Waking up and getting into a car when it is pitch black, freezing, and then having to go to school is daunting.

Colorado is trying to stay on permanent daylight savings time, which takes an hour from the morning and adds it to the afternoon. The bill for permanent daylight savings time passed through the senate in March of 2022 and is now waiting to be passed on a federal level. If the bill passes, CO would spring forward and stay on that time all year. However, Colorado should not go on permanent daylight savings time and should keep the time changes.

According to Healthline, changing times increases heart attacks, car accidents, and strokes but the reason for staying on changing times out ways these risks.

Staying on permanent daylight savings time would cause the winter mornings to be extremely dark. According to 9 News, “The sun would not rise in Colorado until after 8 a.m. from late November to early February.” This would cause more accidents in the morning when people are commuting because the icy roads would not melt. The conditions for skiing would also be very dangerous especially for tourists who are new to skiing. They would be very icy for a lot of the morning because the sun would not warm up the snow. Having dark mornings would affect everyone. It would be dark when people go to work, school, and take their dogs out.

Since days are longer in the summer, the mornings are not nearly as dark as they would be in the winter. According to Time and Date, the afternoon sunlight creates more time for outdoor activities allowing people to be healthier. It also benefits the tourist industry who has more light for shopping and going to restaurants.

The United States has already tried permanent daylight savings time for 2 years. The experiment was held in 1974 during the energy crisis. According to The University of Colorado, 79% of the public was in favor of it but by February after experiencing the winter it dropped to 42%. According to Washingtonian, in January, the sun rose at 8:27 a.m. in New York, and many kids used flashlights to get to school. This was very dangerous; a 6-year-old girl was hit by a car on her way to school.

Staying on permanent daylight savings time is way too dangerous and causes more problems than it does fix them. I could not imagine waking up in winter when it will be pitch black at 8 a.m., or having the sun set an hour earlier in the summer. Colorado should keep the time change.