As we move our clocks an hour ahead on Sunday, many people will welcome the extended daylight hours.
But observing daylight time by changing the clocks every November and March continues to irk others whose daily routines are disrupted by the shift.
Petitions to abolish daylight time in North America have been passed around for decades, citing everything from negative health effects to increased CO2 production.
One petition sums it up with: “It complicates our lives.”
So who hates daylight time the most? Here are the usual suspects:
Parents
Nothing can throw a family’s whole day, or week, (or month!) off course than a child who is wide awake at 4 a.m. because of the time change.
How in the world can you entertain your munchkin at such an ungodly hour? There are no kid-friendly shows on TV, going outside is not an option and playing inside will wake up the rest of the household.
When the clocks spring forward this weekend, there’s a good chance your kid will miss the bus or be late for school, making you late for work or an appointment.
And when the clocks turn back in November, you can look forward to picking your kids up from daycare or school in total darkness – at 4 p.m.
Farmers
For generations, farmers have been rising with the sun to tend to their crops and animals. Farms operate on strict feeding, milking, watering and harvesting schedules, which can be thrown out of whack with biannual time changes.
That’s why farmers across Canada have opposed daylight time, and rural swaths of Saskatchewan pushed the province to leave the clocks alone year-round. Time for the rest of the country to follow Saskatchewan’s example?
Commuters
If it takes you an hour or longer to commute to work, you probably dread every weekday between November and March. Those who leave the house before 7 a.m. and finish their workday around 5 p.m. spend both trips in darkness after the clocks are turned back in November.
But when we finally get more daylight in March, we’re warned to be extra careful on the roads because of an increase in accidents associated with the “spring forward.” It’s a no-win situation, really.
Graveyard shift workers
The end of daylight time in November can’t be fun for people who work overnight shifts. At 2 a.m., they’re set back one hour, extending what must already feel like a long wait for the sunrise.
Bar-hoppers
If you’re lucky to live in a city where last call extends past 2 a.m., the unlucky part is that you’ll have less drinking time this Sunday. When the clock springs forward, last call will be an hour closer. (Which probably means you should order some extra shots before 2 a.m.)
Back in 1997 and 1998, Ohio University students rioted when the time change cut into their booze fest.
Arizona residents
Arizona doesn’t care what the rest of America does – it hates daylight time and has refused to observe it for decades.
If you’ve been in Arizona during the summer months, you’ll understand why. With daytime temperatures reaching 40C and higher, people run for cover in the shade. If daylight time was observed in the state, the sun wouldn’t set until about 9 p.m., prolonging the suffering.
Wilfrid Laurier
Ok, so the former Canadian prime minister is more of a historic daylight time hater, but still worthy of a mention.
In 1917, the then-Liberal opposition leader said the move to daylight time should be voluntary, not mandatory. Most MPs agreed with him and the Conservative government’s bill to introduce the time change was defeated that year.
Decades later, daylight time was enforced across all provinces, with the exception of Saskatchewan. Laurier was eventually hailed as “the greatest of all Canadians,” but that had nothing to do with his stance on time change.
