It is important that politicians take the impact of cars on the environment into account when they attend climate change talks in Copenhagen, one group has said.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) believes one means of doing this would be putting the UK's clocks forward, which would not only reduce collisions but would also have environmental benefits.
It referred to the recent findings of a study conducted by the University of Cambridge, which found that moving to the Single Double Summer Time system would reduce carbon emissions by 450,000 tonnes a year.
Rospa also proposes that the move would extend beyond the environment, as it would also reap economic rewards for the country.
"For example, the tourist industry would benefit from an injection of £2 to 3 billion per annum, creating 18,000 jobs," he suggested.
The energy which is saved through the scheme would be equivalent to 85 per cent of all the renewable energy currently created in England and could potentially provide power to every household in Edinburgh.
Tom Mullarkey, Rospa chief executive, believes prime minister Gordon Brown has a lot to answer for when it comes to justifying why he has not already implemented the scheme.
"It would be interesting to know how he explains why our country has not taken a simple step towards meeting our emission targets, by moving the clocks forward by one hour," he claimed.
Lives would also be saved on the UK's roads, the organisation believes, as the time would be one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in winter and two hours ahead in the summer.
Figures from Rospa show accidents are at their peak at 08:00 and 17:00 GMT for adults, with the afternoon peak being higher and increasing further when road conditions are particularly difficult.
The Copenhagen talks will perhaps provide the biggest platform for Gordon Brown to air his views on carbon reduction schemes for vehicles, as it is billed as the biggest climate change meeting in history.
It is expected there will be 15,000 participants representing 192 nations, including western leaders such as Mr Brown and US president Barack Obama, who is expected to attend as the summit draws to a close.
Chris Walker, from the Campaign Against Climate Change, said: "It is an opportunity for a binding agreement that really can put the interests of the people and stability of the earth first."
With cars making so much of an impact on the environment, it is unlikely that they are going to be ignored at the summit, as Mr Walker identified this may be the "last chance to avoid major long-term climate change".
If an apparently simple measure such as moving the clocks forward can make as much difference as Rospa proposes, it could be something the prime minister needs to consider.
The organisation proposes that a trial is undertaken to see how the idea works in reality, although the impact on road safety figures may be more easily measured than environmental changes.
With researchers from the University of Cambridge estimating that 450,000 tonnes of carbon could be offset each year, there could be massive potential for the time change.
Meanwhile, people can do their bit to reduce their impact on the environment by taking out an
eco car insurance policy, which will help offset carbon emissions.
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not those of the BGL Group