POLL: Should clocks spring forward an extra hour in March?
Calls have been made to move Britain to single and double summer time, moving clocks forward an extra hour in the warmer months. But what do you think?
The changing of the clocks bringing lighter evenings has been welcomed by most – but spells danger for many motorists and pedestrians, it is claimed.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), whose UK base is in Birmingham, is campaigning to increase the number of evening daylight hours even further in a bid to save lives.
RoSPA wants to see Britain move to Single/Double Summer Time (SDST) which would mean the country would now be an extra hour ahead (GMT+2), although the real benefits would be felt when the clocks go back in the autumn.
Charity bosses say the number of people killed on the country's roads spikes immediately after the autumn clock change due to the suddenly darker evenings. This particularly affects children walking home from school and cyclists, categorised as vulnerable road users.
Errol Taylor, RoSPA's acting chief executive, said: "We can reduce the number of people being needlessly killed on our roads each winter with this simple change.
"By moving to SDST, through the darker months the country would be on GMT+1, meaning extra daylight in the
evenings.
"Not only would this simple and cheap move save lives, but it would also mean an average gain of 55 minutes 'accessible' evening daylight for every day of the year – giving us more time for outdoor activities, more vitamin D, a boost to tourism, a reduction in opportunistic crime carried out under darkness, and a reduction in carbon emissions thanks to the energy we would save."
RoSPA is calling on the Government to carry out a two-year trial change to SDST to assess the benefits of advancing the clocks by one hour.
