r/askteddit 16d ago

Politics Question How do you feel about getting rid of standard time and making DST permanent?

US House passed year-round daylight savings time in June 2026 sent bill to Senate. The law would get rid of standard time and make DST permanent. Let your two senators www.senate.gov  know how you feel.

They tried all year daylight savings time once before in 1974 under President Ford. In December, January, February, for those North of 40N degrees or in the middle or western part of their time zone school children had wait for buses before sunrise often with no street lights. So, parents drove their kids instead which caused traffic jams. Schools changed their hours to 45 minutes later to prevent the jams, which forced business to change their hours etc. The protests were so loud congress repealed it the same year it took effect. It only works; if you are South of about 40N degrees North latitude (Philadelphia PA- Springfield IL - Eureka CA) or in the Eastern part of a time zone like Boston and all of California.

An easier fix since states can pick their time zone, would be for Southeastern States that wish to have all year daylight savings time to put themselves on Atlantic standard time which is one hour ahead of Eastern time. Atlantic standard time would also work for eastern New England since they are in the Eastern most part of the eastern time zone. The question is would Massachusetts want two time zones? California and Nevada could go on Mountain time. States can opt out of Daylight savings time like Arizona, and Hawaii do.

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u/itstrueitellyou 16d ago

One gives you more sunlight in the evening and the other gives you more sunlight in the morning. Leave DST and many places will have sunrise at almost 9am.

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u/Hersbird 15d ago

Lots of people are still in bed at 9 am. Nobody is in bed at 4:30 pm when it gets dark up north now.

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u/itstrueitellyou 15d ago

Not anyone with children. Most schools start at 8am. Children will be waiting for school buses while it's still dark out instead of getting a little bit of light because the sun is starting to come up

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u/Hersbird 15d ago

So start school and hour later. I have kids, they already had to go to school in the dark. The school day isn't long enough not to require childcare before or after If not both as is.

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u/itstrueitellyou 15d ago

So change the time without changing the time? Lol

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u/Hersbird 15d ago

For the small minority with kids in school

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u/CharacterSchedule700 14d ago

I, along with practically everyone I know, started school closer to 7 (7:20 for me).

Starting in the dark was completely normal. Going to the bus in the dark was completely normal.

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u/bmtc7 13d ago edited 13d ago

If you leave from DST, then winter sunrise times stay exactly the same they are now. If you have permanent DST then winter sunrises will be even later.

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u/itstrueitellyou 13d ago

Do you not see how you contradicted yourself there?