Why does USDOT administer DST?

[hbelkins]

DST begins this weekend. (No debate, please, lest this thread be locked.)

Legislation has been introduced in Congress to make DST permanent and year-round. (Again, please, no debates to cause this thread to be locked.)

Within that story is this line:

"The U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees the observance of DST..."

Why does USDOT administer DST? Why is this not the purview of, say, Commerce, Interior, or another department? Is it because time zones were originally created to standardize railroad schedules?

[1995hoo]

The Department of Transportation didn't exist until 1967 and the responsibility to regulate time was transferred to it as part of the statute creating it. The DOT website says Congress assigned that agency the responsibility because of the importance of time to many modes of transportation.

Prior to then, the Interstate Commerce Commission (itself abolished in 1995) regulated time zones in the USA beginning in 1918 when the Standard Time Act was enacted. The ICC's original purpose, as you surmise, was to regulate the railroads.

[TXtoNJ]

Yep. Standardized time zones were originally for railroad coordination.

[JoePCool14]

DST begins this weekend. (No debate, please, lest this thread be locked.)

Or rather, outright deleted.

Also, DST is good and bad.

[Mr. Matté]

Also, DST is good and bad.

Alanland Standard Daylight Time

[TXtoNJ]

DST begins this weekend. (No debate, please, lest this thread be locked.)

Or rather, outright deleted.

Also, DST is good and bad.

Seriously, pick one and go with it. Critical operations should be synchronized in UTC, anyway.

[hbelkins]

Of course, time zones and DST in DOT aren't the only oddities in federal government administration. Energy, not Defense, oversees the nuclear weapons program.

[jp the roadgeek]

Also, DST is good and bad.

Alanland Standard Daylight Time

At the sound of the tone, the time will and will not be precisely 12 goat.

[JoePCool14]

DST begins this weekend. (No debate, please, lest this thread be locked.)

Or rather, outright deleted.

Also, DST is good and bad.

Seriously, pick one and go with it.

I shall pick one, pick the other one, and then go with both and also neither at the same time.

[Dirt Roads]

Railroads also handled DST differently than states.  Each timetable district had its own official time.  I worked on a project on CSX (former Baltimore & Ohio) in Western Illinois.  The local signal supervisor was based in Vincennes, Indiana, so I was required to stay there on days he would be working with us.  The railroad split in Washington, Indiana.  The St. Louis East subdivision was on Cincinnati time; the St. Louis West subdivision was on St. Louis time.  I had to work there during the time change.  Everybody see where this is going? 

We needed to arrive at the project at 7:00AM on St. Louis time.  During standard time, I would get up about 4:00AM EST to pick up the signal supervisor just after 4:30AM EST to have enough time to grab breakfast and still have plenty of time drive to Shattuc, Illinois (not quite 2-1/2 hours with an almost straight shot on US-50).  But after the time change (or lack thereof), St. Louis time springs forward an hour and Vincennes time stands still.  You got the picture.  After a few days, I finally begged off and got permission to stay in Salem.

By the way, my watch was required to stay on St. Louis time during the project except on the days that worked in Little Washington, where the headquarters observed Cincinnati time (even though clocks for the dispatchers on the St. Louis West End showed St. Louis time.

[Scott5114]

Of course, time zones and DST in DOT aren't the only oddities in federal government administration. Energy, not Defense, oversees the nuclear weapons program.

I've always thought NOAA and NWS being part of the Department of Commerce (instead of something like Interior or the EPA) was odd. At one point it was under USDA.

[Rothman]

Railroads also handled DST differently than states.  Each timetable district had its own official time.  I worked on a project on CSX (former Baltimore & Ohio) in Western Illinois.  The local signal supervisor was based in Vincennes, Indiana, so I was required to stay there on days he would be working with us.  The railroad split in Washington, Indiana.  The St. Louis East subdivision was on Cincinnati time; the St. Louis West subdivision was on St. Louis time.  I had to work there during the time change.  Everybody see where this is going? 

We needed to arrive at the project at 7:00AM on St. Louis time.  During standard time, I would get up about 4:00AM EST to pick up the signal supervisor just after 4:30AM EST to have enough time to grab breakfast and still have plenty of time drive to Shattuc, Illinois (not quite 2-1/2 hours with an almost straight shot on US-50).  But after the time change (or lack thereof), St. Louis time springs forward an hour and Vincennes time stands still.  You got the picture.  After a few days, I finally begged off and got permission to stay in Salem.

By the way, my watch was required to stay on St. Louis time during the project except on the days that worked in Little Washington, where the headquarters observed Cincinnati time (even though clocks for the dispatchers on the St. Louis West End showed St. Louis time.

Pfft.  No one knew what time it was in Indiana.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

DST begins this weekend. (No debate, please, lest this thread be locked.)

Not for another two weeks for me. This always causes me headaches, since I like to track a certain trucker around using Central... Europe Time (i.e. my time), and for several weeks a year I'm off-sync. This time, though, it will be only two weeks, instead of three like last year.

Seriously, pick one and go with it. Critical operations should be synchronized in UTC, anyway.

As noted above I go with CET/CEST for convenience sake . Ah, you meant with or without DST? Then I don't mind.

N.b.: Yes, I know "CET/CEST" is British usage and I should use "CEST/CEDT" to mimic American usage, but then "CEST" would be quite ambiguous (Standard or daylight/summer?).

[kphoger]

Yes, I know "CET/CEST" is British usage and I should use "CEST/CEDT" to mimic American usage, but then "CEST" would be quite ambiguous (Standard or daylight/summer?).

Well, C'EST la vie!

[GaryV]

Central time zone in the US is either CST or CDT - Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Time.

I love those people who are scheduling a meeting and use EST (Eastern) as a default.  Even in July. 

[froggie]

Of course, time zones and DST in DOT aren't the only oddities in federal government administration. Energy, not Defense, oversees the nuclear weapons program.

I've always thought NOAA and NWS being part of the Department of Commerce (instead of something like Interior or the EPA) was odd. At one point it was under USDA.

Interior was created primarily to manage federal lands.  Weather's impact on agriculture and business are why it fell under USDA then later Commerce.

Both NWS and NOAA's predecessors predate EPA.  And if you go back far enough, what is today the NWS was originally under the War Department.

[kphoger]

Central time zone in the US is either CST or CDT - Central Standard Time or Central Daylight Time.

I love those people who are scheduling a meeting and use EST (Eastern) as a default.  Even in July. 

My wife does direct sales, and the company she sells for is based in Idaho.  New catalogs get released in the middle of the night, so, if there's something that's likely to sell out by morning, she gets up in the middle of the night and puts customer orders in.  Back when she first started doing that, she'd ask me, If it says the catalog launches at 2:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, then what time do I need to set my alarm for?  During DST, that was a complicated question to answer!

[wanderer2575]

Mrs. wanderer and I goofed up (I'll be judicious in assigning blame) and changed the clocks last weekend.  I was too lazy to change them back only to have to change them again in a week, so we've left them be.  But we have a lot of clocks, and several of them adjust themselves from a radio signal.  So some of our clocks are correct and some are an hour ahead.  I of course can't keep straight which is which, so I went around the house and slapped a sticky note reading "FAST" on every clock that is an hour ahead.  I'll be glad when this Sunday comes.

[kphoger]

Mrs. wanderer and I goofed up (I'll be judicious in assigning blame) and changed the clocks last weekend.

Sunday morning, I got out of bed 20 minutes early to get on the computer and find out if we were actually running 40 minutes late for church.  I thought the change was last week as well.

[SP Cook]

Of course, time zones and DST in DOT aren't the only oddities in federal government administration. Energy, not Defense, oversees the nuclear weapons program.

Oddly placed federal agencies, IMHO:

USDA:
Rural Housing Service - should be in HUD
Rural Utilities Service - should be in Energy (actually should be abolished, long since reached its goals)
Food and Nutrition Service AKA SNAP AKA Food Stamps - should be in HHS, its welfare
APHIS - should be in Homeland Security, its agents have been cross-trained together since 9-11
Foreign Agricultural Service - should be in State, its foreign aid

HUD:

Indian half of Office of Public and Indian Housing - should be in Interior

Justice;

Immigration - should be in Homeland Security

[GaryV]

So you want Rural Housing to be moved into HUD, but you want Indian Housing to be moved out of HUD and into Interior?

Border security should be should be Homeland Security.  But Immigration should stay with Justice - it's a legal issue.

[kalvado]

So you want Rural Housing to be moved into HUD, but you want Indian Housing to be moved out of HUD and into Interior?

Border security should be should be Homeland Security.  But Immigration should stay with Justice - it's a legal issue.

Immigration is in DHS: https://www.dhs.gov/topic/citizenship-and-immigration-services
It is partially with State, as consular services abroad - such as visas - are handled by embassies and consulate, and they are under dept. of state.

[JayhawkCO]

Of course, time zones and DST in DOT aren't the only oddities in federal government administration. Energy, not Defense, oversees the nuclear weapons program.

Oddly placed federal agencies, IMHO:

USDA:
Rural Housing Service - should be in HUD
Rural Utilities Service - should be in Energy (actually should be abolished, long since reached its goals)
Food and Nutrition Service AKA SNAP AKA Food Stamps - should be in HHS, its welfare
APHIS - should be in Homeland Security, its agents have been cross-trained together since 9-11
Foreign Agricultural Service - should be in State, its foreign aid

HUD:

Indian half of Office of Public and Indian Housing - should be in Interior

Justice;

Immigration - should be in Homeland Security

Secret Service being Treasury has always been non-obvious to me.

Chris

[tolbs17]

Cause it's to reduce crashes.

[1995hoo]

Of course, time zones and DST in DOT aren't the only oddities in federal government administration. Energy, not Defense, oversees the nuclear weapons program.

Oddly placed federal agencies, IMHO:

USDA:
Rural Housing Service - should be in HUD
Rural Utilities Service - should be in Energy (actually should be abolished, long since reached its goals)
Food and Nutrition Service AKA SNAP AKA Food Stamps - should be in HHS, its welfare
APHIS - should be in Homeland Security, its agents have been cross-trained together since 9-11
Foreign Agricultural Service - should be in State, its foreign aid

HUD:

Indian half of Office of Public and Indian Housing - should be in Interior

Justice;

Immigration - should be in Homeland Security

Secret Service being Treasury has always been non-obvious to me.

Chris

It's because their original mandate was to deal with counterfeiting. They began protecting the President after the McKinley assassination. They were moved to Homeland Security after said department was created.