Spring Forward, Fall Back

MOUNT OLIVE, NEW JERSEY - Remember to set your clocks back! Daylight Saving Time will officially end at 2:00am local time on Sunday, November 4th, 2007.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) start and end dates change this year due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 signed by President George W. Bush in August of 2005.

This year, DST began by setting clocks ahead one hour on the second Sunday of March (March 11, 2007) instead of the first Sunday of April (April 1, 2007). Clocks will be set back one hour on the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007), rather than the last Sunday of October (October 28, 2007).

Be sure to check any electronic device, such as personal computer or vcr, that automatically updates the system clock. Older systems will not have been programmed with the new rules in mind. To avoid these problems in the future, you'll either have to make the change manually twice a year, upgrade software, or buy newer systems.

Protect Yourself and Your Family
Many fire departments around the nation encourage people to use Daylight Saving Time as a convenient reminder to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. "A working smoke detector more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire" says the Budd Lake Fire Department in Mount Olive. It is estimated that 95 percent of homes in the United States have at least one smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries**.

In the event of a fire, properly installed and maintained smoke alarms will provide an early warning alarm to your household. This alarm could save your own life and those of your loved ones by providing the chance to escape.


**Statistic courtesy of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)