Time-change snafu causes traffic headaches
Last Updated: Monday, October 29, 2007 | 9:55 AM CT
CBC News
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A change in daylight time created some problems with traffic-signal timing on Winnipeg streets Monday morning.
Daylight time traditionally ends the last weekend in October, but this year, for the first time, it is extended until the first Sunday in November.
But hundreds of traffic lights around Winnipeg "fell back" as usual at 2 a.m. Sunday.
The problem affected traffic lights on timers that usually flash amber or red overnight until 7 a.m. Because they fell back, they continued to flash until 8 a.m., when rush hour was well underway.
A technician with the city's traffic signal system said city workers will have to find a way to manually override hundreds of traffic lights around the city to adjust for the date change.
The change to daylight time follows changes signed into law in the United States in 2005, which were meant to save energy on the assumption that people won't use their lights as much if the sky doesn't darken until later in the day.
Since time management falls within provincial jurisdiction, each Canadian province and territory made its own decision whether to go along with the U.S. change.
The time changes give Canadians about a month of extra daylight time in 2007. The "spring forward" occurred on March 11, three weeks earlier than usual, while the reverse takes place Nov. 4, one week later than usual.
Most Canadian provinces and territories said they would follow the U.S. plan and begin daylight time earlier and end it later. In general, the provinces agreed it was essential to co-ordinate with the U.S. and that not doing so would create too many headaches for trade and travel.
Saskatchewan does not change its clocks seasonally; nor do some parts of B.C., Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec.
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