British Summer Time has now come to an end. With this new change, the road safety charity Brake has raised concerns over the impact of ending Daylights Savings Time, when it comes to road safety.
Although road issues for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians can arise at any time of year, they’re particularly prominent once British Summer Time ends. Darker nights equate to unclear road conditions and, as a result, increased safety risks for cyclists and pedestrians. This is precisely why Anglo Liners exists, to improve road conditions and increase safety for UK road users.
During the winter seasons, road conditions naturally get worse due to bad weather conditions like snow and ice affecting the road surfaces, creating potholes and many other common surface problems.
Despite road lights being in operation in the darker months, these issues are always a pressing problem when the clocks go back, which is why Brake are reaching out to the government to make a change.
Road closures usually increase, traffic conditions worsen, and vehicles suffer from damage problems, due to the road conditions, weather and additional auto vehicles travelling on the roads, since walking and cycling can become problematic when Daylights Savings Time ends.
Therefore, Brake is asking the government to move over to Single/Double Summer Time.
Implementing SDST would involve moving our clocks forward by an additional hour, and would take place all year round.
This change would result in lighter nights, which brings many benefits for road safety, as well as increased energy for bike riders and car drivers, who are more susceptible to fatigue when nights are darker.
Director of Campaigns for Brake, Joshua Harris, said: “With summer time ending, and the nights closing in, the danger facing cyclists and pedestrians on our roads increases. At a time when the UK is struggling to move the dial on road safety, a move to SDST offers a glaringly simple and effective way to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads and so must be considered seriously by the Government.
“Lighter evenings can bring so many benefits, not only to road safety but through reducing carbon emissions and encouraging more people to be active and use the extra daylight for outdoor leisure activity – it really is a win-win for the Government.”
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