The big switch-off; where has the street lighting gone?

Two years ago nearly to the day I commented in a thread that I thought street lighting timing was going a bit funny but last night and this morning's commutes have been ridiculous.

I commute before the main rush hours on major roads but as darkness fell the lights weren't going on last night and don't appear to have been on at all this morning for all my route from Lewisham, New X, Elephant to Waterloo before sunrise which was 7.45 today.

I'm looking out the office over Euston Road by Warren Street and it's still dark enough for cars to need headlights but there are no street lights on here at all.

I've seen some news articles online about proposed switch off's and timing adjustments outside London but it feels like something has definitely happened here too.

I noticed that yesterday morning, but out in Kent on a dual carriageway/bypass.

Is it cos the clocks go back in a week?

Bloody good job too.

A good job the clocks go back or that the lights are off?

Bloody good job too.

^ yes if you are prepared and expecting it to be that dark.

I personally am lit up like Daft Punk's Christmas tree with Hope Vision 1/Blackburn Mars combo but if like most of my fellow commuters this morning I had been expecting some blinky lights to be sufficient I'd have been crapping it.

A good job the clocks go back or that the lights are off?

Lights off.

Saves on the country's leccy bill. Less light pollution etc. See the stars.

+1 lights off lights off

Lights off.

Saves on the country's leccy bill. Less light pollution etc. See the stars.

Especially those stars that appear after you smash your head off something in the dark. We should celebrate this as a time to briefly see things we wouldn't normally see. And not see things that we usually need to look at but might not enjoy seeing.

Especially those stars that appear after you smash your head off something in the dark. We should celebrate this as a time to briefly see things we wouldn't normally see. And not see things that we usually need to look at but might not enjoy seeing.

Why would you smash your head on anything?

and that we should get hope to feel lest we see the will to be understood for the whole time to get writing it here.

Not sure about an absolute black out...don't people tend to feel safer when walking in well lit areas?

The south end of London Bridge is always plunged into darkness at night. Hit a pretty bad pothole there last year because I didn't see it, really annoying.

There were quite a few Ninja cyclists going round Regents Park in the dark last night

Big Society=sharing lumens from your his-vis vest/iPhone/cigarette with passers by.

Being the third world country that we are there is no way we can afford, or that the public should expect, street lighting.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJ90otfE555cB6XNVBXRTXQQXtnzR4Hpj2ZdTKmSoNWQAZjpw&t=1&usg=__PMEGWmojo2uDYw3CT_CaS_6pJWs=

My freshly charged front-light decided to not work last night. Ninja-d it home last night, absolutely terrified.
People can't see you, the way they drive makes it obvious they can't see you and the whole experience is hugely unpleasant. Why anyone would ninja through choice is beyond me.

Big Society=sharing lumens from your his-vis vest/iPhone/cigarette with passers by.

(on the way back from the Brighton ride, once the train had pulled into the London evening gloom, I was caught without a front light. Found a guy cycling the same way, asked him nicely if I could follow because I didn't want to die, and convoyed it all the way to from Victoria to Peckham. Lovely)

Saw a guy without lights get majorly clotheslined by a car door opening-his fault as he was riding well in the door zone even without any kind of light/reflectors and dark jacket...

I was standing pretty shocked to see if he was ok and instead of having a go at the driver he starts shouting at me like it was my fucking fault. Totally bemused as to why-maybe he thought by showing concern I was taking the piss or something... wac.

^
:)

("excuse me, this may sound a bit strange...", he probably thought "oh fuck, what next?" your request was probably met with(internally) "thank fuck it's just that!")

Some fuckwit riding West on Euston Rd towards the A40 in all black riding fixed with white pedals and straps and black space boots with no front light and an (almost flat) rear light totally obscured by a mudguard. You're a dick.

I know someone who spray-painted his bike fluoro green. The bike looks like it has spent quite some time under a flock of migrating birds.

(He also sprayed the rims at the same time and realised his mistake pretty sharply but I will save the story for another time).

Blah just noticed this is a massive thread de-rail. Should have read more than just the two posts preceding mine.

I know someone who spray-painted his bike fluoro green. The bike looks like it has spent quite some time under a flock of migrating birds.

I see a glow-in-the-dark Brooklyn round Peckham sometimes...

I'm not bothered about Darwin award candidates, but people whose lighting arrangements would normally be sufficient on these roads at these times are likely to be at risk due to some phasing adjustments and no fault of their own.

If it's dark enough for cars to need headlights, what difference does it make if street lights are on? Bikes should have lights too. Am I missing something here?

^ Big difference in ambient light level = big difference in minimum lighting required. And people also believe hi-viz works in the dark....