Many large highways are not lit in rural areas. Experts say that keeps drivers on alert and vehicle lights are sufficient to drive safely during the night. Is that the case for your country's rural highways?

Highway safety advocates push for U.S. 280 changes
30 September 2006

HARPERSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Highway deaths on U.S. 280 have given life to a safety drive led by a group called 280 Light of Life.

The group plans a candlelight vigil Sunday at 8 p.m. at North Shelby Baptist Church on U.S. 280 to call attention to at least 12 victims of fatal traffic crashes on a stretch of the highway east of Alabama 119 to Harpersville.

Organizer Angela Madison's daughter, Kayton, is among the victims. Kayton died in November 2002 in a wreck on Double Oak Mountain, about a mile from North Shelby Baptist.

The candles will stand for hope that no more lives will be lost on the highway, she said.

Madison and a group of neighbors, friends and co-workers at Wilsonville Elementary School formed the highway safety group.

"We aren't opposed to anything out there that will make that highway safer. Lighting would be nice, because it's so dark when you top the mountain; and, of course, we want the traffic lights at (Shelby County) 41 and 43," Madison said.

She said drivers also must take responsibility.

"We can't blame all of 280's problems on the Department of Transportation," she said. "We are responsible for each other out there. I know everyone is busy, but you cannot replace a life."

At Sunday's vigil, Madison will read a poem she wrote about the number of crosses along 280 depicting highway deaths.

In part it reads, "Open your eyes and look around at the weathered stakes upon the ground."

Near interchanges, and complex situations, lighting is a good thing. You can see those situations better and earlier than without lighting. So here in NL, all interchanges with other Motorways are lighted. But not on ordinary stretches of motorway in rural areas. That is also not necessary, it gives too much lighting pollution, and i must say; driving without lighting is better, on long straight roads.

In Belgium, all motorways are lit, because they have an overcapacity in their nuclear power stations.

When you say "rural highway" are you talking about a dual-carriage or just a 2 lane?

When you say "rural highway" are you talking about a dual-carriage or just a 2 lane?
It could be a 4-lane highway whereby both directions are separated by a median.

Malaysia's North-South Highway has stretches in between states and towns/interchanges that are not lit. The same goes for the Central North-South Link Expressway (ELITE to KL International Airport) there.

Probably due to Hong Kong's small size, every single road and highway is brightly lit.

Hypothetically speaking, you don't even need your headlights. Of course, obeying the law and having redundant safety precautions means you should always use your lights at night.

It would be impossible to light all rural 2 and 4 lane highways in Saskatchewan. There is something like 60 000 km of paved roads in this province. At all major intersections the highway is lighted. Good enough for us.The rest would be a waste of money!

The other problem with these highways is that there isn't necessarily a power source nearby for lights. I don't think it's necessary at all to have rural highways lit. At intersections, yes but elsewhere your headlights should be enough.

Lighting all large Highways also in rural regions would be a waste of energy in monstrous proportions.

Ok it would probably improve safety a bit. But there are other constuctive measures you can take to improve safety that would cost much less and will be more effective. Like making sure the surface of the roads is in good condition, with good markings. Improving the line of sight in critical areas. Seperate the directions in dangerous curves. Etc...

Ive driven many miles on pitch black Australian roads - Those reflective 'cats eyes' are sufficient.

The main problem is dirver driving too fast in good or bad condition.
If you drive near the speed limit, your headlight is enough to guide you thru the road. However, when people are driving too fast, vehicle headlight won't give you enough sight distance in the dark to response.

In Connecticut, Rt15 is a four lanes expressway, posted speed limit 55mph For the most part, there is no street light except at major interchanges. At night, it is pitch black on the road. But, a lot of drivers go 80-90 mph. The road isn't designed for such high speed as it was built decades and decades ago and there is limitations in improving an old road.

Cat eyes are fairly rare in North America. However, they're limited to lane delineation, and does little help in improving the range of sight.

If you really want to make highways safe at night there is a easy solution. Ban night driving. Problem Solved. If not accidents will happen no matter how much lighting there is.

So the highways get's more overcrowded at daylight? And what about trucktraffic and distribution? They have to drive at night to supply distribution centers and shops.

all the US needs is a actual drivers license.. not some paper that comes with the cornflakes.. improved driving skills will do alot more..

Do some jurisdictions have restrictions on truck travel during the day time? I'd rather have the huge trucks confined to the night time and not get in the way of civilian rush hour.

^ No way that would work. In a place like the GTA trucks mean business, if they aren't allowed on the road business would stop.

Do some jurisdictions have restrictions on truck travel during the day time? I'd rather have the huge trucks confined to the night time and not get in the way of civilian rush hour.

Oh, I wish!

Roads are ment for transportation. How do you buy your food, clothes, electronics, camera for highrise-photography etc, without trucks? Distribution works already 24/7.

In Luxembourg, all major Highways are lit by a dull, yellowish Light. When I compare that with non-lit Highways elsewhere, I can say that this is a good solution.
Especially after a long drive, the soft illumination is very relaxing to the eyes, because you don't have to constantly stare in the bright spot of your car lights anymore.
So in conclusion, Vision and concentration are much better on illuminated Highways, which has of course an impact on safety.

(IMHO like everything, of course)
FG

Cat eyes should be mandatory everywhere. They are really helpful.

In Toronto, roads are extremely well lit - to an extent that it's almost overdone. You have enough light to read a newspaper.

I find Toronto's residential side streets to be very poorly lit. It's quite dark down there. I doubt it is economically feasible or necessary to light these quiet streets too brightly.

I find Toronto's residential side streets to be very poorly lit. It's quite dark down there. I doubt it is economically feasible or necessary to light these quiet streets too brightly.

Neighbourhood might not want to b e too bright also.
Too bright will affect the indoor life.

Cat eyes should be mandatory everywhere. They are really helpful.

In Toronto, roads are extremely well lit - to an extent that it's almost overdone. You have enough light to read a newspaper.

Cat eyes are quite expensive, it will signicficantly increase the cost of project.
Second, many people do steal them from the road and sell for money.

Haven't heard of cat's eyes being stolen and sold before. Over here, they're found on basically all urban roads, with reflectors on posts for rural roads instead.

We get rumble strips on the sides of highways in the country as well.

'Cat eyes' or 'Bot Dots' are used all over California:

http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/images075/i-080_wb_exit_008a_04.jpg

Most states don't use them though... other than California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

Yeah, but here, they are used instead of markings. In Europe, we use reflecting markings, only very old road markings neets cat's eyes, because they don't reflect.

Lately in Halifax they've been splurging a bit on extra streetlights in new interchanges:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h140/halpic/hwy118.jpg
(New highway 118 improvementsoutside of Dartmouth)

^ Well Halifax is a regional power, it probably makes sense.

There are a few spots around Toronto that probably have overkill

http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_407-409_images/407_cl_59_west_t_Aug04.jpg

They have to build this lower light fixtures around this area because of proximity to the airport.
http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_401_images/401_cl_346_west.jpg

NVM

Yeah, but here, they are used instead of markings. In Europe, we use reflecting markings, only very old road markings neets cat's eyes, because they don't reflect.

You dont use cats eyes in the Netherlands and Northern Europe (and the northern US) because they interfere with snowplows when it snows. In southern Europe cats eyes are used too.
Btw. the ''reflective'' paint (used in the Netherlands) aint that reflective and the Netherlands has never used cats eyes on a large scale (even on old roads).

Freeways probably need the least lighting out of any sort of road (indeed, a few freeways here have no lights at all) because they lack tight curves and intersections.

Here in Belgium just every street has lighting. It's incredible!!
Sometimes it's too much, almost every 20 meters!

Cat eyes are fairly rare in North America.

i was gonna say, r u kidding? california has them EVERYWHERE. maybe the exception is snow areas, but even then they often just 'bury' them into the asphalt.

'Cat eyes' or 'Bot Dots' are used all over California:

Most states don't use them though... other than California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

'Cat eyes' or 'Bot Dots' are used all over California:

Most states don't use them though... other than California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii.

What about Arizona, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico

Cats Eyes can be destroyes when a snow plow is clearing the road. That's the reason why they aren't used in the Northern States.

^^ If you mean reflective pieces between lanes as cats eyes, then we use them in Estonia too. The problem with these is that they get dirty very easily so they're seen well only on rather new roads.

In Israel many 2-lane roads have cat-eyes, especially on the two outer edges of the road (the middle doesn't always have them). With Israel's many mountainous winding roads these are very useful for safety. In general, Israel has very good markings on the edges of the road. If cat-eyes are not present, there is always at least a yellow line at the outer edge (unlike in North America, in Israel the yellow line delineates the outer edge of the road).

In Ontario, from my limited experience, 2-lane roads have cat-eyes only on tight curves. For example, while driving on Highway 26 north of Toronto, I encountered them whenever there was a curve (they had an interesting bluish glow to them, as opposed to the standard reflection), but otherwise they do not exist.

I also don't like the fact that in many countries, including Canada, the outer edges of the road are often unmarked because of old age (i.e. from what I understand, a solid white line is always painted but it is rarely repainted on time when roads age). Highway 26 which I mentioned previously has great markings, but some other highways, like Highways 9 and 10, don't. As I already stated before, in my opinion the outer edges are much more important than centre markings for night driving, since as long as you can see the edge line and avoid crossing it, while keeping as close to it as possible from its left side, you should be fine.

But regarding cat-eyes, the snow plough argument is interesting, I never thought of it before. Perhaps this is the reason they aren't used as much in Canada (at least in Ontario), although I think it's mostly a cost issue.

But regarding cat-eyes, the snow plough argument is interesting, I never thought of it before. Perhaps this is the reason they aren't used as much in Canada (at least in Ontario), although I think it's mostly a cost issue.

I think it has more to do with snow ploughs than cost.

Cats eyes are unbeatable for night visability

http://www.onthighways.com/hwy_401_images/401_cl_346_west.jpg

This kind of lightning really destroys the landscape... Why so many lampposts? And why are they so insane high?

^ This offers one of the neatest driving experiences I have ever done at night. If you enter this part of the 401 from the 403 Mississagua, coming from the high level ramp, all you can see is the stream of highway lighting -- its actually amazing. Before highmast became popular around 1990, all of the 401 through Toronto was lit with this type of lighting.

^^ Low masts sure do create visual pollution, but high masts create more light pollution. So which is a better solution?

How about do you guys think about 'lijnverlichting'? Unfortunately I don't know the english translation, but this is how it looks like:

http://www.geocities.com/lantaarnpalen_zijn_mooi/lijnverlichting2.jpg

And this is what it looks like during night:

http://www.autosnelwegen.nl/asw/pics/fotowedstrijd/nov06-09.jpg

Not my pictures, btw.

In Spain we have "reflective pieces" in both sides of almost all roadways, in motorways are also very used in intersections, but I think that I haven't seen there as lane delimiters, instead that, we have reflective painting and when one of your car's wheel is over the last right/left line, it produces an scandalous sound.

And here the rural highways are only lit in intersections.

See u!

^ Thats pretty funky lighting. I wouldn't mind seeing that in North America.

This is a common desing in several US states.
http://www.canhighways.com/NY/PHOTOS/I190_NY_13.jpg

This kind of lightning really destroys the landscape... Why so many lampposts? And why are they so insane high?

Why jeopardize the safety of passengers in exchange for aesthetics? The area is ugly in the first place, there really isn't a landscape to destroy; the only "landscape" I can see is the immense concrete jungle, which really isn't beautiful anyway.
The lamps are so high because the light will be able to light up a larger area.

^^ google a little bit about light pollution ;)
birds are flying over Manhattan, too

Whatever anybody does anywhere... at least plum the posts and align them! In Washington State, the DOT is notorious for "aesthetically poor" (in my opinion) lighting design. In-and-out. Up-and-down. Ugly. But there are some nice exceptions... like I-5 between Fort Lewis and The Tacoma Mall. I took this shot from the South Tacoma Way Bridge/Overpass (just south of Hwy 512) in February...

http://cpm-seattle.smugmug.com/photos/257997834_mUqwm-L.jpg

Why jeopardize the safety of passengers in exchange for aesthetics? The area is ugly in the first place, there really isn't a landscape to destroy; the only "landscape" I can see is the immense concrete jungle, which really isn't beautiful anyway.
The lamps are so high because the light will be able to light up a larger area.

The necessary evil itself (the highway) can be put much nicer in the landscape. And indeed, american interstates are not well known for that...

As mentioned before, almost all Belgian highways are illuminated. Not just a stroke, but the whole length. At around midnight (or even 11 pm?) though, only the intersections get illuminated. Most regional roads stay illuminated the whole night however. The more recent highways often aren't illuminated either.

If you wish to see this yourself, be sure to check out ChrisZwolle's picture thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=554629). Almost all images of Belgium contain at least one lamppost :)

The Belgian Roadway system is said to be the only visible man-made structure visible with the naked eye from the moon at night due to the lightning.

Greetings,
Glodenox

those 150 feet tall super lights are becoming popular in Canada.

There really tall and they can be seen from quite a distance.

^ No way that would work. In a place like the GTA trucks mean business, if they aren't allowed on the road business would stop.

It works here in Chicago. Drive along any expressway or tollway at 3AM and you'll seem more trucks than you will at 3PM. This is especially true on the Tri-state Tollway. It's the only way our interstates can function when they're typically only 3 lanes each direction.

Wierd....


Both cities are major fright and distribution points.

typical Perth freeway lighting

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200711/r198767_758392.jpg

In southern Belgium, some motorways are dark as well. But in Norway all motorways have lampposts (only country in the world?), and all heavy traficated 2 lane roads... Personally i think lampposts are beautiful and smart! Keep us from running into crossing mooses, wich is are very common accidents up here...

beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think sometimes freeways with lighting are cool looking

I've read some studies that noted unlit highways are actually safer because drivers need to pay more attention on the road.

What about when you drive 100 km/h and a moose is in the middle of the road?=P

This is how we lit the roads outside city limits:

































http://admin.portal.martincaraudio.hu/upload/Image/Sanyi%20mappa/havasut_volvo.jpg

What about when you drive 100 km/h and a moose is in the middle of the road?=P

Well, a loose moose will still do considerable damage to a car if it decides to dart out from nowhere onto a lit highway.

This kind of very tall lighting with 6 lights on top is used at practically all highway interchanges in Israel. This is Road 6, which is only lit at its junctions.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Kvish6fromHorashim.JPG/800px-

Other than that, I would say that a higher than average proportion of highways in Israel are lit all the way along, but by no means all of them.

A mixture of lamp post types on Road 4:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Kvish-4-Isr001.jpg/800px-Kvish-4-Isr001.jpg

Ayalon Freeway - Tel Aviv:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Littleuni_13.jpg

All pics from Wikipedia.

So the highways get's more overcrowded at daylight? And what about trucktraffic and distribution? They have to drive at night to supply distribution centers and shops.
Intresting, trucks are not allowed to drive at night in Switzerland.

Lärmschutz? And at which times?

I know from Austria there's a truck prohibition between 22:00 and 05:00. Only trucks with a special Lärmschutz label (green sign with a 'L' in it on the front of the truck) are allowed to drive at those times. Maybe something similar in Switzerland?

^ How often are these enforced though? Would they have road-blocks just to catch the violaters? I can't imagine a police officer trying to spot that small sticker in the middle of the night.

Lärmschutz? And at which times?
Yes. Between 22:00 and 5:00, and the whole sunday and on national-holydays (x-mess, eastern...) it has been introduced in the 1930-ies.
You need a special permit if you need to transport something at these times. Usually you see almost only milk transports at night.
^ How often are these enforced though? Would they have road-blocks just to catch the violaters?
It is enforced in Switzerland.

How about do you guys think about 'lijnverlichting'? Unfortunately I don't know the english translation, but this is how it looks like:

http://www.geocities.com/lantaarnpalen_zijn_mooi/lijnverlichting2.jpg

Nice lighting. Outside the NL I've only seen that France on the Lyon's ring road, on a short section on testing on the A1 near Lille and in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Here it is, taken from an other SSC forum:
http://tammuz.interinter.net/system/uploads/c/5/2ce3de0ad9043ea8e8ccb77fd6203b/large.jpg?1180466942

Do you think that Motorways, Autobahns, Interstates ea. should be illuminated at night?

Only at important interchanges. Full scale lighting is a waste + it disturbes wildlife.

Only at important interchanges. Full scale lighting is a waste + it disturbes wildlife.

I second to that. I really don't like what they've done in Belgium... Waste of power is also a reason, security issue can't prevail.

its different for belgium, since almost the entire network is one big interchange, isn't it?

i mean in hungary there are 10-12 km sections without an on/offramp...

nevertheless i would like it if it was 100% illuminated, but only if it came from - say - solar powered batteries

In urban areas lighting is necessary, in rural or low population areas lighting should be required only in hazardous areas, bridges, interchanges. Otherwise it should be optional.

In Norway, all motorways are illuminated at night. There used to be a couple of streches that wasn't illuminated, but not anymore.

Keep in mind that in countries using nuclear energy there is a massive excess supply of electricity during nights because nuclear reactors cannot be stopped quickly. So lighting up the motorways is not necessarily the worst way of burning the excess electricity. Not sure what is the main source of electricity in Belgium though.

Main source is nuclear power AFAIK :)

Yes, true, Belgium has indeed a nuclear overcapacity at night. But still, putting up al those lightposts + maintaining them + the infrastructure isn't cheap either.

As mentioned Norway has lightpoles on every single motorway - this is one demand for the road to get 100km/h speed limit. But in Norway studies has concluded traditional lamps are not optimal for trafic-safety as they make people drive to fast in bad weather, also makes it easier to fall asleep. New motorways in Norway will be tested with small diodes in the railings and on short poles to show the contures of the road and artpieces or landscape feautures lit in different colours along the way to make variation to keep driver more allert.

These are also being used on bridges even on bridges with sidewalks since they are less visible than the traditional poles and illuminate the sidewalks very well.

I know Sweden has worked on the same issues, i believe there are some test-stretches there aswell.

Personally i think driving in Germany where there are none is better, even more so when the trafic is low, as it usually is at night.

Btw. Norway has no nuclear power, so this is not the reason why we have lightpoles on all our motorways. We do have very cheap waterpower tough, and our motorway-network isn't exactly huge.

A lot of you guys are talking about Belgium. What about The Netherlands? I saw it in december from above (plane) when I was coming back from Ireland. Almost every road was filled with light. A lot of yellow lines through the country and the cities were like huge yellow spots.. NL isn't really different from Belgium in a way of motorways with light and wasting energy ;)

^^ That's not entirely true, in Belgium, virtually all motorways are lit, even the rural ones. In the Netherlands, only the Randstad motorways plus a couple of other locations are lit at night.

As far as I know, there is only one motorway in NL that has 2x3 lanes, and is not lit at night; the A12 near Arnhem.

I think these suckers would be awesome, if they were installed everywhere:

http://media.lvrj.com/images/2306614.jpg

I think these suckers would be awesome, if they were installed everywhere:

http://media.lvrj.com/images/2306614.jpg

Yep, interesting alternative ^^

^^ That's not entirely true, in Belgium, virtually all motorways are lit, even the rural ones. In the Netherlands, only the Randstad motorways plus a couple of other locations are lit at night.

As far as I know, there is only one motorway in NL that has 2x3 lanes, and is not lit at night; the A12 near Arnhem.

The Netherlands is bigger and it has more motorways than Belgium has. So in total there are more motorway lights and a bigger waste of energy ;)

Those reflector things are a great alternative indeed :)

I think these suckers would be awesome, if they were installed everywhere:

http://media.lvrj.com/images/2306614.jpg

The only problem is that after a couple of years, they're useless.

Those reflectors are all over the roads here, they are white for the direction you are going and red on the opposite side of the road or wrong way. In areas that get snow those reflectors get scraped right off by snow plows.

maybe the paint they use should have light-reflecting qualities

^^ They are already used in many European tunnels and viaducts.

^^ True, but only in parts of the country where are almost no inhabitants. Like the mountains or parts with a lot of forests. You won't see those reflectors in urban area's except for tunnels.

If I'm not mistaken, these reflectors are extensively used in areas of Spain that don't get any snow. Especially on autopistas.

I saw a lot of them in Ireland, where they almost don't have streetlights.

Streetlights – Oh, I like streetlights on the motorways! I find these a fantastic thing. When you travelling on the motorways at night time, with streetlights on, it brighten up the motorways.

In UK, several routes of motorways have streetlights. Some of motorways have lots of miles with streetlights on, such as M1, London towards Junction 19 (Spur of M6/M1 junction) - around 75 miles (120 km) of continue streetlights on that M1 motorway. But not just that, some miles after Junction 19, to the North, there are yet MORE streetlights on M1, in the North!

Some can be countuine for ten's of miles e.g 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 miles etc, like M25 motorway.

If you drive on some busier motorways from A2(M), to M25, then M1 and so on... and you will see the streetlights on these motorways can be continue as long as over 120 miles (195 km) !!!

Where there are 4 x 4 lanes motorways, it is compulsory to install streetlights on these wider motorways for safety reasons. It is very rare to see 4 x 4 lanes motorways that have NO streetlights. Of course, there are several busier 2 x 2 lanes & 3 x 3 lanes motorways have streetlights on. This applies to several dual carriageways from 2 x 2 lanes to 4 x 4 lanes too.

Not so long ago, these streetlight on motorways used to be "good-old British-style" orange lights but sadly, steady phased out to make way for newer brighter peach lights.

I prefer orange lights like Belgium motorways.

I think Britain is the 1st worst light pollution in Europe. Belgium is the 2nd worst light pollution in the Europe. 3rd is The Netherlands.

Reflectors – Ah! In here, we called these reflectors as "Cat's eyes"! For more info about this Cat's Eyes:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat%27s_eye_(road)

All of British main roads, dual carriageways and motorways have the cat's eyes studs on. Rural / country roads do not have cat's eyes on.

Recently, we have started to used newer type of cat's eyes for roads and cycle paths like in Cambridge, they started to use new cat's eyes for cycle paths outside the city. Website:- www.astucia.co.uk

I support German model regarding motorway lighting. I don't think street lights are really needed.

Btw. Norway has no nuclear power, so this is not the reason why we have lightpoles on all our motorways. We do have very cheap waterpower tough, and our motorway-network isn't exactly huge.
It is true that our motorway-network is small, but we also have a lot of other rural highways that are illuminated. For instance, you can drive from Halden via Oslo along the coast through most of Vest-Agder (I.e. west of Kristiansand some 500 km away), and the whole way will be illuminated. Compare with the many km we have with urban streets, the illuminated motorways probably don't matter so much energy wise. Personally, I prefer lights on motorways if there are no blinds to block the headlight from traffic on the other side of the fence. On heavily trafficated two-lane roads they are however more useful, especially when it is raining.
http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/earth1.jpg

I support German model regarding motorway lighting. I don't think street lights are really needed.

I'm from germany and it's very uncomfortable to drive on the Autobahn at night without street lights. You cannot drive with high beam as there's always traffic on the other side of the road. So you have to dive 100 km/h all the time and can't drive faster. I think streetlights would be very comfortable. At the moment, only a few ten kilomneters are illuminated at nights, all urban autobahns.


An example is the A3 at Frankfurt Airport or the A7 north of the Elbtunnel in Hamburg.

German autobahn-streetlights in action:

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/720303.jpg

You cannot drive with high beam as there's always traffic on the other side of the road. So you have to dive 100 km/h all the time and can't drive faster.

100 km/h is ridiculous. Majority of European motorways are not illuminated at night and people drive comfortably at 130 km/h. I almost always drive thru Germany at night and I can easily drive with whatever speed I want without street lighting.

Show street lights from your country here. :)

I opened a thread like this a while ago:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=445388

By the way, I like your nickname :cheers:

street lights and traffic lights are different!!!!!!

btw, here's some from Minneapolis, in the US of A:
http://images.publicradio.org/content/2009/07/15/20090715_minneapolis_street_light_33.jpg

http://http://postart.co.nz/uploads/images/06-8%20Trafalgar%20St%20Nelson.jpg

Nelson, New Zealand

I like these ones in Zaragoza, Spain :drool:

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/5660/2279721958c542f2b0b4o.jpg

i like the ones in Hershey, Pennsylvania:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_n5G-MbMk_x4/SC7Xnh0DONI/AAAAAAAADGw/LFtefQQFLP4/s400/Hershey+PA+2-27-2007+143.jpg

I took these a couple days ago during rainy weather going south on Interstate 35 in Austin. I love these type of lights we use here in the U.S. :)

http://i35.tinypic.com/jf9sep.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/k9za0y.jpg
http://i35.tinypic.com/6sqp8i.jpg

I love the truck in the last picture :D

^^

I loved it too....it got in the way of my light though...:). I had no idea I was gonna be using that picture to show lights. Great looking truck.

I love the truck in the last picture :D

I was just gonna say! :cheers:

Swedish streetlights (mercury-lamps) from the 60's


http://i34.tinypic.com/ivic91.jpg




Örebro, Sweden mid 60's




At least in the past typical motorway streetlights in Sweden- low-pressure sodium lamps.


http://i33.tinypic.com/2v8slyh.jpg


Örebro, Sweden 1973

Anyone got a picture of those huge ones they're putting up? I've never seen lights before like them til a trip to Reno. They look like stadium lights, VERY high up (probably 2-3 times the height of normal lights) used to light up freeways, and have 6-10 lights arranged in a circle that shoots downwards...

street lights and traffic lights are different!!!!!!

I do know that, but somehow I was sure the poster meant traffic lights :) Either way, I apologize if that was a false assumption.

No.. I mean Street lights :lol:

[i like the new Madrid lights] (white light)
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww359/actualizacionesmadrid10/IMGP1514.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww359/actualizacionesmadrid10/IMGP1521.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww359/actualizacionesmadrid10/IMGP1526.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww359/actualizacionesmadrid10/IMGP1541.jpg

Designed by Pritzker price Alvaro Siza

This is the universal lamppost for residential areas in the Netherlands, you can find them everywhere.
http://i38.tinypic.com/keeyok.jpg

Anyone got a picture of those huge ones they're putting up? I've never seen lights before like them til a trip to Reno. They look like stadium lights, VERY high up (probably 2-3 times the height of normal lights) used to light up freeways, and have 6-10 lights arranged in a circle that shoots downwards...

You mean something like this?
http://www.globalview.be/pictures/big/A_511091.jpg
Source: http://www.globalview.be/

There are about 15 lights on each of those poles. Do note that the image was taken from a plane, so it may look small... Just compare them to the cars riding under them. Been there for many many years.

Here's a photo from X38 which shows it from below:
http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/5396/melissa047bis.jpg
The lights you see in front are placed that low because it's right next to one of the runways of Brussels Airport.

Greetings,
Glodenox

Anyone got a picture of those huge ones they're putting up? I've never seen lights before like them til a trip to Reno. They look like stadium lights, VERY high up (probably 2-3 times the height of normal lights) used to light up freeways, and have 6-10 lights arranged in a circle that shoots downwards...

I'm surprised, not in a condescending way, but just surprised, that you have not seen them before. These floodlights are pretty typical at large interchanges in the US, and are sometimes used in urban areas to light the main body of a highway. Typically, they can have anywhere from 4 to 16 lamps. The US and Europe are actually pretty good about limiting their use, as although they are cheaper to maintain than a network of regular streetlights, they do greatly increase light pollution. In general, India makes far greater use of these floodlights, with obvious increases in ambient, unfocused light.

There is no dispute, motorways with lights are much better.

I postulate that installing street lights on motorways in Germany is the most cost-efficient congestion reducing action that can be taken.
How so?
I think the lights will cause an important shift of traffic from day to night for people that can plan their travel at any time of the day, because:
1. With the lights, travel conditions are virtually the same as in the day (and you can drive whatever speed you are in daytime)
2. Traffic at night is in general much lower.

This shift in turn would reduce congestion during day time!!

The same effect should be seen also in countries with motorway speed limits.

Not placing lights on motorways is a very stupid decision.
Especially now with the possibility of effectively using solar lamps for this purpose.

Actually they are removing the street lights even from motorways in urban areas here in Germany. E.g. in Munich there have been street lights on the A95 and A96. They all got removed last year.

Overall i would say Germany is the darkest country of all developed countries i ever visited. Even Morocco or Egypt are illuminated like hell. I do not know whether it is good or bad. All i can say, it makes cities much bigger when you fly over it. :D

There is no dispute, motorways with lights are much better.

I beg to differ. At night it's much easier to notice a vehicle behind or in front of you from afar, as everything is dark, so its lights stand out.

Australia doesn't need every single freeway or road illuminated at night, however I think roads in urban area should be lit.

Have a look at the night map of the world in post 25 - it look like you can drive from Europe/Moscow acorss Russia to Vladivostok on a continuous illuminated line. This would be the route of the Tran Siberian railway for sure but I am amazed that it is so weel lit in that part of the world.

Australia doesn't need every single freeway or road illuminated at night, however I think roads in urban area should be lit.

I agree, I think it has a lot to do with the distances we're talking about. I think that all urban motorways should be illuminated, and also all interchanges and junctions (on all roads, not just motorways).

However, similarly to Australia, in a country like Canada it would be impractical to illuminate the whole motorway network in its entirety.

However, it is very important to have a lot of reflectors and very clear linear edge demarcations. I find this to be a big problem here in Canada (in Ontario). The solid line at the edge of some rural roads is either not marked, or completely faded.

In addition, there are many minor intersections on rural roads here that are also not lit. I think that's a bad idea.

Sometimes making a left turn here on rural roads is quite scary (at least that's what I found on a trip last year), because you know you have to turn, but you cannot see absolutely anything at all when you look left, so you don't actually know what kind of road is there (once my GPS guided me onto a gravel road like that, which I would have otherwise avoided).

That's why, at the minimum, I think all intersections, on all roads, should be lit. As far as I know, this is the approach used in Israel. Also, I've almost never seen a road in Israel that did not have a clear yellow line at the edge (it is faded in some places, but it is rare in places with significant traffic). I think the edge of the road should always be marked clearly, which is not as important as the centre line.

Have a look at the night map of the world in post 25 - it look like you can drive from Europe/Moscow acorss Russia to Vladivostok on a continuous illuminated line. This would be the route of the Tran Siberian railway for sure but I am amazed that it is so weel lit in that part of the world.

The area around the road is lit, not the road itself..

I beg to differ. At night it's much easier to notice a vehicle behind or in front of you from afar, as everything is dark, so its lights stand out.

When the motorway is lit you get much more information about that vehicle, including its relative speed and its type, so you can adjust your decision accordingly.
On a well-lit motorway I can't imagine how you could have trouble "noticing" a vehicle in front of you (or even behind).

On northern latitudes it makes very much sense to illuminate roads with high traffic volumes. In Iceland, the semi-motorway Reykjanesbraut is illuminated between Reykjavík and Keflavík International Airport and the towns around there. The heaviest traffic there is between 6 and 9 in the morning and during winters it's pitch black darkness at that hour. The road lighting also helps drivers to spot black ice on the road surface.

Lights in urban areas, none in rural areas are great. That's how it pretty much is in the United States.

Lights in urban areas, none in rural areas are great.

Why "none in rural areas are great"?
Woudn't it be much nicer at least not to have to mess with the high beam all night? And not to have the occasional driver who doesn't know how to use high beam?

When the motorway is lit you get much more information about that vehicle, including its relative speed and its type, so you can adjust your decision accordingly.
On a well-lit motorway I can't imagine how you could have trouble "noticing" a vehicle in front of you (or even behind).
But what about the consumption of energy? Since there's not much traffic on the motorways during the night, most of the time the lights would shine for nobody...and on taxpayer's cost.
And then there's light pollution...

I would go for one of the two solutions:
1) Place panels between 2 carriageways so you could use full lights. They've done this on the corners on new motorways in Poland, I believe.(and elsewhere also)
2) Replace the reflector posts with small but powerful and energy efficient LED lamps.

Even placing a wire net between carriageways helps to solve full lights problem. Wire net at angle does not let light go through - this is done in some places in Latvia. Cheap, easy to maintain.

Would be cool if there would be developed weakly photoluminescent asphalt. It would "charge" from daylight and then emit light in evening. By late night it would be dark already - but there is a lot less traffic by then.

I think that only small parts of motorways should be illuminated. e.g. at exit ramps. I think the deceleration lane/exit lane and of course also the acceleration lane should be illuminated. Sometimes the road markings can be quite hard to see.

AFAIK street lights in Belgium are powered by surplus electricity from nuclear plants, so energy consumption doesn't really matter in this case and the additional burden on the tax payers is minimal.
Under those specific circumstances, what's wrong with having nicely lit motorways? From a driver's point of view I think it's great.

AFAIK street lights in Belgium are powered by surplus electricity from nuclear plants, so energy consumption doesn't really matter in this case and the additional burden on the tax payers is minimal.


I don't know, I think it doesn't matter that much energywise (the entire public street lights in the Netherlands account for 1.5% of the Dutch electricity consumption, and only 6 - 7% of that is freeway lighting), but generally, the lamps have to be replaced every two years, and are maintenance sensitive. Also, placing a light pole every 50 - 100 meters can't be cheap either.

Although, on the total budget, it's probably not more than a few million euros.