Two state lawmakers have forged a bipartisan effort to take Michigan off Daylight Saving Time. If they get their way, Sunday would be the final time Michiganders have to re-set their clocks to accommodate the time change.
State Representatives Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, and Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, say the twice-a-year time change is inconvenient, confusing, and can even be dangerous to people’s health and safety.
Irwin says research shows an increase in accidents and hospital visits immediately following time changes.
“In addition to making all of us groggy and causing a lot of absenteeism and lost productivity at work, it actually contributes to health problems and it causes an increase in car accidents because people are out on the road driving with that grogginess,” says Irwin. “It strikes me that it’s time to end this clock-setting dance, and pick a time scheme and stick with it.”
Lucido says that would end a lot of inconvenience.
“We don’t have to re-set clocks,” he says. “We don’t have to re-set computers. We don’t have to re-set servers. We don’t have to re-set anything. And if we stay on Daylight Saving Time, we’d have the time for the golfers, the recreation, the barbecues.”
The plan would also put the entire state in the Eastern Time Zone. Four western Upper Peninsula counties are on Central Time.
