Motorway Lights.

[tony1851]

Is it just me or has anyone noticed that more and more motorway lights seem to be off at night.
I regularly drive up and down the M61 and M6 between South Lancashire and Glasgow. Granted most rural motorways are unlit but where complex junctions are situated, or when coming into urban areas, the lights until fairly recently have always been on.
But over this last year or increasing stretches are not being lit.
Anyone know if it's an attempt to save the planet, or just a cynical effort at saving money? Either way it doesn't make driving safer.

 

[foxhole]

Recent reports indicate that street lighting or traffic signals may be out, particularly around the M61 Junction 8 (Chorley) area
. Due to potential maintenance, signalization works, or energy-saving, some areas may experience unlit sections, requiring drivers to proceed with caution.

 

[fillyboy]

You're lucky, in Cornwall they don't have any lights to turn off.

 

[wv62]

I do a lot of motorway miles with my work. Personally I prefer the lights off at night. It's just bloody annoying when people in the other direction keep their main beam on.

 

[securespark]

You're lucky, in Cornwall they don't have any lights to turn off.

The place we hired on holiday in 1974 near Padstow didn't have any electricity... Have you got it now?

 

[Highway Man]

Is it just me or has anyone noticed that more and more motorway lights seem to be off at night.
I regularly drive up and down the M61 and M6 between South Lancashire and Glasgow. Granted most rural motorways are unlit but where complex junctions are situated, or when coming into urban areas, the lights until fairly recently have always been on.
But over this last year or increasing stretches are not being lit.
Anyone know if it's an attempt to save the planet, or just a cynical effort at saving money? Either way it doesn't make driving safer.

We have turned a lot of lights out and we are trialling different methods, some motorway sections do not require lights and it has been proven that when we turn the lighting off there are less accidents as drivers slow down whereas lights actually increase the speed of traffic, we are replacing a lot of lighting with solar cats eyes along with solar lighting.

 

[MNW67]

We have turned a lot of lights out and we are trialling different methods, some motorway sections do not require lights and it has been proven that when we turn the lighting off there are less accidents as drivers slow down whereas lights actually increase the speed of traffic, we are replacing a lot of lighting with solar cats eyes along with solar lighting.

Thanks. I just read this. It's all change!

Traditional road stud "cat's eyes" are passive devices that rely entirely on retroreflecting light from vehicle headlights to provide visibility. They do not produce their own light. Modern alternatives include "active" studs, which use solar-powered LEDs to emit light, providing much higher visibility in fog or rain.

 

[MNW67]

A classic Ken Dodd joke:

The man who invented cats' eyes got the idea when he saw the eyes of a cat in his headlights. If the cat had been going the other way, he would have invented the pencil sharpener.

 

[Highway Man]

Thanks. I just read this. It's all change!

It certainly is all change, we have some really interesting alternatives that we have developed along with some very large companies. An example would be the signs, we used to light all road signs up but now we have a new diamond reflective paint that is very clever and you cannot tell that they are not actually lit up.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I do a lot of motorway miles with my work. Personally I prefer the lights off at night. It's just bloody annoying when people in the other direction keep their main beam on.

There was a scheme, where the lights went off, but were turned on by the approach of vehicles, but ahead of the vehicle, on less used sections.