“No place for daylight saving time in today’s world”

Researchers are calling for the annual transition to daylight saving time (DST) to be scrapped, after a study found it may cause people to take dangerous risks when driving.

The study, carried out by the University of Surrey in partnership with an Italian university, investigated whether sleep deprivation caused by the spring transition to DST had an impact on driving performance. 

The answer was yes – with participants taking more risks and not judging situations properly, “making accidents more likely”.

The researchers are now calling on the Government to “reconsider our daylight-saving time policy as our safety is at risk”. 

Sara Montagnese, professor of chronobiology at the University of Surrey, said: “Findings from our study will show there is no place for daylight saving time in today’s world, as the negatives strongly outweigh the positives.”

As part of the study, the driving performance of 23 males (the experimental group) was assessed before and after the introduction of springtime DST. 

Meanwhile, a control group of 22 males also undertook two assessments, both prior to DST.

In each experiment, participants were asked to drive an 11.5km route on a driving simulator, which included both rural and urban roads, and were faced with different driving scenarios.  

To test if drivers would take unnecessary risks, participants found themselves behind a vehicle on a long straight road with a continuous centreline to see if any of them would try to overtake. 

Following the first assessment, which took place before DST, it was found that the behaviour of drivers in both groups was similar, with only 9% opting to overtake.  

During assessment two, which took place after DST was introduced, 39% of people in the experimental group overtook the leading vehicle. 

In contrast, those in the control group ‘maintained safer behaviours’. 

Researchers say this indicates that those in the experimental group were more likely to engage in risky behaviour as they were more prone to commit overtaking violations in the post-DST trial than in their first assessment. 

When encountering a cyclist, most experimental and control participants overtook in both simulations; however, noticeable differences were identified in the second assessment. 

Those in the control group increased the distance between themselves and the cyclist when passing. In contrast, the experimental group shortened the distance, compromising the cyclist’s safety.  

The behaviours of those in the experimental group when exiting a motorway also ‘raised safety concerns’. 

For example, researchers noted those in this group tended to be more abrupt when changing direction and when decelerating to exit, increasing the likelihood of causing an accident.

Sara Montagnese added: “The presence of a control group, whose behaviours remained similar across both assessments, showed that daylight saving time affected those in the experimental group and impacted them for several days after the time change. 

“Such an impact cannot be ignored, and it is important to reconsider our daylight-saving time policy as our safety is at risk.”

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