Why Every Country That Tried Permanent Daylight Saving Time Abandoned It
A Global History of Policy Disasters
History has a stark warning for America: every country that has attempted permanent daylight saving time has ultimately abandoned it due to serious safety concerns, public dissatisfaction, and unintended consequences. As Congress considers the Sunshine Protection Act, the global track record of permanent DST failures provides a sobering reminder that this policy experiment has been tried before – and has failed catastrophically every time.
America’s Own Dark Chapter: The 1974 Disaster
The United States already conducted this experiment once, and the results were so disastrous that Congress reversed course within a single year. In 1973, responding to the oil crisis, Congress authorized a two-year trial of year-round permanent daylight saving time as an energy-saving measure. Public support initially stood at nearly 80%, with Americans optimistic about the potential benefits.
However, the first winter under permanent DST revealed the deadly consequences of this policy choice. The most tragic and visible impact was the sharp increase in child fatalities. Eight children were killed in Florida alone while walking to school or waiting at bus stops in the dark early morning hours. These weren’t isolated incidents – across the country, the darkness caused by delayed sunrise created a epidemic of traffic accidents involving children.
The safety crisis extended beyond children. Morning commuters faced dangerous driving conditions with sunrise delayed until after 8 AM across much of the country, and after 9 AM in northern regions. Construction workers, delivery drivers, and other early-morning workers faced significantly increased accident rates in the artificial darkness.
By the end of the first winter, public support had collapsed from 79% to just 42%. The experiment was so unpopular and dangerous that Congress acted swiftly to reverse it, restoring standard time for winter months beginning in November 1974. This rapid policy reversal demonstrates how quickly the theoretical benefits of permanent DST crumble when confronted with real-world consequences.
Russia’s Recent Expensive Mistake
More recently, Russia provided another cautionary tale about the dangers of permanent daylight saving time. In 2011, under President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia implemented permanent DST across its vast territory. The policy was promoted as a way to improve productivity and align better with European business hours.
The results were disastrous. Citizens complained of chronic fatigue, disrupted sleep patterns, and widespread health problems. The economic benefits never materialized, while the health and social costs mounted rapidly. Most critically, the policy proved particularly harmful to children and elderly populations, who struggled to adapt to the artificial time schedule.
After just three years of mounting problems, Russia abandoned permanent daylight saving time in 2014 under President Vladimir Putin. The reversal wasn’t to standard time, but rather to permanent standard time with adjusted time zones – effectively achieving the same circadian alignment that medical experts recommend for the United States.
The Russian experiment is particularly relevant because it occurred in the modern era with access to contemporary research on circadian biology and sleep medicine. Despite this knowledge, the policy still failed due to its fundamental misalignment with human biology.
The United Kingdom’s Failed Experiment (1968-1971)
The United Kingdom conducted one of the longest experiments with permanent daylight saving time, maintaining British Standard Time (effectively permanent DST) from 1968 to 1971. The policy was implemented as the “British Standard Time experiment” with the goal of reducing traffic accidents by providing more daylight during evening commute hours.
However, the three-year trial revealed significant problems:
- Increased morning accidents: The darker mornings led to more traffic accidents, particularly involving pedestrians and cyclists
- School safety concerns: Children faced dangerous conditions walking to school in darkness
- Regional disparities: Scotland, being further north, experienced particularly severe problems with delayed sunrise
- Agricultural disruption: Farmers and agricultural workers faced significant challenges operating in artificial darkness
- Public opposition: Growing dissatisfaction led to political pressure for reversal
The experiment was terminated in 1971, with the UK returning to the traditional system of changing clocks twice yearly. Notably, Scotland had opposed the experiment from the beginning due to its northern latitude making the sunrise delays particularly severe.
Portugal’s Brief and Unsuccessful Trial (1992-1996)
Portugal attempted permanent daylight saving time from 1992 to 1996, making it one of the most recent European experiments with this policy. The Portuguese experience demonstrated that even in southern European latitudes, permanent DST creates serious problems.
The Portuguese experiment faced immediate challenges:
- Disrupted work schedules conflicting with natural circadian rhythms
- Increased traffic accidents during dark morning commute hours
- Health complaints from the population
- Economic disruption as businesses struggled with the misaligned schedule
- Particular problems during winter months when sunrise was severely delayed
After four years, Portugal abandoned the experiment and returned to the standard seasonal time changes, recognizing that the costs far outweighed any theoretical benefits.
The Pattern of Failure: Why Permanent DST Always Fails
Across all these experiments, spanning different decades, cultures, and latitudes, the same pattern emerges:
- Initial optimism: Governments and citizens are initially excited about theoretical benefits
- Winter reality: The first winter reveals serious safety and health problems
- Mounting costs: Health, safety, and economic costs become undeniable
- Public backlash: Citizens demand reversal as problems become personal
- Policy reversal: Governments abandon the experiment to address public health and safety
The scientific explanation for this consistent pattern is straightforward: permanent daylight saving time fundamentally conflicts with human circadian biology. No amount of policy enthusiasm can overcome millions of years of evolutionary adaptation to natural light cycles.
The Global Scientific Consensus
Today, no country in the world maintains permanent daylight saving time. This isn’t coincidence – it’s the result of accumulated evidence and experience showing that this policy is fundamentally flawed. The global scientific community has reached consensus that permanent standard time, not permanent DST, is the optimal choice for human health and safety.
Major international health organizations, including:
- The World Health Organization sleep research networks
- European sleep medicine societies
- Asian circadian research organizations
- Pan-American sleep medicine associations
All oppose permanent daylight saving time based on the overwhelming evidence of its harmful effects.
Learning from History
The Sunshine Protection Act asks America to repeat the same failed experiment that has been attempted and abandoned by every country that tried it. The proponents of this legislation ignore the clear lessons of history, the unanimous opposition of medical experts, and the demonstrated pattern of failure across multiple countries and decades.
Congress has an opportunity to learn from history rather than repeat it. The evidence from America’s own 1974 disaster, combined with the failed experiments in Russia, the UK, and Portugal, provides a clear warning: permanent daylight saving time is a policy failure waiting to happen.
The question isn’t whether permanent DST will fail – history shows us it will. The question is how many American lives will be lost, how many children will be injured, and how much economic damage will occur before Congress acknowledges what every other country has already learned: permanent daylight saving time is a dangerous mistake that must be avoided.
Instead of repeating these historical failures, America should embrace permanent standard time – a policy that aligns with human biology, protects public safety, and learns from the clear lessons of global experience.
