Time to ‘fall back’

Millie Watkins, the 7-year-old daughter of Dustin Watkins and Megan Thompson, reminds everyone to set your clock back one hour before going to bed, Saturday night, November 4. Millie attends Swainsboro Primary School.

Daylight saving time ends November 5 at 2 a.m. We will “fall back,” turning our clocks back to 1 a.m., gaining an extra hour of sleep.

Daylight saving time was introduced in the United States in 1918 with the Standard Time Act, which was meant to lower fuel costs during the First World War. The law also established a standard time and allowed the federal government to create five time zones.

The government stopped observing daylight saving time after World War I ended, but reimplemented it during World War II. Congress decided to make daylight saving time permanent for two years from 1973 to 1975, extending the hours of daily sunlight to conserve energy during the oil embargo crisis. However, the law was repealed in 1974 for being unpopular and ineffective.

In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, standardizing the length of daylight saving time. The dates we use to observe daylight saving time today ‒ starting on the second Sunday of March and ending on the first Sunday of November – were established in 2005 when Congress amended the Act.

According to the Department of Transportation, daylight saving time saves energy, prevents traffic injuries and reduces crime.