Last week I wrote a column for WHYY Newsworks on Sen. Dick Codey’s (D-Essex) bill that would set up a commission to study whether middle and high schools should start later in order to align better with teenagers’ sleeping patterns. I also suggested that we should reexamine the sacrifices we make by ending school days early to accommodate sports and other extra-curricular activities.
Today the New York Times offers another reason to delay school start times: teenage drivers who sleep later have fewer car crashes. Researchers compared the rate of accidents among 16-18 year old drivers in two counties in Virginia with similar demographics and percentages of road congestion. Teenager in one of the high schools started their day at 7:20AM and the other cohort started at 8:45AM. Teenagers who got up later got into fewer accidents. The head researcher said, ” “There is a growing literature that shows that early start times are a problem, and school systems should take a look at the data and seriously consider whether they should delay them.”
