Rave: Daylight Savings Time

Next weekend, it will be time to “Spring ahead” or move the clocks forward 1 hour.  Opinion is divided on daylight savings time.  Some people wish to do away with it altogether while others prefer to remain on daylight savings time all year round.  To me, adjusting to the time change is no big deal.  Within a day or two, I’m fully acclimated.  I’m fine with it just the way it is but perhaps there could be a few tweaks.  Here are 2 fun facts.  Panama City, Florida is in the same time zone as Amarillo, Texas (Central).  Grand Rapids, Michigan is in the same time zone as Bangor, Maine (Eastern).

The eastern edge of a time zone receives more light in the morning while the western edge will remain in daylight later in the evening.   Here are some stats for Birmingham:

Earliest sunset in Winter- 4:38 PM on December 3

Latest sunrise in Winter-6:52 AM* on January 8

*Sunrise is just after 7:00 just before the Fall Back and just after Spring ahead.

You can add about 20 minutes on each side for Civil Twilight in which outdoor activities do not require lights.

The shortest day is indeed on December 21 and you don’t notice that it remains daylight longer until the end of December.  I personally don’t like it when it’s almost pitch black at the time I leave the office in evening but that’s only in December.  Come New Year’s, it’s daylight when I leave.  When it comes to running on roads with traffic, it’s safe enough in the evenings after work to run the Trak Shak 5 mile loop starting from mid-February up through the end of October or just before the Fall Back.

When it comes to the mornings, there are some runners who get up on a regular basis for some miles starting at 4 AM.  No Thanks.  I can do 6 AM or maybe 5:30 if need be but no earlier than that.  With a 6 AM start time, you will begin at or near Civil Twilight from early April through mid-September with 2 other small windows in late February and most of November before and after the time changes.  My morning commute is always done in the daylight.

Earliest sunrise- 5:36 AM on June 14

Latest sunset- 8:01 PM on July 1

Now let’s take a look at some what ifs:

If we ditched Daylight Savings Time altogether and remained in Central Time:

Even in mid-summer, the sun would go down around 7:00 PM, leaving us with only about 90 minutes daylight after getting home from work. By about mid-September, it will be almost completely dark by 6:15 PM so that’s 6 weeks worth of daylight evening runs in the Fall that would be lost.   On the plus side, it would be daylight at 6 AM all year long.  Still, I say No Thanks to that.  Given the choice, I would prefer more light in the evening than the morning.  Imagine starting at 6 AM in the summer when the sun has been up for almost an hour and a half.  That would suck!  You would almost have to start at 5:00 if you want to get in a quality long run.  

If we remained in Central Daylight Savings Time all year round

On the plus side, with the exception of a few weeks in late November and early December, it would be daylight or at least Civil Twilight long enough to do at least a 3 mile run on a road with traffic after work all year round.  The negative would be that almost every 6 AM run would have to start in the darkness.  In the winter, I would begin my morning commute in the dark and the sun would not come up until I approach the parking lot.  Again, I say No Thanks.

One change that I would propose would be smaller time zones with 30 minute increments instead of 60 minutes each.  Make East Central run from Augusta, Georgia through New Orleans or Jackson, MS.  West Central would go from Baton Rouge to San Antonio.  Then the Texas Panhandle would be in Eastern Mountain.  If I lived in Atlanta on the Western Edge of Eastern Time,  every 6 AM run would start in darkness with Winter being completely dark.  Also, during the heat of summer, a 5:30 PM start (4:30 Central) is pretty brutal.  I’d almost have to go home and wait if I need a quality session in the evening.  Simply going back 30 minutes would make both the mornings and evenings a lot more pleasant and comfortable.  As it is however, I do think that at least for Alabama, the current set up is for the best as it minimizes the morning darkness while maintaining evening daylight.  If we had to stay on one time all year round, I'd prefer either year round Daylight Savings or a move to Eastern Standard.  Remaining in Central Standard is the least attractive option.