No Lights On Motorway
Discussion
FiF said:
Secondly in my early advanced training I asked how to deal with the issue of visibility at night vs speed, bearing in mind lights were not as good then. The advice given, which has stood me in good stead, is that if it's a normal drive then find another who is travelling at the same sort of pace you intend, establish a following position well back and use them as a pathfinder. It works.
I have found this a very useful tactic when driving on unlit roads anywhere, but particularly in third world and less developed areas in Asia etc.MakaveliX said:
It is more an observation than anything. In my opinion, and this is backed up by stats and figures, the motorways would be much safer with better visibility
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/8920827/motorways-...
Regarding facts and figures, I think they say 'lies, damn lies and statistics'.https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/8920827/motorways-...
I could see an argument for lighting roads and motorways if vehicles didn't have headlights but they do.
It also feels like 'the motorways must be lit' argument is about people not taking responsibility for their own actions, people don't have to drive on the motorway or they could just drive to the conditions/their ability or risk level. Instead there is a demand for something to be done irrespective of the cost so they aren't inconvenienced.
P.S. The Government and local Councils are basically broke, we are living beyond our means but let's carry on with the spending as we do not want to be inconvenienced.
MrSpanky49 said:
i find it easier when unllit tbh. I find depth perception easier without street lights for some reason.
Similar. For certain, badly lit roads are worse than no lighting. Pools of darkness in-between. People may have noticed that when you enter a road-tunnel, there is brighter transition lighting until the lower level lighting is reached.
FiF said:
A few points. Motorways were originally unlit and sections with street lighting were introduced due to collision stats and sometimes local common weather conditions.
Secondly in my early advanced training I asked how to deal with the issue of visibility at night vs speed, bearing in mind lights were not as good then. The advice given, which has stood me in good stead, is that if it's a normal drive then find another who is travelling at the same sort of pace you intend, establish a following position well back and use them as a pathfinder. It works.
Finally something mentioned on the smart motorway threads. Considering point 1 above it was more than disappointing to learn that in one of the design iterations for smart motorways National Highways or one of the previous versions stated quite clearly that to reduce the cost of upgrading the removal of systems of lighting should be considered. That suggests it's about the money, stuff safety. Though all that is really for different thread.
There's definitely been a move towards de-lighting motorways in Scotland as well. Back in the late 80s/early 90s, there was a big project to add lighting to the M74 from Glasgow out towards Hamilton/Larkhall. When the road was widened in the late 2010s, the lights were all removed.Secondly in my early advanced training I asked how to deal with the issue of visibility at night vs speed, bearing in mind lights were not as good then. The advice given, which has stood me in good stead, is that if it's a normal drive then find another who is travelling at the same sort of pace you intend, establish a following position well back and use them as a pathfinder. It works.
Finally something mentioned on the smart motorway threads. Considering point 1 above it was more than disappointing to learn that in one of the design iterations for smart motorways National Highways or one of the previous versions stated quite clearly that to reduce the cost of upgrading the removal of systems of lighting should be considered. That suggests it's about the money, stuff safety. Though all that is really for different thread.
Same with the new M8 heading east from the city, the new section is unlit, but the parallel A8 that it effectively replaced remains fully lit as far as Eurocentral. Either there's been a change in standards, or it's just about saving cash, though one would have thought the A8 would have been de-lit at after the new road opened, given it now carries hardly any traffic.
Nomme de Plum said:
Ashtray83 said:
Cars have lights. Drive to the conditions
+1Other than street lights for personal pedestrian safety and reassurance motorway and other road lights should not be necessary. They are an unnecessary waste of energy and create light pollution.
Being rather aged i tend to drive more cautiously at night and leaned a technique from my ex RAF pilot Dad many decades ago. Never stare and keep eye movement.
NRG1976 said:
Cats eyes good. Motorway lighting not good.
Some years back there were "active" cats eyes installed on some roads, which had different colours and (due to being powered LEDs rather than reflectors) were visible much further away than standard cats eyes. I seem to recall they got rid of them due to strobing having the potential to cause fits.donkmeister said:
NRG1976 said:
Cats eyes good. Motorway lighting not good.
Some years back there were "active" cats eyes installed on some roads, which had different colours and (due to being powered LEDs rather than reflectors) were visible much further away than standard cats eyes. I seem to recall they got rid of them due to strobing having the potential to cause fits.https://www.clearview-intelligence.com/products/ac...
One of the things I like about driving here in Norway is that basically all motorways (expect one stretch that was built as a trial and quickly abandoned) are lit up at night. And so are a considerable part of the other main roads too. I find it much more relaxing than the unlit motorways in other countries.
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