GEM Motoring Assist is urging the UK government to end what it calls the ‘pointless practice’ of putting the clocks back at the end of October, in favour of a year-round Single/Double British Summertime (SDST).
According to the road safety organisation, this would not only save lives but would also deliver huge economic savings to the NHS through reducing the number of road collisions.
GEM chief executive David Williams MBE commented: “There are so many compelling reasons for making the change, and no relevant arguments at all for retaining the present arrangement.
“An experiment to use year-round British Summer Time for three years from 1968 led to an 11 per cent reduction in road casualties in England and Wales, as well as a 17 percent drop in Scotland.
“Experts now estimate 80 deaths and more than 200 serious injuries would be prevented on the UK’s roads each year. According to the Home Office, there would also be a three per cent reduction in crime.”
GEM sets out the benefits of ending the current practice of using GMT between late October and late March:
- Fewer people would die on the roads of the UK. With ongoing cuts to road safety across the country, and road deaths once more on the rise, this has to be a welcome result.
- More light in the evening rush hour is needed to cut casualties. There are approximately 50 per cent more fatal and serious injury collisions at this time than in the morning. In particular three times more children are injured on the way home from school than on the way to school.
