COUNCILS ACROSS  the country have come under fire over plans to switch off a percentage of their region's street lighting in a bid to save money.

Buckinghamshire County Council has turned off 1,600 of the 28,000 street lights around the county, saving about £700,000 a year, while Shropshire Council said turning down its 19,000 street lamps would reduce its electricity bill, too.

Similar schemes have already started or are planned across the UK in areas including Swansea, Essex, Leicestershire, Devon and parts of Yorkshire.

However, the energy-saving move has come in for sharp criticism from road safety officials. The Commons Transport Select Committee chairwoman Louise Ellman said road safety could be compromised by turning off street lights across the country.

"I am extremely concerned that financial pressures are leading to steps which can jeopardise peoples lives and increase the number of injuries," said Mrs Ellman.

"We've made great progress in recent years in reducing the number of deaths and injuries on our roads. It would be tragic if by switching the lights off that progress was to be put back many years."

  Jeez, aint they got other ways to save money?   Apart from the grass left on the pavements, after the council workers have cut it, and the dimming of lights, or total switch off, what other things can they think of to make sure the accident rate goes up?   One plus point to this, and a minus for the councils, folk can declare to their insurance companies that the road wasn't well lit, when they have an accident. I can see claims going up along with the accidents.   I should imagine Great Britain has become grate Britain in the eyes of the rest of the world. We're just a laughing stock.                                                                                                                                                                                

Can't they increase the number of speed cameras?   If they located them in dark areas, when they flashed, other drivers could see where they were going.   Oh no! of course they were cutting down on the number of speed cameras because of the cost weren't they?   Oh bother! what will they do? lol                                                                                                                                                                             

Crime has not gone down even with the birth of more street lighting,not sure about the road statistics mind you..   Maybe better to get rid of the grass cutters who seem to work in teams of 4 plus here and just seem to make a big job out of it..   The councils have become a law unto themselves now and the cost cutting from the goverment might just bring the jobsworthys back down to size..                                                                                                                                                                             

If street lights were switched off, folk could drive a little slower and there'd be no change in the accident stats.   Probably beyond the grasp of the average car driver tho.                                                                                                                                                                             

turn the lights off and feed carrots to the masses is what i say.

it would count towards your five a month as well.
                                                                                                                                                                             

  PML @ Dik, 5 a MONTH?                                                                                                                                                                              

Hey it could be like the war of the worlds with the speed cameras,they might be aliens sent here and could turn nasty                                                                                                                                                                              

  Don't you start                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                             

If thay switched off the lights in the city center dont think you would notice as the lights in the shops and offices would more than cover it just keep the lights on in the back streets                                                                                                                                                                             

just isse everyone with a head torch then you don't need street lighting ou can see just ahead of yourself, so you won't fall over and all car drivers will know if they see a light someone is there.....SORTED lol...                                                                                                                                                                             

Bit geeky i know but i am an electrician and deal with lighting all the time, the orange sodium lamps are highly inefficient and the human eye cant use the yellow given off. Now if they switched off half and replaced the other half with modern digital balasts and metal halide lamps that produce the white light then the human eye would see more and the council would need half the lights. Also fit appropriate reflectors to aim light down instead of lighting up the sky!

The geek has left the building...

                                                                                                                                                                             

"Check out the brains on Brad" ( if you haven't watched Pulp Fiction ignore the first bit)   Well mate you just have hit the nail on the head, why not use LED it doesn't cast as much light but it lasts for ever and uses minimal power...... it is enough to illuminate better than turning it off completely.....   ...you should contact the council and put forward your recommendations or get in touch with the newspapers and put over your side....you may have just solved the problem....   When I am primeminister and ruler for life, you are welcome as my energy secretary                                                                                                                                                                              

LOL @ the pulp fiction quote, the penny dropped the fifth time i read it...

LEDs are a good idea too, they will give enough to see but not enough to dazzle, a dim light is good in some areas where bright light is not necessary. A candle can be seen from a mile so 60 candles will light a corridor adequately.

A national campaign to eat more carrots wouldnt go a miss too... Employ that chappy as health minister!!!

Im sure that  someone somewhere advises the gov and councils on what works, i wish i was that someone but i am a mere mortal and honest too. I wouldnt fit in....

Ill just wait til your in power

They will be recruiting  The Home Guard next to trawl the darkend streets hmmmmm coz they wont have any money for those LED ones boys lol  even if they ehrrr do save them money lol                                                                                                                                                                             

tell you what accidents aside, street lighting does prevent ani-social behavour and attacks, rape, vandilism etc......so if we put armed police or sniper teams out and if anyone is seen attacking, rape etc shoot them,thiefs shoo them...I can guarentee you crime will almost disappear...its one thing for a crook to go tooled up but if an unseen sniper takes him down....nothing he can do.....lol

If you pay your council tax, then you are contibuting towards street lighting.  Does this mean that within affected areas, council tax payers will get a rebate?????????                                                                                                                                                                             

  No!! Trish they'll keep hold of it to pay compensation to folk who hit road kill /pot holes etc but can't see em too well cos of poor lighting.                                                                                                                                                                              

Completely agree with Coaster83 there, so much of the light from street lights is not only useless but also wasted to the sky's. Not only is it wasted to the sky's, it ruins our very of the stars, double boo to that.

I personally wouldn't mind many street lights going, they pollute the sky's, waste energy and thus use fuel that could otherwise be saved, i actually find driving in the dark with no street lights far better.

Also as Coster said, why not replace the street lights with LEDs, they are cheaper, use alot less power, give off more light, don't heat up and easy to replace when required. Also point the lights at the ground rather than the ground and the sky. 

Anyway, good points have been made, i still personally would be glad to see the back of street lights though