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Brake and RoSPA join forces to change UK time zone

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Author: | Updated: 28 Mar 2014 16:32

With the clocks going forward on March 30, the road safety charity Brake and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) are calling for the clocks to be put forward by an hour all year to make the roads safer.

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The two organisations are proposing moving the clocks to GMT+1 in the winter and GMT+2 in the summer, not only bringing the UK in line with mainland Europe, but also making for lighter evenings and therefore safer roads.

If the clocks were moved forward, Brake says that 80 lives per year would be saved due to the extended hours of daylight.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, said: “Putting the clocks forward by an extra hour throughout the year is a simple change that would make a huge positive difference to society, giving us all more daylight to play with. With lighter afternoons and evenings, many more people would be able to get out and walk and cycle, to get to school or work, or simply for their health and enjoyment. People on foot or bike would be easier for drivers to see, many devastating road casualties would be prevented, and our communities would be more social, enjoyable places.”

The RoSPA has used the upcoming vote on Scottish independence to lobby for the time zone change, arguing that the Scots would benefit most from the longer evenings.

Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s chief executive, said: “If Scotland votes 'yes' in September, then it’s only right that it should choose its own time zone. RoSPA would then urge the Scottish people to change to SDST (GMT+1), because all the evidence shows that Scotland would be the British Isles’ biggest beneficiary. If Scotland votes 'no', we would encourage all the Home Nations to develop a unified approach to what’s in the best interests of everybody. This is a campaign that has been affected by regional divisions in the past. But it needn't be, because it's a move that would benefit everyone – Scotland more so.”

Both charities say other advantages to the time zone change would include cutting CO2 emissions by 450,000 tonnes a year by reducing the need for electric lighting in the evenings and reducing obesity by allowing for more outdoor sport in the evenings.

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