To: The Indiana State House, The Indiana State Senate, and Governor Eric Holcomb
Restore Central Time To Indiana
US time zones were established by the railroads in 1883, and were officially adopted by Congress in the Standard Time Act of 1918. Based on the location of the sun, Indiana’s geographically correct time zone designation was, and still is, the Central Time Zone.
Changes begun in 1961, kept 12 counties (20% of the population) on Central Time and moved the remaining 80 counties to Eastern Time. This situation is divisive and causes confusion in transportation of goods and people, confusion for customers, missed deadlines and meetings, inconveniences with communications, etc. These inconveniences increase the cost of doing business and discourage commercial and tourist interaction with Indiana businesses.
Reports show that 61% of Indiana’s exports go to time zones west of Indiana. The year-round, 3-hour time gap with the Pacific Time Zone causes significant inconveniences in communications and travel between Indiana and West Coast businesses that discourage commercial interaction. Restoring Indiana to its correct Central Time Zone would improve commerce between Indiana and its customers by reducing time gaps.
My business places a high value on the well-being of my community, its students, and my employees. Excessive amounts of morning darkness caused by Eastern Time create safety hazards for Indiana’s students and its adults as they travel to school and to work in the dark.
Abnormally late sunsets diminish summer darkness experiences that are part of our cultural heritage – July 4th fireworks, youth and family camping, bonfires, summer concerts, seeing the nighttime sky, catching lightening bugs. It makes bedtimes difficult for children and adults.
It is a scientifically recognized fact that humans (adults, students, and my employees) biological clocks dictate alertness and productivity and that these are impaired when biological clocks and civil clocks are out of sync with correct time zones.
Today’s communications have negated the reasons for Indiana to be on the same time as New York’s financial and TV broadcasting centers. The Eastern Time Zone designation for Indiana is obsolete, is creating inconveniences for Indiana’s businesses and is detrimental to the safety of Indiana’s citizens, especially its school children who comprise 21% of Indiana’s population. In the meantime, keeping Indiana’s clocks in sync year-round with the world economy by observing daylight saving time has proven to be beneficial to Indiana’s economic health.
Now, therefore, my business supports restoring Indiana to its geographically correct Central Time Zone. Specifically, we support observing Central Standard Time during the winter months and Central Daylight Time during the remainder of the year.
Name of Business or Indiana Resident:
Address (street, city, zip):
Printed name of owner/representative Signature of owner/representative, if applicable:
Email address:_____________________________ Date:______ day of _____________, 2011
Mail to: Sue Dillon, 507 Cornwall Ct., Carmel, IN 46032 Fax: 317-844-2529 [email protected] Phone: 317-844-3558 www.hoosiersforcentraltime.com
Why is this important?
Children are being hit & killed by vehicles while waiting for buses and walking to school in the pitch-black mornings of our geographically incorrect Eastern Time Zone. These incidents (along with rapes & abductions) have increased dramatically since 2006, when our legislature finally put Indiana on Daylight Saving Time without taking the logical accompanying step of returning us to our historically (and geographically) correct time zone. The Central Time Coalition hopes to request the DOT finally hold the series of statewide time zone hearings promised us in 2005, but which were never held due to a "technicality."