Road safety organisation GEM Motoring Assist is urging the Government to adopt Single/Double British Summertime (SDST).

Experts believe the move, involving an adjustment of the clocks to GMT + 1 in the winter and GMT + 2 in the summer, would prevent 80 deaths and more than 200 serious injuries on the UK’s road each year.

GEM chief executive David Williams said: “There are indisputable safety reasons for adoption of SDST, but also compelling economic arguments.

“Estimates from the Department for Transport’s own research1 suggest the benefits of a move to SDST would amount to nearly £140 million annually, with just a modest £5 million one-off investment in communicating the change.

“There is no logic in retaining our current time system, and any reasons we hear for opposing the change are irrelevant and outdated.

“GEM, in line with all safety groups, supports a change to SDST, because it will make a significant contribution to reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.

“We therefore call on an incoming government, of any colour, to legislate for this change as a priority. We can then avoid turning the clocks back in October, and save lives in the process.”