Most Canadians will be turning back their clocks for daylight saving time this weekend, but if Bob Dieno has his way, it will be one of the last times British Columbians take part.
The Kamloops resident has launched an online petition calling on the provincial government to stop the annual time change, and in three days it gathered more than 7,000 signatures.
Dieno told CTV News his beef with daylight saving time started no less than 20 years ago.
“It goes back to me sleeping in and missing an exam,” said Dieno, who runs a safety equipment company.
He also believes the time change affects people’s ability to get a good night’s rest, making them less productive and more accident prone.
Though ICBC doesn’t keep statistics on crash rates after the time change, it has conducted surveys that suggest one-third of motorists feel affected by the time shift.
“There’s an increase in accidents on the roads, there’s an increase of pedestrian accidents and there’s also an increase in workplace injuries,” Dieno insists.
WorkSafe BC told CTV News it doesn’t track whether there’s a spike in accident rates in the province after the time change either, but Dieno points to other studies suggesting there are serious problems linked to sleep deprivation.
According to conventional wisdom, setting clocks back in November and forward again in March saves energy, but even that assertion has been challenged.
Researchers at the University of California studied the time change and found little evidence there’s a significant dip in consumption. Instead, they determined the practice might actually increase household electricity demand.
Whatever the case, Dieno said it’s high time the B.C. government gave daylight savings time a second-look. He’s hoping to gather 10,000 signatures on his petition, which would force the provincial legislature to address the matter.
If B.C. were to stop making the change, it would join Saskatchewan, which already balks at turning the clocks back and forth.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Kent Molgat
