Benjamin Franklin conceived the idea of daylight saving time. It has since, been instituted in various ways and at various times throughout the world.

A 1976 survey found that one main reason people like daylight saving time is for the additional daylight in the evening, during the summer months. However, if a state is near the western edge or the eastern edge of the time zone, the effects of DST are significantly different. For example; Utah which is on the extreme western edge of the Mountain Time Zone experiences an exaggerated period of evening daylight during summer months, it's not getting dark until nearly 11 pm, long after most people are in bed. And, Utah experiences an exaggerated period of darkness in the morning hours.

Also, recent research indicates that pedestrian fatalities from cars soar at 6:00 p.m. during the weeks after clocks are set back in the fall. Walkers are three times as likely to be hit and killed by cars right after the switch than in the month before DST ends. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, who found a 186 percent jump in the risk of being killed by a car for every mile walked, speculate that drivers go through an adjustment period when dusk arrives earlier. Although the risk drops in the morning, because there are fewer pedestrians at 6:00 a.m., the lives saved in the morning don’t offset those lost in the evening.

This research corroborates a 2001 study by researchers at the University of Michigan, which found that 65 pedestrians were killed by car crashes in the week before DST ended, and 227 pedestrians were killed in the week following the end of DST. There is also evidence that the severity of auto accidents increases and work productivity decreases as people adjust to the time change.

The energy savings touted by DST is offset by the energy used by those living in warm climates to cool their homes during summer afternoons and evenings. Similarly, more evening hours of light encourage people to run errands and visit friends, thus consuming more gasoline.

Many parents express concern that Daylight Saving Time results in early morning dangers, as children are less visible as they cross roads and wait for school buses in the darkness.

One of the biggest reasons we change our clocks to Daylight Saving Time (DST) is that it reportedly saves electricity. Newer studies are unable to confirm this however, due to changing living patterns and the fact most homes are cooled and heated 365 days a year, and the fact people tend to stay up later now than in more traditional times, causing lights, TVs and computers to run longer and later than in earlier times.

Some states (California in particular) are considering staying on DST rather than changing back and forth; this in view of the fact the State of California's own study (2001) showed very marginal, if any, benefit from DST. The push is to not change, to leave the time alone, whether it be Standard Time or DST.

A more recent study - in draft form as of February 2008 - by Matthew Kotchen and Laura Grant of the University of Santa Barbara concludes that Daylight Saving Time in Indiana actually increases residential electricity demand. That study titled "Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence From a Natural Experiment in Indiana". (PDF file) looked at the electricity use when portions of the state finally started to observe DST. Before the new extended DST, portions of Indiana did not observe DST.

Indiana, like Utah, is on the western edge of their Time Zone, which means the sun comes up earlier in Indiana than in Florida, for example; thus, the supposed benefit of DST is largely lost on states located further north. Utah also has both of these conditions (located on the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone, and located relatively north), and has little if any energy saving benefit from DST.