Why did Daylight Savings time shift from late April to early March?

[Little-Acorn]

For as long as I can remember, Daylight Savings Time started on the last Sunday in April, and ended on the last Sunday in October. A bike ride I used to participate in (Ironman Century) in Minneapolis, usually ran on the last Sunday in April, with the first heat starting at 7:00 AM, and getting up that extra hour early was especially excruciating. Similarly, Halloween usually occurred right after the time change, making trick-or-treating that much "earlier".

The reasons were pretty clear - especially the reasons for having the change forward, exactly six months after the change back.

DST was an effort to make the sun come up closer to the same time every morning, whether winter or summer. Of course, it can never be exactly the same time. But this helped it be a little less wildly eccentric.

But now we have changed it for some reason. There are now EIGHT months between the change forward (today) and the change back (Mid-November).

What is the rationale, exactly, for having them eight months apart rather than six? I'm pretty baffled at this.

Some people tell me it's for energy saving. But others say that that's a phantom - people in most of the country who have an extra hour between getting home from work, and sundown, tend to run their air conditioners MORE at home for that hour in the summer; while the air condititoners at work don't get reduced for that extra hour. And people who will now get up an hour early, in early March instead of waiting till late April, will be turning on their lights more in that early time while fixing breakfast, getting the kids ready for school etc.

Also, some say that fewer pedestrians get run over in the evening after DST changes in March... but doesn't that simply mean that more will get run over in the morning?

I even heard one rumor (probably not true) that barbecue manufacturers got together to lobby Congress to change the clocks-forward change to March, so that people would have more barbecueing time in the evening and so they would buy more grills, sooner.

I liked it a lot better when we turned the clocks forward in late April, than doing it now in early March. Why did we change? I can't find ANY upside to this new way.

And no, I'd rather not move to Arizona or Indiana where they have never done DST at all.

[Cyclone Ranger]

Supposedly to create energy savings.

[Lulu]

Dunno but it's a pain in the ass. I've just switched all my clocks in the house and I have to bring in my expensive watch to jeweler tomorrow because I can never figure out how to change the time on it. I can count on my alarm clock to screw up too because it's got some weird setting for time zones and I lost the instructions so I don't know which time zone it's supposed to be set to.

[Chachma v'Oz]

I leave my watch on Arizona time year round. For most of the year it's correct. I generally know within an hour what time it is so for those few months that it's an hour off, buh pehn yung.

If they simply have to have DST, why not just ratchet all our times zone one notch east and be done with it.

[optimus]

I believe it was leftists that caused the switch to March.

[86Dùde]

They did it just to annoy little acorn. I like it.

[Alberto_Balsalm]

A bike ride I used to participate in (Ironman Century) in Minneapolis, usually ran on the last Sunday in April, with the first heat starting at 7:00 AM, and getting up that extra hour early was especially excruciating.

Off topic: You're from Minnesota? When did you leave? Just curious.

[Little-Acorn]

If they simply have to have DST, why not just ratchet all our times zone one notch east and be done with it.

DST was an effort to make the sun come up closer to the same time every morning, whether winter or summer. Of course, it can never be exactly the same time. But this helped it be a little less wildly eccentric.

[soylentgreen]

DST is just the dumbest goddamed thing EVER!

[Sparkly Mary]

This was done under Bush II to create energy savings.
In AZ, we don't switch, which is nice, BUT now I have to remember that we're on the same time as CA and that the east coast is now 3 hours ahead of us instead of 2.
While we don't change our clocks, it still messes with us here.

[Chachma v'Oz]

And causes headaches when dealing with people who don't live in AZ. I used to rent fishing boats from Willow Beach on the AZ side of Lake Mohave. Everyone who calls and asks the rental shop what time they open is told "6:00 a.m. Arizona time lest they arrive an hour too early from the other side of the narrow lake (about 400' wide there) and wonder why the boat shop is still closed.

[IFF]

we spring forward at the end of this month and fall back at the end of october.
i'm looking forward to the time in evenings that will allow me to get some mid week cycling.