BRITISH SUMMER TIME CHANGES COULD SAVE DRIVERS LIFES

The Institute of Advanced Driving (IAM) has called for British Summer Time (BST) to be changed to provide more daylight hours during the evenings in the later months.

Bringing the time zone forward an hour in both summer and winter would allow Britain to have lighter evenings in the hope that there would be fewer traffic accidents. Statistics from the Department for Transport show that the changing of daylight hours could potentially prevent 80 deaths and around 200 serious injuries on the roads each year.

With the arrival of the darker evenings, road casualty rates increase dramatically as shown by the 2011 figures:

• Pedestrians are 14% more likely to be killed or seriously injured in November compared to the monthly average.

• Cyclist casualties increase by 5%.

• The rate of motorcycle casualties per vehicle mile was 28% higher.

The chief executive of IAM said “Making evenings lighter would save lives. It would benefit all road users….We’d like to try doing a three year trial of the new daylight system. If the trial period proves the new daylight hours have a positive effect it becomes clear it is a system we should keep and continue with. With convincing evidence of the potential benefits, it is only right that we pilot a new system.”

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