Permanent daylight saving time would prevent 37,000 car-deer crashes, study says

Notwithstanding the annoyances of switching between standard time and daylight saving time that affect our sleeping habits — spring ahead, fall back, all that — there are more serious consequences to the semi-annual transition: A new study says the time change contributes to 37,000 vehicle collisions with deer on U.S. roads.

The report, published this week in the journal Current Biology, says that year-round daylight saving time would reduce the time that evening rush-hour traffic occurs in darkness each year, preventing 33 human deaths, 2,000 injuries, and saving about $1.2 billion in repair costs stemming from accidents.

“The numbers are surprisingly large,” reported Laura Prugh, an associate professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington and an author of the study. “It’s just noticeable that a seemingly simple change — not changing the clock back in the fall, not falling back — would lead to such a marked reduction in collisions throughout the country.”