 30 years," he said, adding that candy manufacturers think they'd be able to profit enormously if kids stay out an extra hour trick-or-treating.
It's a possibility: When a month of daylight saving time was added in the 1980s, both the barbeque industry and the golf industry saw increases in sales due to the extra hours of light people had after work, Downing said.
Daylight saving time ends Sunday, no matter what the alarm clock thinks
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Some alarm clocks across the country jumped the gun this weekend(oct 28th), automatically setting back to standard time a week ahead of schedule. Computer operating systems that hadn't been updated did the same.
The problem: Their internal calendars weren't adjusted for the new rules that went into effect this year regarding the end of daylight saving time.
Beginning this year, daylight saving time ends the first Sunday of November -- one week later than usual. That means clocks need to be set back an hour on Sunday at 2 a.m. Daylight saving time also started earlier this year; we changed the clocks the second Sunday in March.
The new rules were enacted by Congress in 2005, but weren't put into effect immediately so potential software problems could be worked out, said David Prerau, author of "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time." Prerau also was a consultant to Congress on the law extending daylight saving time.
After the law passed, manufacturers began programming the new dates into electronics.
But for those who own electronics with internal clocks that predate 2005 -- and have no way to change the daylight saving time settings -- the changing of the clocks could be a biannual annoyance, Prerau said. Those people might have to disable the feature altogether.
"It is annoying for people who have equipment that can't be changed," he said. "I'm hoping that anything new has new dates but (also) a relatively easy way to change the dates," just in case the daylight saving time rules change again in the future, he said.
On The bright side...................
Daylight saving time has historically been used as a way to reduce energy usage, Prerau said. That benefit, however, has been debated, Downing pointed out.
But one big advantage of changing the date in the fall is that now daylight saving time includes Halloween, giving children one more hour of daylight as they trick-or-treat.
"That night has a very high rate of children's traffic accidents. The hope was that it would reduce that number to some extent," Prerau said.
The rate of child pedestrian accidents and deaths about quadruple on Oct. 31, he said. An extra hour of daylight means an extra hour that kids will be more visible to drivers.
Of course, the candy manufacturers are likely happy about the change too, Downing said.
"They've been pushing for it for 30 years," he said, adding that candy manufacturers think they'd be able to profit enormously if kids stay out an extra hour trick-or-treating.
It's a possibility: When a month of daylight saving time was added in the 1980s, both the barbeque industry and the golf industry saw increases in sales due to the extra hours of light people had after work, Downing said.