Stop Changing The Clocks! Michigan Lawmakers Want To End Daylight Saving Time

DETROIT (WWJ) – It is that time of year again when we "spring forward" and set our clocks one hour ahead.

Daylight Saving Time officially begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, although many people opt to change their clocks before going to sleep Saturday night.

So, why do we even change our clocks? Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. The passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005 extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks — from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. Daylight Saving Time will end Nov. 1, when we'll set our clocks back one hour.

If a pair of Michigan lawmakers had their way, we would set the clock back -- and leave it there. Ann Arbor Democrat Jeff Irwin, along with Macomb County Republican Peter Lucido, is sponsoring legislation that would keep Michigan on Eastern Standard Time permanently.

Irwin says the original reason for Daylight Saving Time -- saving energy in lighting -- doesn't fly anymore.

"There's new research that shows that the clock setting dance that we volunteer for twice a year actually causes problems. It causes health problems but perhaps even more importantly, it causes workplace accidents, it causes an uptick in car accidents,"  he said. "So, it's not just cranky kids and folks that have a hard time personally adjusting to the time change."

In a statement, Lucido agreed that a time change day is "the worst day of the year."

"Let's dispense with this failed Daylight Saving Time experiment," he said.

The House Committee on Government Operations is currently reviewing both lawmakers' bills.