DOT 100-07
Contact: Bill Mosley, Te.:(202) 366-4570
Thursday, September 20, 2007

DOT Moves Five Indiana Counties from Central to Eastern Time

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced a final rule moving Indiana counties Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin and Pike from the Central to Eastern time zone. The five counties, which filed a joint petition for the time zone change, will observe Eastern time beginning Nov. 4, when daylight saving time ends.

At the same time, the Department denied a separate petition from Indiana’s Perry County to also move from the Central to Eastern time zone.

These six counties were among 17 Indiana counties that petitioned DOT in 2005 to switch from Eastern to Central time. In January 2006, the Department allowed eight of the petitioning counties, including the six involved in today’s decision, to move to Central time beginning in April 2006. The six counties later asked to be moved back to Eastern time.

Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the Secretary of Transportation has the authority to set time-zone boundaries and must base decisions on the “convenience of commerce.”

In its most recent decision, the Department said that the five counties filing the joint petition demonstrated the benefit of moving to Eastern time based on the counties’ economic ties, schooling, recreation and regional connections. In denying Perry County’s petition, DOT said that the county appears to be oriented to Central time, and that the petition did not provide sufficient justification to make the change.

The Department’s decision, to be published in the Federal Register, follows a review of more than 3,500 public comments filed in response to the counties’ petitions.

Because the change becomes effective when daylight saving time ends and standard time begins, residents of the five counties moving to Eastern time will not need to change their clocks on Nov. 4. Residents of Perry County, however, will need to move their clocks back one hour on that date. On March 9, 2008, when daylight saving time begins, all Indiana clocks will be moved ahead one hour.

In its decision, the Department said it will not consider petitions for time zone changes in Indiana for at least one year in order to minimize disruptions and allow DOT and the communities to assess the impact of the changes.

The final rule, proposed rule, county petitions, comments and other documents in this case are available on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov, docket OST-2007-28746. 

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