Why Research Finds Permanent Daylight Saving Time Dangerous for Kids’ School Trips
Morning risks in the proposal
A study published in Current Biology examined how permanent daylight saving time could affect children traveling to school. The researchers compared school start times in 14 states with local sunrise times under a hypothetical year-round shift.
They estimated about 356 million additional school trips before sunrise across those states. Extending the calculation nationwide, they projected more than two billion predawn trips.
Darkness and collision concerns
The team reviewed traffic data and found that pedestrian collisions are more likely in dark morning conditions. Fatal incidents involving people ages 5 to 18 are also more likely during dark hours, the study authors reported.
The researchers said the risks would extend across northern and southern states. Georgia was projected to have the nation’s most dark morning commutes.
Unequal effects on families
The researchers said the burden may fall more heavily on children who walk, wait for buses, or arrive early for school breakfast programs. Those programs disproportionately serve lower-income families, said study co-author Guadalupe Rodríguez Ferrante, a University of Washington biologist.
The study argues that debate over daylight saving time often focuses on evening light while overlooking morning travel. Most U.S. children return from school before sundown, but a permanent shift could make predawn commutes routine.
Standard time as an alternative
The researchers favor permanent standard time if the United States changes its clock policy. They estimate it would cut the current number of dark school mornings in half and say it better fits children’s and adolescents’ biological and social clocks.
Study co-author Horacio de la Iglesia said clock policies do not create more daylight; they change when it is available. He also pointed to a year-round daylight saving experiment that began in January 1974 and ended in less than a year, amid concerns about children going to school.
Key points
- Researchers estimate permanent daylight saving time could mean more than two billion predawn school trips nationwide.
- The study links dark mornings with higher chances of pedestrian collisions and fatal incidents involving people ages 5 to 18.
- Children from lower-income families may face greater effects because of walking, bus waits, and early breakfast programs.
- The researchers say permanent standard time would halve the current number of dark school mornings.