Daylight Saving Time Could Push Utah Into The Future

Daylight savings is on November 5th. Even though this is the nice one because we get to sleep in, some people are wondering if Utah is going to pull an Arizona and opt out.

Well, the answer is pretty simple: We would if we could.

Here's how it sits, Back in the '60s, congress came up with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which forced the whole country into the world of daylight saving time. However, they also left a loophole that states could opt out. Yeah, we see you Arizona and Hawaii.

A bunch of states (19 to be exact) including Utah have passed measures to "Lock the Clock", a nickname for the measure that would allow states to move forward and then stay there. Utah's plan is contingent on neighboring states also accepting the idea.

Wait, would that mean we would be stuck in the future?

There is a catch to this plan, congress has to approve the measure.

Speaking of Daylight Savings, did you know that the uniformity of time zones was led by the railroad? Being an early cross-country travel company railroads needed to have uniform time zones so people would know when to catch the train.

I have an image of the train engineer in Polar Express checking his watch every other 5 minutes and declaring that the train was early or late.

In 1918 the Standard Time Act was created which gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the job of drawing lines on the map, literally deciding where one time zone ends and the next begins. Basically adult coloring and we were the coloring book.

In 1966, Congress handed the time zone rulebook to the Department of Transportation (DOT).

So enjoy your extra hour this November 5th. Who knows it might be our last.