The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is calling for the government to trial Single/Double Summer Time (SDST), which it believes will help prevent road deaths and serious injuries.

The charity says that implementing SDST will provide a simple solution to the higher number of deaths in the winter months. Data from the Department for Transport (DfT) shows that more pedestrians are killed in the winter months when it is darker, following the clocks going back. There were 590 more pedestrian casualties in November 2014, than in September 2014.

The proposed change in time to SDST would mean that UK clocks would be set an hour ahead all year round – GMT+1 in the winter, and GMT+2 in the summer. RoSPA is urging the government to conduct a trial of SDST in order to capture objective data about the benefits of the proposed time change.

According to the charity, a trial of year-round GMT+1 in 1968-71, was successful in preventing around 2,500 deaths and serious injuries each year of the trial.

The organisation has supported SDST for a number of years and renewed calls for the change in time come as the clocks went forward by one hour on Easter Sunday (27 March 2016).

David Robinson, a serious injury solicitor at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Calls for lighter evenings in the name of road safety has long been called for by RoSPA and other road safety charities.

“With a clear rise in pedestrian casualties during darker months, the argument for the shift to SDST is a compelling one, however only through trialling the time shift can we establish the benefits to road users’ safety.

“We understand the devastating and long-term impact of serious and fatal road collisions through our work with victims and their families. Any initiative that could save lives is one that should be given serious consideration, and we urge the government to explore this proposal as a means of improving road safety and reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on UK roads.”