Road safety organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging the UK government to adopt Single/Double British Summertime (SDST).
Experts believe the move, involving an adjustment of the clocks to GMT +1 in the winter and GMT +2 in the summer, would prevent 80 deaths and more than 200 serious injuries on the UK’s road each year.
“Dark spells danger for pedestrians. There is a 10% rise in fatal pedestrian collisions during the four weeks after the clocks go back,” said GEM road safety officer Neil Worth. “This is bad news when the latest casualty figures already show a 10% rise in pedestrian fatalities year on year (2016 compared with 2015).
“Estimates from the Department for Transport’s own research suggest the benefits of a move to SDST would amount to nearly £140 million annually, with just a modest £5 million one-off investment in communicating the change.”
GEM argues that the reasons for opposing the change – generally from those representing the interests of farmers and postal workers – are irrelevant and outdated.
