[Chaos-l] Motion detector streetlights etc. [was: LED...]

[Terry Crook]

Jon, much of what you say may well be true & applicable FOR most 
suburban or rural environments BUT NOT for urban ones...where most of 
the glare/loom originates!

Road hazards are NOT limited to intersections, pedestrian crossings or 
low-speed neighborhood roadways. Historical records clearly show 
poorly-lighted sections of urban communities experience higher criminal 
activity. Motion detectors do not pick detect stationery objects nor 
small animals. We are not concerned about country locales, where dense 
lighting is neither needed nor wanted by the residents. OTOH, many rural 
families do request their local electric utility to install a street 
light in their yard!

I don't understand your headlight comment as they have very little 
contribution to the local sky loom and drivers at night should certainly 
continue to use them.

Finally, street lighting is needed/used to provide safe driving 
conditions throughout the night (dusk-to-dawn, not the reverse, btw), 
particularly in adverse weather conditions (rain, snow, etc.).
There is automotive traffic possible at any time of day/night or in any 
weather.

Taurus Terry in Chapel Hill
35° 55' 47"N, 79° 01' 00"W

On 8/30/2011 4:15 PM, Jon Stewart-Taylor wrote:
> Hi all.  A well-meaning Crook (which may be an oxymoron, or may not, 
> but we know Terry isn't any kind of moron) said:
>
>> The motion detector idea is BAD as pedestrians, animals, stalled 
>> vehicles, miscreants would not be seen until TOO LATE!
>
> Um.  Pedestrians could also trigger the detectors, or you could tie 
> the "light on" signal to the "push to cross" button.  Besides, the 
> majority of streetlights are mounted only at intersections.  
> *Rhetorical question mode on* Are the animals, stalled vehicles, and 
> miscreants always polite enough to only cross, become disabled, or 
> creant at the intersections?  Besides, i don't believe the proposed 
> motion detectors would be tied into those strange and seldom-used auto 
> accessories some refer to as "headlights", so those few cars equipped 
> with them would still function as they currently do. *Rhetorical mode 
> off*
>
> Seriously, i'm not a traffic engineer, but i'm willing to bet that the 
> street light at e.g. the intersection of Honeysuckle Road and 
> Sedgefield just up the street from here doesn't need to be on dawn to 
> dusk.  Given the supposedly 25 MPH speed limit on both roads, i 
> strongly suspect a motion detector with a sufficient range and a lamp 
> with a quick enough on-off cycle would equal the safety value of the 
> current installation.  I'm not going to assert this is true in all 
> locations, but I believe it is true in at least some locations. 
> Burgularies, such as your NoVA experience, do occur in lighted areas & 
> 'nice nghbrhds", of course. However, less illumination is not a good 
> option
>
> Besides, it would be fun to see the streetlights turn on then off all 
> the way down the street as cars pass them.
>
>> [...] there is still the matter of people safety & crime prevention.
>
> Certainly.
>
>> [...]  good illumination does serve to discourage illegal behavior
>
> Right, but where is the illegal behavior taking place?  Is a 
> streetlight the best application of the illumination, or should a more 
> targeted source be installed?
>
>> & enhances other defensive measures
>
> I've read studies which show light appearing in places which are 
> usually dark attracts more police attention than unusual activity in 
> places which are usually lighted.  Proximity/motion activation of 
> illumination  can be useful here also.
>
>> Such hi-population density areas are the usual sources of light 
>> pollution but also the most vulnerable to criminal behavior.
>
> Anecdotally, our family has been robbed the same number of times 
> during the 10 years we lived 2 blocks from the largest open-air drug 
> market in Northern Virginia, as we have during the 10 years we've 
> lived here in Chapel Hill (to whit, once each).  In NoVA, they walked 
> up to our house on a brightly lighted sidewalk in broad daylight, and 
> broke in through a basement slider while we were on vacation (they 
> stole two wine glasses and my spouse's high school class ring).  In 
> Chapel Hill, they walked up to our house on an unlighted driveway in 
> broad daylight, and broke in through a back-deck slider while we were 
> on vacation (they stole a 4-year-old laptop, a GameCube, and a bicycle).
>
> The moral of the story is, install streetlights instead of sliders.  
> No, that's not right, it's don't go on vacation.  No, that's not right 
> either.   The moral is that you should install doors which are more 
> lockable than sliders.  In either case, i doubt they'd have broken in 
> if our dogs weren't in kennels while we were on vacation.  Maybe the 
> moral is not to have your dogs go on vacation.
>
> Anyway, anecdotal evidence isn't worth as much as you usually pay for 
> it, which is usually nothing.  But, i still don't think a dawn-to-dusk 
> illuminating system on either door would have prevented the break-ins.
>
>> The other ideas are good & should be promoted vigorously.
>
> Kind of you to say.  Ok, folks, you heard Terry (i  am a) Crook.  Go 
> promote vigorousness.  Um, i mean, go promote, vigorously.
>
> J.