Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday, Plus Other Reminders

Get ready: it’s time to “fall back.”

Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, November 3rd, which means you will need to turn your clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday night.

The annual tradition signals the official start of shorter days and, on November 3rd, sunset will be around 5:31 PM CST. The days will get shorter from there.

Hawaii, most of Arizona and most U.S. territories are excluded from the changing of the clocks as they do not observe daylight saving time and remain in standard time all year.

Here are some things you may not know about the annual clock change:

• Daylight Saving or Daylight Savings? You will see a lot of people refer to “Daylight Savings” – that’s technically wrong. Dictionary.com said you will want to stick with Daylight Saving but you can drop the “time” part. It’s still technically abbreviated to DST.
• Daylight Saving Time is a good time to start a new tradition: Make it your yearly time to change the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• You can blame Benjamin Franklin for getting the whole Daylight Saving thing started. He wrote an essay called “An Economical Project for Diminishing the Cost of Light” suggesting people could save candles by getting up earlier and making better use of available light. Then, in 1907, Englishman William Willett championed the idea, which quickly spread. It was brought to America by Robert Garland, a businessman from Pittsburgh who first came upon the idea in the U.K
•  In 1999, the time change thwarted plans for a terrorist bombing in Israel. The West Bank was on Daylight Saving Time while Israel had just switched back to standard time. The changeover confused terrorists who had set timers on bombs. The bombs were planted but detonated an hour early, killing three terrorists.
• It wasn’t until Aug. 8, 2005 that we changed to our current timetable for Daylight Saving Time. President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act on that day, setting the official end time for DST as the first Sunday in November. From 1986-2006, Daylight Saving Time began on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.
• Hawaii and most of Arizona do not follow DST.
• In the spring, that hour of lost sleep due to the Daylight Saving switch has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks. On the other hand, the risk of heart attacks fell by 21 percent later in the year when an hour was added back to the clock.
• Why 2 a.m.? According to Live Science, that’s considered to be the least disruptive time of day.
• 27 percent of Americans said the twice-yearly time changes either makes them early or late for an appointment.

Also do these things:

• Change batteries in smoke detectors: The National Fire Protection Association runs a "Change Your Clocks, Change Your Batteries" campaign to remind people to replace the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Replace air filters for furnaces: As people start using their furnaces again, it's an ideal time to replace dirty air filters, especially for those with pets.
• Reverse ceiling fans: Ceiling fans usually have two settings. Adjusting them before winter can help reduce heating costs. In the summer, fans should rotate counterclockwise to create a cooling breeze by pushing air down. In the winter, fans should rotate clockwise to redistribute the warm air trapped near the ceiling throughout the room, making it feel more comfortable.

Check Your Car For Recalls, Too

Millions of vehicle safety-related recalls are discovered every year, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) encourages American consumers to add checking for vehicle safety recalls to their Daylight Saving Time maintenance list.

Consumers can use NHTSA’s FREE VIN lookup tool or the SaferCar App to check if their vehicle has any open recalls to help prevent crashes, keep our roads safer and, ultimately, save lives.

Remember, too, the latest recalls are always included in your free Car Pro Newsletter.