What's the point in having streetlights?

SuperInfinity

Especially for rural villages such as mine. What on earth is the point in having those huge, energy-guzzling monstrosities threatening the darkness of our home when we want to sleep.

The community association had them built recently as a "project" in order to "improve" the village. They should have just left it the way things were. Maybe the village is fine as it is, maybe there's no way to improve it.

At a time when we're encouraged to turn off or dim the small lights in our homes when we're not using them, then you have the outside light up like it's daylight when nobody wants them. Can anyone say something for these things?

copacetic

maybe they thought that you were missing and were trying to find you?

Cookie_Monster

so you don't walk into a wall cos its too dark to see on the way home

CR 7

Generally I find they help to light up the streets.

FearDark

Whats the point in anything really.

alan4cult

Stops people speeding through, allows pedestrians to see, lights up the place, stops robberies.

FreudianSlippers

FearDark wrote: »

Whats the point in anything really.

depressing post is depressing.

AckwelFoley

The singing in the rain video would just not be the same without them

Celly Smunt

OisinT wrote: »

depressing post is depressing.

cool story bro

KeithM89_old

I always thought it'd be cooler if the lights were embedded in the footpaths/roads

The_Kew_Tour

In case you walk into big pole in middle of street

alwaysadub

What's the point in having streets so. Without streets,we wouldn't need streetlights..
We should all just knock off the lights start walking along the roads. In the dark.

Celly Smunt

it'd be nice to see candle lit lanterns around towns again

Cookie_Monster

alan4cult wrote: »

Stops people speeding through, .

how do street lights stop speeding?

The_Kew_Tour

Park Ji Sung wrote: »

Generally I find they help to light up the streets.

No way

:eek::eek::eek:

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

they damage the night vision of pedestrians so rapists and muggers hiding in shadows are harder to see

CR 7

Why don't we just like put a huge like mirror into space like, that way the sun could like light up all the world all the time. That'd be totally rad.

stovelid

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Especially for rural villages such as mine. What on earth is the point in having those huge, energy-guzzling monstrosities threatening the darkness of our home when we want to sleep.

Have you tried curtains or blinds?

Thrill

They're trying it out across the pond....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1309951/Lives-risk-councils-switch-street-lights-say-AA.html

‘Lives at risk’ as councils switch off street lights say AA



Lives are being put at risk by councils turning off tens of thousands of street lights to save money, MPs and road safety campaigners warned yesterday.
The AA hit out at the growing practice of local authorities turning off street lights to cut their power bills – warning it ‘could lead to more crashes and crime’.

Louise Ellman, chairman of the Commons transport committee, also questioned the practice, warning it could damage attempts to cut the death toll on Britain’s roads, particularly as accident rates are already higher at night.
She said: ‘I am extremely concerned that financial pressures are leading to steps which can jeopardise people’s lives and increase the number of injuries.

‘We’ve made great progress in recent years in reducing the number of deaths and injuries on our roads. It would be tragic if by switching the lights off, that progress was to be put back many years.’

The warnings came amid evidence that a growing number of councils are turning off street lights at night. The Highways Agency has also run pilot schemes to turn off lights on some stretches of motorway.

Britain’s 7.5million street lights cost about £500million a year to operate, making them a tempting target for cash-strapped councils looking to make savings.

Leicestershire County Council said it believed it could save up to £700,000 a year by switching off certain street lights during the early hours of the morning.

up for anything

Sing after me....

Ah ! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira

It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
aristocrats to the lamp-post
It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
the aristocrats, we'll hang them!
If we don't hang them
We'll break them
If we don't break them
We'll burn them
It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
aristocrats to the lamp-post
It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
the aristocrats, we'll hang them!
We have no more nobles nor priests

Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine.
Equality will reign everywhere
The Galway hure shall follow him
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
And their infernal Golden clique
Shall go to hell
It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
aristocrats to the lamp-post
It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
the aristocrats, we'll hang them!
And when we'll have hung them all
We'll stuff a spade up their arse

starbelgrade

KeithM89 wrote: »

I always thought it'd be cooler if the lights were embedded in the footpaths/roads

Like the Billie Jean video.

ejmaztec

But what will people do, if they can't connect their houses to a lampost to get free electricity?

Have a heart.:(

GTE

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

how do street lights stop speeding?

It could be argued, though Im not sure where I stand on it, but it could be argued that on roads at night when a driver sees the street lights he or she know some kind of built up area or a junction is ahead and slows down.

I suppose the correct way to put it is that instead of helping to cut speeding it makes the driver more aware of built up areas and junctions ahead.

SuperInfinity

bbk wrote: »

It could be argued, though Im not sure where I stand on it, but it could be argued that on roads at night when a driver sees the street lights he or she know some kind of built up area or a junction is ahead and slows down.

I suppose the correct way to put it is that instead of helping to cut speeding it makes the driver more aware of built up areas and junctions ahead.

Or alternatively it makes the driver think: "Ah built up place ahead, full visibility, probably a grand road, time to speed up". I have to admit that I personally do speed up a slight bit in the very well lit places, because I can see everything.

If you find the idea of it being dark at night depressing, then you may honestly have some issues.... come on... at night time it's supposed to be dark.

spurious

Park Ji Sung wrote: »

Why don't we just like put a huge like mirror into space like, that way the sun could like light up all the world all the time. That'd be totally rad.

I vote we call it the Mun, or Mon, or something like that.

copacetic

copacetic wrote: »

maybe they thought that you were missing and were trying to find you?

c'mon people, the village are missing their _ _ _ _ _

FreudianSlippers

spurious wrote: »

I vote we call it the Mun, or Mon, or something like that.

Or giant space mirror?!

KeithM89_old

Or 'Sun 2'

Novella

Street lights make the street less dark so that people don't walk into things, and em, it's not so scary!

FreudianSlippers

KeithM89 wrote: »

Or 'Sun 2'

The other sun!

Voodoomelon

I often thought if they spaced street and motorway lights apart 50% more, it would make frig all difference. Obviously I could be completely wrong, muggings and crashed could go up 50%...

billymitchell

Was driving through charleville in cork last week, and all the street lights were out in the town. F*ckin eerie so it was. Nearly killed a couple of pedestrians as well as I couldnt see them because of the lack of street light. So I think we do need them op!!

Dravokivich

KeithM89 wrote: »

Or 'Sun 2'

OisinT wrote: »

The other sun!

Sun2: The Other Sun
Just as Bright...

GTE

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Or alternatively it makes the driver think: "Ah built up place ahead, full visibility, probably a grand road, time to speed up". I have to admit that I personally do speed up a slight bit in the very well lit places, because I can see everything.

If you find the idea of it being dark at night depressing, then you may honestly have some issues.... come on... at night time it's supposed to be dark.

On behalf of the people who live in a town where people who drive through the town seem to do this please cop on! There have been so many close calls because of that kind of thing. You do not see everything when there is artificial light lighting up a street nor would you will even with the sun beaming down on it.
Unless of course you mean you speed up to the speed limit that is in place through these built up areas?

I thought this thread was about streetfights...this thread disappoints

Erica<3

SO maybe someday when you're walking home, in the dark, a car won't hit you because they'll be able to see because of the street lights.... How did that not occur to you?

up for anything

Erica<3 wrote: »

SO maybe someday when you're walking home, in the dark, a car won't hit you because they'll be able to see because of the street lights.... How did that not occur to you?

High visibility vest?

SuperInfinity

Erica<3 wrote: »

SO maybe someday when you're walking home, in the dark, a car won't hit you because they'll be able to see because of the street lights.... How did that not occur to you?

I don't walk home in the dark. Imagine that. :eek:

I don't mind so much big built-up areas like the city, I'm talking about small areas, where there's no need for the lights. Where nobody ever really uses them. They are just on. For no reason, for the ghosts in the air. That's what I find eerie.

Erica<3

up for anything wrote: »

High visibility vest?

So you walk home from the pub in a high vis vest, do you? Right so...

Hope you're not coming to AH beers :pac:

Sprouts

salonfire wrote: »

I thought this thread was about streetfights...this thread disappoints

Thats what I thought too, we could do without streetfights, so unnecessary.

Con1988

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Especially for rural villages such as mine. What on earth is the point in having those huge, energy-guzzling monstrosities threatening the darkness of our home when we want to sleep.

The community association had them built recently as a "project" in order to "improve" the village. They should have just left it the way things were. Maybe the village is fine as it is, maybe there's no way to improve it.

At a time when we're encouraged to turn off or dim the small lights in our homes when we're not using them, then you have the outside light up like it's daylight when nobody wants them. Can anyone say something for these things?

jesus!! Anytime any of you sh*t kickers ever get any closer to civilisation, you give out!! Maybe this so called "project" was started to cut out walking around the village with oil lanterns or candles!!

GTE

up for anything wrote: »

High visibility vest?

Then you trip over something while you walk down area where street lights used to be?
Dont say bring a torch, dear god almighty don't say that. :rolleyes:

Sanjuro

What's the point in fighting in any place? Always thought it just made everyone look like twats.







Or maybe I was just too shit at it...

Jambo221

OP, is your name Dan, and is your twin brother's name also Dan?

If not then I'd guess that you might have a monopoly on torches and high vis. vests :P

questionmark?

stovelid wrote: »

Have you tried curtains or blinds?

:rolleyes: Everyone knows there is no room for those on a cardboard box. tcchhh:p

FreudianSlippers

salonfire wrote: »

I thought this thread was about streetfights...this thread disappoints

What's the point in having streetfights?

Rabies

SuperInfinity wrote: »

Especially for rural villages such as mine. What on earth is the point in having those huge, energy-guzzling monstrosities threatening the darkness of our home when we want to sleep.

The community association had them built recently as a "project" in order to "improve" the village. They should have just left it the way things were. Maybe the village is fine as it is, maybe there's no way to improve it.

At a time when we're encouraged to turn off or dim the small lights in our homes when we're not using them, then you have the outside light up like it's daylight when nobody wants them. Can anyone say something for these things?

How about we go back to using whale oil in the street lamps? Less of a power drain.

The new lights erected near my work are all LED. Less power drain and a clearer light

Einhard

OisinT wrote: »

The other sun!

Son of the Sun!

easynote

There is no point, but there is a reason and a meaning, possibly.

Kasabian

Street lights are for normal people to be able to judge villagers from a distance and make a decision whether to stop at the local amenities without fear of a deliverance moment.

easynote

Ask them could they change it to a lower watt bulb so that they don't disturb your sleep.