Mixed results from 1968 time experiment

THERE is a precedent for experimenting with putting the clocks forward throughout the year in the UK.A three-year trial was launched by Harold Wilson’s government in 1968, when British Standard Time was adopted all year round.

The clocks were put forward as usual in March 1968 and not put back until October 1971.

The Department for Transport’s initial analysis of road casualty data during the experiment suggested that more people were injured in the darker mornings, but that fewer people were injured in the lighter afternoons.

It found that about 2,500 fewer people were killed and seriously injured each year of the experiment, at a time when about 1,000 people a day were killed or seriously injured on the roads.

However, it was recognised at the time that the calculations did not take into account drink-driving legislation passed in 1967, so the Department for Transport eventually re-analysed the data and factored that in.

It suggested that those living in central England and southern Scotland benefited most from the experiment. However, northern Scotland saw a net increase in the number of people killed or seriously injured.

A white paper published in 1970 said it was impossible to quantify the advantages and disadvantages of British Standard Time.

The experiment was debated in the Commons on 2 December, 1970 and – by a vote of 366 to 81 – the experiment was discontinued.

Since then, a number of MPs have tried – and failed – to change the clocks through private members’ bills, with much of the resistance coming from north of the Border.

The 1968 to 1971 experiment is often cited as a reason against change, especially in northern Scotland.