Permanent Daylight Saving Time
America's 1974 Experiment

The Bill Passes the House. The Debate Resurfaces.

On July 14, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act by a vote of 308 to 117, advancing permanent daylight saving time further than it has gone in years. The bill represents a renewed push after the Senate passed a similar measure unanimously in 2022, only for it to stall in the House.

The bill now heads to the Senate. Supporters argue that eliminating the twice-yearly clock change would reduce sleep disruption, lower traffic accident rates, and stimulate evening economic activity. Critics point out that permanent daylight saving time would mean longer periods of winter darkness in the morning, with particular impact on northern states and early commuters.

The United States has been through this debate before — fifty years ago. That experiment lasted less than ten months.

An Oil Crisis Drove the Original Experiment

In October 1973, the Yom Kippur War erupted in the Middle East. The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced an oil embargo against Western nations supporting Israel. The United States bore the brunt. Gas station lines stretched for miles, odd-even rationing began across states, and heating oil ran short. Oil prices surged roughly 45 percent during the embargo — from about $3 per barrel to nearly $12.^[1]

The Nixon administration declared an "energy emergency" and rolled out conservation measures, including lowering highway speed limits and cutting airline flights. One measure seemed elegantly simple: extend daylight saving time to year-round. The logic was straightforward — an extra hour of natural evening light meant people delayed turning on their lights, reducing electricity consumption.

On December 15, 1973, Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act (Public Law 93-182).^[2] Beginning January 6, 1974, the entire United States entered permanent daylight saving time. The House passed it 311–88; the Senate 68–10 — a level of bipartisan support exceptionally rare in American legislative history.^[3]

"Daylight saving time on a year-round basis will mean only a minimum of inconvenience and will involve equal participation by all."

— President Nixon, signing statement, December 15, 1973 ^[4]

First Workday: Sunrise at 8:27 a.m. in Washington

The Washington Post, January 7, 1974 — front-page coverage of the first day of permanent daylight saving time, including accounts of suburban parents describing children leaving for school in pitch darkness with flashlights. Source: Washingtonian (via Washington Post archives)

On the first workday after permanent daylight saving time took effect, sunrise in Washington, D.C. came at 8:27 a.m. Children headed out into the dark.

"It was jet black outside when my daughter was supposed to leave for school. Some of the children took flashlights with them."

— Florence Bauer, Springfield, Virginia, speaking to The Washington Post, January 7, 1974 ^[5]

Children waiting for school in darkness during the 1974 permanent daylight saving time experiment. Source: Growing By Degrees (via historical archives)

Across the Eastern United States, winter sunrises had been pushed to 8 a.m. or later; in parts of the North, sunrise crept past 9:30 a.m. Within days of the law taking effect, accidents began to pile up:

• 📍 Alexandria, Virginia — January 7: a 6-year-old girl struck by a car on her way to school, leg broken
• 📍 Prince George's County, Maryland — February: two students injured walking to school in the dark
• 📍 Florida — within the first two weeks: 8 children killed on their way to school (vs. 2 the previous year) ^[6]

Associated Press archive photograph documenting the 1974 permanent daylight saving time experiment. Source: WITF Public Media (via AP archives)

DST expert and author of Seize the Daylight, David Prerau, noted that in Florida, eight children were killed on their way to school in the first two weeks of winter daylight saving time — compared with two the previous year — and "it became a big issue."^[6] Florida's Commissioner of Education, Floyd T. Christian, submitted a memorandum to the State Board of Education on January 28, 1974, documenting how school districts had responded: 55 districts pushed back start times by 30 minutes to an hour, while 12 made no adjustments.^[7]

"It's time to recognize that we may well have made a mistake."

— Senator Dick Clark of Iowa, congressional speech, January 28, 1974

Approval: 79% → 42% — But the Data Is More Nuanced

Providence Journal, 1974 — rediscovered by WPRI-TV in July 2026 after the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act. Source: WPRI-TV

Providence Journal, 1974 (second page) — these archives resurfaced in July 2026 as Congress debated the Sunshine Protection Act. Source: WPRI-TV

According to The New York Times, public approval plummeted from 79 percent in December 1973 to just 42 percent by February 1974.^[8]

The data, however, told a more complicated story. The National Safety Council's February report showed pre-sunrise fatalities had risen from 19 to 20 compared with the previous year — a modest increase — while afternoon accidents fell as evening light improved. The Department of Transportation's research also confirmed that year-round daylight saving time reduced overall traffic accidents.^[9]

One structural factor that shaped the 1974 outcome was geographic variation: the United States spans a wide range of latitudes, and winter sunrise times differ dramatically by region. For Florida or Texas, a winter sunrise delayed to around 7 a.m. remained tolerable. For Minnesota, Maine, or Kansas, where winter sunrises already came around 8 a.m., an additional hour meant children would not see their first ray of sunlight until nearly 9 — by which time they were already in school.

Less Than Ten Months: The Clocks Went Back

"Energy savings must be balanced against a majority of the public's distaste for the observance of Daylight Saving Time."

— Senate deliberations on H.R. 16102, 1974

The following spring, in 1975, the United States briefly resumed daylight saving time, but only through that autumn. Congress ultimately chose not to renew it, and the country returned to the traditional twice-yearly clock change — a practice that continues to this day.