Moving the clocks back costs money and lives. So why does the government persist with daylight saving? By Ralph Morton, editor, Business Car Manager

YOUR business could be facing additional costs next week: financial (insurance and bent-metal costs), lost productivity (injured staff), and potentially human costs (but hopefully not).

The reason? It’s simple. The clocks go back. It’s an anachronism the government needs to address. And urgently.

Business insurance provider, More Than Business, says accident rates will rise the week that follows the clocks turning back an hour.

More than Business says there is a 5% spike in insurance claims from business car drivers following the switch back to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). It is, says Mike Bowman, head of More than Business, “the worst month of the year” for business car drivers.

However, the creeping darkness of daylight saving affects all small business staff who drive to work – irrespective of whether they receive a business provided car or not.

Private cars get involved in the wreckage of the increased accident rate. The private car insurer, Direct Line, says its receives 15% more claims in the week following the end of daylight saving than in the week preceding it.

There seems little reason to continue with this outdated practice of turning the clocks back. Serious accidents cause around £140,000 of damage in total reckons Direct Line.

Given the cost to business and society, the government should end it immediately – it would certainly help small businesses contain their costs during the current economic upheaval.

But there is a more pressing reason to stop the clocks going back: the cost to human life.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), says that the most recent study shows that 450 deaths and serious injuries could be prevented each year if daylight saving was scrapped.

Tom Mullarkey, RoSPA’s chief executive, is quite clear on the matter: “Every day throughout the winter period, a person will die unnecessarily because the government will not hear this argument.”

Perhaps this year there might be fewer governmental ears deaf to this costly practice.

Nevertheless, the tick-tock towards the clocks going back is inevitable this year. So what should business car managers be doing to prepare their drivers for Monday evening?

Tips for avoiding an accident after the clocks go back

• Adapt your driving: watch your speed and leave plenty of room for the car in front
• Keep an even greater look-out for pedestrians and two-wheelers
• Relax: do not try to battle the traffic
• Allow extra time for your journey home
• Don’t overdrive your headlights. You should be able to stop inside the illuminated area. If you’re not, you are creating a blind crash area in front of your vehicle
• If an oncoming vehicle doesn’t dip beams: avoid glare by watching the edge of the road and using it as a steering guide
• If you’re feeling tired: stop and have a rest
• And a word for pedestrians and cyclists: ensure you can be seen easily by drivers

Tip source: More Than Business; RoSPA

Further reading

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