With the clocks going forward this weekend, RoSPA and Brake are urging people to back the daylight saving campaign so that evenings stay lighter for longer all year round.
RoSPA cites research showing that brighter nights would save 80 lives and prevent more than 200 serious injuries on roads each year.
The initiative has gathered momentum through 10:10’s Lighter Later campaign. RoSPA says that the campaign is closer to succeeding now than at any time since 1970, thanks to Rebecca Harris MP’s Private Members’ Bill – which passed its second reading in Parliament in December 2010.
RoSPA is calling on the public to help the Bill clear the next hurdle by convincing Westminster of its popularity.
If the Bill is successful, the Government will carry out analysis of the benefits of Single/Double Summer Time (GMT+1 in winter / GMT+2 in summer) – which in turn could trigger a three-year trial.
Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s chief executive, said: “Rebecca Harris’s Bill is calling for a review of the evidence – so people can see for themselves how positive an impact such a small adjustment will have on their lives.
“It is a change that will benefit all of the UK – but especially Scotland. We estimate that about 5,000 deaths and 30,000 serious injuries have been caused needlessly in the UK since the experiment was concluded in 1971.”
Brake, the road safety charity, has also voiced its support of the Lighter Later campaign. Julie Townsend, Brake’s campaigns director, said: “Brake has been campaigning for the clocks to be changed for good for many years. It is such a simple and effective way to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads, and carries so many other benefits, like increased daylight leisure time, and reduced carbon emissions.”
To support RoSPA’s campaign click the ‘Support Our Campaign’ button through this link: http://www.rospa.com/about/currentcampaigns/lighter-evenings/
Click here for more information about the Lighter Later campaign.
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