Will Texas Get Rid Of Daylight Saving Time?

We're not quite there yet, but it's getting closer to that wonderful Daylight Saving Time clock shift in Texas.

It's one of the most hotly debated things on the planet. What's the use of it? Why can't we just stay the same? Is there really any benefit to changing our clocks?

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On Sunday, November 3rd, we'll be "falling back" as they say and repeating the 1 am hour. This means the days will become significantly shorter from a sunlight standpoint and you'll get that proverbial extra hour of sleep.

I'm one of those who doesn't seem to understand the benefit to doing all this clock change stuff, so I decided to drill down and look into a few things. I wanted to know if we'd ever get rid of DST and what the pros and cons of it were.

WILL TEXAS ABANDON DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Well the long and the short of it is not any time soon. Last year, the Texas House actually voted on whether we should keep it or get rid of it. It was an overwhelming vote, 138-5 to be exact. The verdict?

DST stays in Texas. However, just because the House passed it doesn't mean it's a done deal. It has to get through Texas Congress, and it sounds like that won't be the easiest thing to do. Gov. Greg Abbott has stated he's in support of keeping it, but if it falls short in Congress, that's that. So really, we have no resolution and it's just as likely to stick around as it is to disappear.

WHAT ARE THE PROS OF DST

I knew there had to be more to it than just getting some extra sun out of our days. That's always the "stock answer" I guess you could call it.

In reality, it does seem there are some good reasons for it. Yes, the extra daylight is always nice because it does feel like we are getting more out of the day after being cooped up at work all day, but there are many other things that are considered pros.

PRO #1: SAFETY

Studies have shown that when there is more daylight, there are less accidents on the roads since we can see better. It also has allowed people to feel safer when out running and walking in the evening hours. Many people don't get a chance to do that kind of thing earlier in the day because of work.

Speaking of safety, it actually lowers the crime rate in most cities. More daylight means a better chance to be seen when you're up to no good. Studies have shown that robberies drop 7% overall and a stunning 27% in the evening when there is more daylight.

PRO #2: ECONOMY

The next pro is more sunlight promotes a better economy. How so? More people are willing to run out and do some shopping or other things when it's light outside. As the sun starts to fade away, we believe we should be at home getting ready for bedtime.

For example, no one benefits from this better than the golf world. Late tee times starting after 6 pm can generate a ton of extra revenue for golf courses. In fact, studies show it can be worth anywhere between $200-400 million PER MONTH for the golf industry.

Another area that excels is the barbecue industry. When it's light out, we're more likely to grill, and when we're more likely to grill, we spend more money on tools and gadgets for that.

PRO #3: ACTIVITY

When it's light outside, people get outdoors more and do things. TV watching goes down and outdoor activities go up. They don't even need to be exercise type of things either, it can be just sitting outside on a patio relaxing. I mean, that IS one of my favorite things to do in the spring/summer months.

One note to take away is that 3% of people who tend to stay inside end up engaging in outdoor activities during the longer days. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it's definitely more than you think.

WHAT ARE THE CONS OF DST

With every pro, there is typically a con, and DST is no different. In fact, the cons of DST are almost crippling when you compare them to the pros of it. It truly makes you wonder why they haven't just full abolished it across the board.

Ready to hear the cons? You might want to brace yourself or sit down for these.

CON #1: HEALTH

Let's start with the car accidents. Remember how we said there were less of them when there was more daylight? Well it's opposite here, and the fall back increases the chances of a fatal car accident by 5-6%.

How about your health in general? I mean, how many times do we mention how we have to get our sleep schedule back on track once time changes? The problem with that is it messes with our natural circadian rhythms and puts us all at a 10% greater risk of a heart attack for those first 2-3 days after the time change.

CON #2: PRODUCTIVITY

Here's another big con to DST. The time change always happens on a Sunday, which means the start of the work and school week is the following day. We don't even get a day to acclimate to it or change our sleep schedule, and because of it, Monday is always extremely hard to get through.

That Monday is one of the most sleep-deprived days of the year for us, and our productivity at work and just life in general goes WAY down. In fact, we see an increase in what is aptly dubbed “cyber-loafing”, which is us just browsing the internet mindlessly because we're tired and don't want to have to think or act.

CON #3: IT'S EXPENSIVE

So how exactly can a time change end up being expensive? It's going to sounds a little crazy when I mention this, but it's the honest truth.

It takes us about 10 minutes to change and reset all the clocks we have when the time change takes place. When you add up all the time everyone takes to reset and change their clocks to the proper time, it costs us $1.7 BILLION in lost opportunity. That number is based on average hourly wages and could be spent on something more productive rather than resetting a clock at our desk.

So there you have it. Do the pros outweigh the cons or are we still ok with doing all this clock shifting? You can read more in-depth about the pros and cons by checking out this list.