Indiana, are you tired of waking up in the morning dark and going to bed while its still light out?

Our Objective: To educate hoosiers of the benefits of Indiana being placed in the central time zone (the whole state of Indiana geographically is located in the central time zone. No other state has this distinction.

Our Ultimate Goal: To have the whole state of Indiana placed in the central time zone. Our goal is not to repeal daylight savings time.

Campaign 2010 : Morning Darkness and School Children...

Unsafe for School Children

• Unsafe for School Children
  Darkness is dangerous for students waiting for their school bus.
  Students have been killed by their bus, cars or other vehicles.
  Students have been raped and robbed. (see below)
  Students standing in inclement weather in darkness are extra difficult to see. Darkness is dangerous for students walking and bicycling to school.
  School zones restrict auto speeds to 25 mph yet there is no protection for school children on dark streets and country roads waiting for their bus. Are dark streets and country considered a safe place for children? Why?
  How much gasoline is being burned while children sit in cars waiting for their
  school bus to arrive because their parents know that darkness is dangerous?
  Many children don’t have that same luxury of safety.
• Unsafe for School Bus Drivers
  l-hour earlier sunrise would greatly assist visibility for drivers in seeing students. On trash pick-up days when it is dark in the morning it is difficult to
  distinguish between a bag of trash and a child.
• Unsafe for Teens Driving to School
  Morning darkness and sleep deprivation among teens driving to school contributes to higher morning crash rates.
  Source: Fred Danner, Ph.D., Barbara Phillips, M.D. (2008). Adolescent Sleep, School Start Times, and Teen Motor Vehicle Crashes. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
• Unsafe for Morning Commuters
  Darkness reduces visibility for all automobile drivers. Black ice is primarily a morning darkness problem. Sunlight helps melt black ice thus one hour earlier sunrise would help reduce black ice danger for commuters.
  Sunlight assists snow and ice melting chemicals in their effectiveness thus
  one hour earlier sunrise would make road conditions safer for commuters.
• Unsafe for Alternative transportation
  Darkness is dangerous for people who ride their bikes to work.
  Darkness is dangerous for walkers.
  Darkness is dangerous for people waiting for public transportation.

Darkness was Dangerous for these School Children

• Raped
  December 6, 2000 – Anderson, IN 6:50 am
  12 yr.-old girl abducted from school bus stop and raped.
• Raped
  March 23, 2007 – Indianapolis, IN 7 am
  14 yr.-old girl abducted from bus stop and raped.
  Quote: “The Marshall Middle School student reported being seized about
  7 a.m. while waiting alone in the dark for her bus.” IndyStar 4/21/09
• Raped
  March 5, 2007 – Fishers, IN 6:50 am
  15 yr.-old girl abducted and raped while waiting at bus stop.
• Killed
  April 3, 2007 – Fremont, IN 6:55 am
  12-yr. old, Patricia Tink, run over and killed by her school bus.
• Killed
  September 6, 2008 – Indianapolis, IN 5:45 am
  Boy hit and killed by pick-up truck while walking to school.
• Killed
  January 6, 2009 – Carmel, IN 6:45 am
  15-yr. old boy Ziang Ke, killed by his school bus
• Robbed & beaten
  January 22, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN abt. 6:30 am
  16-yr.-old boy hit & robbed at gunpoint of cell phone, cash MP3 player at
  bus stop.
• Robbed
  January 22, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN 6:45 am
  17 yr.-old boy robbed at gun point of shoes, money, & pack at bus stop.
• Robbed & beaten
  January 22, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN 6:45 am
  18 yr.-old boy hit in face and robbed at gun point of book bag, wallet,
  cash, MP3 player at bus stop.
• Robbed
  January 22, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN 6:55 am
  15 yr.-old girl robbed at gun point at school bus stop.
  Quoted from Ladonna Bunch, mother. She’s concerned about the lack of street lights and the early morning darkness. Indystar, 1/23/09
• Robbed & beaten
  January 27, 2009 – Indianapolis, IN 6:40 am
  Two brothers (13 & 14 yr.-old) robbed at gun point at school bus stop.
  14 yr.-old hit in face and robbed of MP3 player.
  Quote: “It’s an all-time low for our community when you start taking advantage of defenseless children in the dark.” IPS Supt. Eugene White. Indystar 2/27/09.

Compiled by Susannah H. Dillon
shdillon@indy.rr.com
April 2009

February 27, 2008 - Wall Street Journal article focusing on a University of California-Santa Barbara study of The effects of Eastern daylight savings time on energy usage in Indiana found a significant increase (1-4% or $8.6 million a year) in electricity usage. This was the primary premise of daylight savings time to conserve energy. This study further substantiates the claim I made in 2005 that an air conditioner uses more electricity than a light bulb. On this evidence alone, Indiana needs to be moved out of double-daylight savings time (Eastern) and to its rightful geographical daylight savings time (Central) with no discussion.
However for those that wish to focus on the social benefits of Eastern daylight savings time, there are none. Many restaurants (not fast food) have suffered as a result of double daylight savings time. Movie theatres (indoor and outdoor) have suffered as well. The crime rate in Indianapolis has actually risen since daylight savings time has been in effect. And the argument of improving the quality of life by having more time to exercise is disproved by looking at the recent obesity studies that show at least a 10 percentage point decrease in the rate of obesity between the far eastern side of the Central time zone (i.e. Illinois), and the far western side of the Eastern time zone, thus reflecting that the extra hour of daylight in the evening is having a deliterious effect ( via eating late, and then going to bed) versus exercising late in the evening (which the obesity study disproves.

To express your support, call your State Senator or Representative at:

• State Senators: 1-800-382-9467
• House Republicans: 1-800-382-9841
• House Democrats : 1-800-382-9842

What ever happened to "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

The drop in the statewide Indiana SAT scores would tend to support this statement with Indiana's observance of Eastern daylight savings time.

The fact that your waking up in the morning dark seven months out of the year, produces a safety risk to children waiting for the school bus in the morning dark. Add to that the increase in the incidence of Seasonal Affective Disorder  (primary cause: morning darkness), and no wonder why more Hoosiers are  depressed than ever before.

The claim that eastern daylight savings time would make people healthier has not panned out either, as Indiana ranks #9 in rate of obesity in the nation. Governor Daniels In-Shape Indiana program is doomed to failure, because the environment he's created with eastern daylight savings time promotes everyone to stay up later, eat later (notice those fast food ads over the last couple of years promoting: Now Open Late). That's because the fast food chains in Indiana were all for eastern daylight savings time. As a result of eating later, and going to bed shortly there after, the incidence of obesity will increase over time.

So what can Hoosiers tired of the whole time mess do ?

• Send letters or e-mails to U.S. Senator Evan Bayh at: 463 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 or send your e-mail via web site link at http://bayh.senate.gov/ .

One Million Barrels of Oil.

That’s the cost of Eastern daylight savings time. A University of California-Santa Barbara study found that eastern daylight savings time in Indiana used $8.6 million dollars or up to 4% more in electricity than Indiana used before it observed eastern daylight savings time. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce cited in a handout given to various businesses in 2005 that a 3-4% reduction in energy use amounted to 10,000 barrels of oil a day ( or approximately one million barrels of oil each summer). What effect would saving a million barrels of oil a summer have on oil and gas prices ? A significant effect ? Yes. Has Governor Daniels had anything to do with our current economic condition ? Yes. And the easiest part about it is its simple, either don’t change our clocks or move to the central time zone (our natural geographic zone, and not our politically manipulated zone).

I urge you to write a letter or send an e-mail to Senator Evan Bayh expressing how your life or your business has been adversely affected by Eastern daylight savings time in Indiana. If your children have been impacted, or if you know of accidents that have occurred as a result of morning darkness, this would be very important as well.

I would also like to hear from you as well.

Together we can turn this thing around.

David Kinney,
hoosiersforcentraltime.com