Shawn A. Akers 

Why do we need to keep changing our clocks twice a year?

This weekend we, as Americans, are once again directed to spring forward and set our clocks ahead one hour to observe daylight saving time (DST). So, don’t forget on Saturday night before you go to bed, thus reminding yourself you will lose an hour of sleep before getting up on Sunday for church or whatever activity you have planned.

According to Wikipedia, this is the practice of “advancing clocks to make better use of the longer daylight available during the summer so that darkness falls at a later clock time. Who wouldn’t want an extra hour of daylight, right?

This practice, and setting our clocks back an hour in the fall, is something that has always fascinated and somewhat perplexed me. Wikipedia says that around 34 percent of the world’s counties use DST. Some countries, including Canada, observe this ritual in only some regions. For instance, all of Yukon, most of Saskatchewan and parts of Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec do not observe DST.

It is observed by every state in the United States with exception of Hawaii and Arizona, including the Navajo Nation.

Consider this twist: When I lived in southern Indiana in the early 1990s, I lived in a part of the state that did not observe daylight saving time. Half of the year, the town of Washington, Indiana became part of the Eastern time zone—meaning that prime time television would begin at 8 p.m. and run until 11 p.m.—while the other six months of the year, the city observed the Central time zone, meaning that prime time television began at 7 p.m. and ran until 10 p.m., much like it does here in The Crossroads.

You want to talk about confusion—I didn’t understand why they did it then and I still don’t understand now why they did such a thing. It seemed like a novelty at the time, but it seemed all so unnecessary.

I understand things have since changed in Indiana since then. In April 2006, all counties in Indiana were mandated to observe daylight saving time. At least some sanity was restored there.

Now, I’ve been told, the debate about daylight saving time has resurfaced among Texas lawmakers. After it failed in the 2023 legislative session, Sen. Judith Zaffirini from Laredo has now proposed a bill that would allow the state to remain in standard time all year, as reported by the Texas Tribune. This differs from previous attempts to change the law, which have generally suggested states remain in daylight saving time—”an act that is barred by federal law.”

“The twice-a-year clock change is disruptive and unnecessary,” Zaffirini told The Texas Tribune. And while she went into detail about studies linking these shifts to increased traffic accidents, negative health effects and decreased productivity, I must say I have to agree with this Democratic lawmaker.

In 2022, then-U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, now the U.S. Secretary of State, proposed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that was passed by the state Senate but stalled in the House. As a former resident of Orlando, I would have been affected by that. Rubio stated, “It’s time to lock the clock and stop enduring the ridiculous and antiquated practice of switching our clocks back and forth.”

I must say I agree. It only makes sense. Along with Zaffirini, Rep. Will Metcalf has proposed a bill that would do away with the time change. “By passing HB 1393, we’ll demonstrate leadership and send a strong message [to Washington, D.C.] that Texans are ready to move forward.”

Has the practice of changing your clocks twice a year outgrown its welcome? Let me know what you think.