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It certainly has no effect on driving safety, such is just silly.
I respectfully disagree. I have a slight amount of night blindness and headlights are not always sufficient, at least not on busy roads. I limit my driving at night unless I'm driving in the city where I know there will be sufficient street lights. I'm not advocating street lights everywhere, but I prefer those on highways to those high-powered headlights that blind the drivers around you.
Interestingly, I have developed a very slight amount of night blindness as I have aged. I find it easier and safer to drive in the country where it is very dark than in the city with all of the lights. When I have to drive in town at night, I heave a huge sigh of relief when I get out of the city lights and onto the darker roads where I'm not constantly being blinded by oncoming headlights and street lights that a few years ago would have given me no problem whatsoever, and can actually see where I'm going via my own headlights.
Since night blindness is a lessened ability of the eye to adjust quickly to changes in light level, this makes sense - the eye has difficulty adjusting to the light level changing between street lights and headlights shining in the eyes and then darkness again. In the country, there are no such changes (or a lot fewer), and so the eye with night blindness can adjust and stay adjusted.
I respectfully disagree. I have a slight amount of night blindness and headlights are not always sufficient, at least not on busy roads. I limit my driving at night unless I'm driving in the city where I know there will be sufficient street lights. I'm not advocating street lights everywhere, but I prefer those on highways to those high-powered headlights that blind the drivers around you.
Yes, a small percentage of drivers suffer from more serious vision problems at night. But should we burn huge quantities of fossil fuels to light the streets for a few.
I have no real vision problems, but I find the constant driving into and out of pools of light from street lights annoying as hell. And the light interstates in places, what's with that?
Again, I said only for busy city highways. Second, the technology exists and is currently being tested for both solar-powered LEDs, and hybrid fuel cell street lights. I think these show promise.
To TexasHorseLady, I agree with you about the headlights. That's the main reason why I find the street lights helpful - you don't have as many people using their bright lights because its not as necessary. On less busy streets, away from the city, you don't encounter as many cars and thus less headlights altogether.
I agree that its preferable to have less light pollution, and less wasteful energy consumption. I'm just not ready to give it up altogether on every road.
I remember growing up in a no light at night situation. I still have excellent night vision.
Now my condo association has "street' lights everywhere. I think excess night lighting is even more important a reason to move to the really rural southwest than the damp cold winters around here.
We see a lot of hype on TV about all the devices we have that are 'vampires' consuming power. All the little power transformers to charge our phones, the cable box, the DVD player, etc., etc., etc.
Ok they are consuming power, small amounts, and in every household it surely adds up.
Why do I never see anything about the huge amounts of power consumed by unnecessary outside lighting? Why do people feel the need to create a pool of light pollution in the middle of a quiet dark neighborhood? Another observation is the people that do this are almost always from the north. If you drove down my street at 2 AM and noted all the houses with outside lights, vs. houses in the dark, the lighted are from NY or NJ primarily.
It is lovely here, very few street lights, and while you can't see the milky way anymore due to light pollution, you can see lots of stars. Now a couple from NY bought next door, and they have at least 1000 watts of outdoor lighting on 24/7 as the don't even turn them off during the day. No timers, no motion detectors, just always on.
When will the 'that ain't green' crowd broach the topic of outside lighting, or is this just a taboo topic as too many people are scared of the dark? In 24 hours they consume more power than my vampires do in a year.
This is what I find scary about the dark. A few nights ago I considered renting a place that to say the least was very far away from my university. I needed something to eat and I couldn't catch a ride, so I walked the whole way. The walk back scared me because it was finally dark outside and many parts of the route back were not lit. I was terrified because I was all alone and feared getting mugged or killed. To say the least I decided not to rent that place because sometimes I need to be out at night and sometimes I can't always get a ride home. For me, poorly lit(or not at all lit) areas scary me due to the safety factor. In some cases, the rural areas are more frightening to me than urban areas because of what I CAN'T see in the dark. Where my parents house is, I wanted to go to the grocery store, but once again, no ride. I walked for a mile down to the store. It was around dusk. I thought there would still be some light left when I got out of the store. Well, there was, but barely. I literally raced home because it was getting dark and the road to the subdivision is pretty much dark and spooky, made all the more creepy by trees everywhere. Being in the country at night at one's house can be fun if you want to see the stars, but being away from the house at night on foot is scary. I figure at least in the urban areas, there are lights everywhere and people everywhere, so if I do get scared, I can just hide away in a diner or cafe.
On another note, I wonder if fluorescent bulbs are used. If they are not, then I think they should be used widely for outside lights.
This is what I find scary about the dark. A few nights ago I considered renting a place that to say the least was very far away from my university. I needed something to eat and I couldn't catch a ride, so I walked the whole way. The walk back scared me because it was finally dark outside and many parts of the route back were not lit. I was terrified because I was all alone and feared getting mugged or killed. To say the least I decided not to rent that place because sometimes I need to be out at night and sometimes I can't always get a ride home. For me, poorly lit(or not at all lit) areas scary me due to the safety factor. In some cases, the rural areas are more frightening to me than urban areas because of what I CAN'T see in the dark. Where my parents house is, I wanted to go to the grocery store, but once again, no ride. I walked for a mile down to the store. It was around dusk. I thought there would still be some light left when I got out of the store. Well, there was, but barely. I literally raced home because it was getting dark and the road to the subdivision is pretty much dark and spooky, made all the more creepy by trees everywhere. Being in the country at night at one's house can be fun if you want to see the stars, but being away from the house at night on foot is scary. I figure at least in the urban areas, there are lights everywhere and people everywhere, so if I do get scared, I can just hide away in a diner or cafe.
I am so sorry.
That must be terribly limiting to have so much fear.
I see from your writing that: You find the dark is scary for you; You fear being alone and there might be muggers or killers lurking in the dark; You are spooked by creepy trees; and you want to hide away in a lit diner.
I wonder if you presume that muggers and killers lurk in the dark and they must be capable of seeing in the dark? I wish to comfort you, as you say you can't see in the dark, but no body else can either.
I know that most rapists are first your friend. It is rarely that a rapist attacks a victim in the dark, as an un-known attacker.
Muggers and killers? I dont know. I think of these things are being robberies. For a robbery the attacker must think that you have something he wants. It is not the dark that makes him attack, it is that you carry a purse. Robberies often are in well lighted places like stores and sidewalks. The attackers want to see that you have a purse. He needs the light too.
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... On another note, I wonder if fluorescent bulbs are used. If they are not, then I think they should be used widely for outside lights.
No. Usually they are high wattage vapor sodium lights.
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