Another daylight-saving time update (It's coming! It's almost here! Panic!). One of the arguments against it by national groups such as the PTA has always been that it endangers children who will have to walk to school in the dark. But:
The PTA acknowledged, however, it has no statistics that confirm this.
In fact, said the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, studies show that there is no increase in children's deaths when they go to school in morning darkness.
The time switch may in fact save lives, according to Richard Retting, senior transportation engineer for the institute.
"In the winter and fall, the peak time for pedestrian-car accidents is late afternoon, when the sun is setting or set," Retting said. More people are up and about at 5 p.m. than at 6 a.m., and there's a greater chance for low-light accidents, he said.
One institute study showed that although 12.9 percent of pedestrian-injury accidents occurred between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. nationwide in 2005, almost twice that many - 25.5 percent - occurred between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
"This early switch to daylight saving time is a life-saving measure," he said.
