The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has responded to the news that the EU commission will recommend the abolition of daylight saving time, following a public poll. 

RoSPA Chief Executive Errol Taylor said: “We cautiously welcome the findings of the poll undertaken by the commission. The proposal is in its very early stages, and there is much more detail yet to be announced that would need to be carefully considered before a definitive decision is made.”

“However, every year in the UK we see a spike in the number of vulnerable road users killed or seriously injured in October and November – coinciding with the autumnal clock change when we revert to GMT, which means we suddenly have an hour less of daylight in the evenings.

“There is also a social dimension. For many older people who are worried about darkness, the UK’s autumnal clock change acts as an early curfew.

“RoSPA campaigns for Single/Double Summer Time, which would see daylight savings retained but the adoption of GMT+2 in the summer and GMT+1 in the winter, giving us more usable daylight year-round – especially in the evenings.”

He concluded: “We would welcome any change that helps people to remain safe and active throughout the year. Any change that would see lives protected on our roads is of course a positive move, so we will assess the EU’s proposals carefully when more detail is available.”

www.rospa.com/campaigns-fundraising/current/lighter-evenings/