When we change our clocks
Beginning in 2007, most of the United States begins Daylight Saving
Time at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and reverts to
standard time on the first Sunday in November. In the U.S., each time
zone switches at a different time.
In the European Union, Summer Time begins and ends at 1:00 a.m.
Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). It begins the last Sunday in
March and ends the last Sunday in October. In the EU, all time zones
change at the same moment.
> See more information about elsewhere in the world.
Spring forward, Fall back
During DST, clocks are turned forward an hour, effectively moving an
hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.
United States European Union
Year DST Begins
at 2 a.m. DST Ends
at 2 a.m. Summertime
period begins
at 1 a.m. UT Summertime
period ends
at 1 a.m. UT
2003 April 6 October 26 March 30 October 26
2004 April 4 October 31 March 28 October 31
2005 April 3 October 30 March 27 October 30
2006 April 2 October 29 March 26 October 29
2007 March 11 November 4 March 25 October 28
2008 March 9 November 2 March 30 October 26
2009 March 8 November 1 March 29 October 25
US calculator valid 1976-2099; EU 1996-2099. Change with up/down key.
Date change in 2007
On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy
Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight
Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the
second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The
Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress.
Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time
schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.
Spelling and grammar
The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS
Time.
Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies
time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is
characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving
daylight kind of time. Similar examples would be a mind expanding book
or a man eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball
game, rather than as a savings account.
Nevertheless, many people feel the word savings (with an 's') flows
more mellifluously off the tongue. Daylight Savings Time is also in
common usage, and can be found in dictionaries.
Adding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is
inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting
Time would be better, but it is not as politically desirable.
When in the morning?
In the U.S., clocks change at 2:00 a.m. local time. In spring, clocks
spring forward from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back
from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. In the EU, clocks change at 1:00 a.m.
Universal Time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 12:59 a.m. to
2:00 a.m.; in fall, clocks fall back from 1:59 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.
In the U.S., restaurants and bars have various closing policies. In
many states, liquor cannot be served after 2:00 a.m. But at 2:00 a.m.
in the fall, the time switches back one hour. So, can they serve
alcohol for that additional hour in October? The official answer is
that the bars do not stop serving liquor at 2:00 a.m., but actually at
1:59 a.m. So, they have already stopped serving when the time changes
from Daylight Saving Time into Standard Time. In practice, however,
many establishments stay open an extra hour in the fall.
In the U.S., 2:00 a.m. was originally chosen as the changeover time
because it was practical and minimized disruption. Most people were at
home and this was the time when the fewest trains were running. It is
late enough to minimally affect bars and restaurants, and it prevents
the day from switching to yesterday, which would be confusing. It is
early enough that the entire continental U.S. switches by daybreak,
and the changeover occurs before most early shift workers and early
churchgoers are affected.
Some U.S. areas
For the U.S. and its territories, Daylight Saving Time is NOT observed
in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and
Arizona. The Navajo Nation participates in the Daylight Saving Time
policy, even in Arizona, due to its large size and location in three
states.
A safety reminder
Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in
their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because Daylight
Saving Time provides a convenient reminder. "A working smoke detector
more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire," says
William McNabb of the Troy Fire Department in Michigan. More than 90
percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but
one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries.
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