Summer light campaign given extra push

Date: 26/3/2010

As British Summer Time once again draws near, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is calling for more support for its campaign to move the clocks forward permanently.

The organisation believes Britain's clocks should move to what it terms Single Double Summer Time (SDST).

Chief executive of RoSPA Tom Mullarkey said: "The road safety arguments have already been accepted at a national level. The environmental benefits ... and business benefits ... are now coming to the fore."

RoSPA says that the most recent research shows a move to SDST could cut road deaths by around 80 per year and serious injuries could fall by more than 200 each year.

SDST would put Britain one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in winter and two hours ahead during the summer months.

The society has been campaigning for around 60 years for a change to Britain's daylight hours. It argued that having daylight in the evening helps to protect vulnerable road users such as children.