5 ms·

> But the gap between street lights is going to be very hard to see into. This wholly contradicts my experience driving at night on a street with street lights

> But the gap between street lights is going to be very hard to see into. This wholly contradicts my experience driving at night on a street with street lights. I can't recall a time in my entire life I have had significant difficulty seeing into the gap between street lights. Keep in mind that the gap is not arbitrarily chosen. Edited to note that I have experienced difficulties in low-vis conditions such as snow storms, sand storms, VERY strong rain storms, etc. None of which apply to this situation.

eanzenberg 9y ago
Also in those stormy conditions you slow down enough where the stopping power should roughly equal your visibility.
jsmthrowaway 9y ago
Keep in mind a lot of folks in this thread might be suddenly realizing they have reduced ocular ability at night, a likely common condition that pretty much nobody is aware of when it’s minor (because it’s not obvious something is amiss; maybe it’s just that dark). I agree with you that streetlights and headlights are almost universally sufficient in my experience. If they’re not, it’s worth getting your eyes checked out for light sensitivity at night. You never know. I’m not sure a typical eye exam checks for it, either, because none of the tests I can think of seem like they’d be useful. (As usual, an even keeled comment based on family experience is -2 and rapidly being silenced with zero feedback inside 5 minutes, which makes me wonder why I contribute to this community at all, probably time to stop)
- lifeisstillgood 9y ago
  I suspect it's too late to chnage now but have a "throwaway" account is an indicator you might not be committed to the community. one has to dig a little deeper to find out a multi year history with 4000 karma. so first impressions of your comments might be getting biased (it might just the "red car effect" but i am seeing a lot more throwaway accounts these days) I would also not judge the community based on reactions to this very contentious thread - i am wary of jumping in on this one, but thought it worth noting your comment was not wildly out of place. stay, we have cookies :-)
  - nugi 9y ago
    Judging a comment, or commenter, based on karma is asinine. Respond to comment, not commenter; ideas not people. You are not well representing HN, and this is my 'unpopular opinion' account talking. There are plenty of better ways to engage, and I do appreciate your enthusiasm for HN. Perhaps this is an apt introduction to the heated discussion that is HN.
    - acdha 9y ago
      This may be how you believe you see the world but most people take reputation into consideration and on sites which expose that information account age and karma are very popular cues for that.
      - buvanshak 9y ago
        Karma does not mean shit. It just means you are complaisant. I think the proper way to use things like HN/reddit is to always use a throwaway account and always speak your mind without the fear of negative karma...So I also agree 100% with the parent. Reply the comment, not the commenters, their karma or their entire history.
    - lifeisstillgood 9y ago
      Well, in my view I was responding both to the comment ("i am leaving") and the commentor (making the years of participation and 4000 points relevant). If someone has been a contributor for many years then we should consider why they chose to leave. it might be them, it might be us. I actually believe i am representing HN as a place where different opinions can be voiced, hopefully in a manner to generate light not heat. Heated discussions are rarely the useful or interesting ones to read. Thank you for appreciating my enthusiasm. PS Are you using two accounts - one ("my 'unpopular opinion' account) for saying things you fear people might not like? That seems odd. May I ask why?
- brokenmachine 9y ago
  Wouldn't a visual field test show this? I did one at my last eye exam and it was pressing a button when you see dim flashes in all different locations. If you had low sensitivity, you wouldn't see those flashes and presumably you'd get a low score.
  - rkangel 9y ago
    That test mostly isn't testing sensitivity, it's testing field of view which is an indicator of some potential eye health issues. It might end up testing sensitivity incidentally but that's not the purpose.
pdonis 9y ago
> Keep in mind that the gap is not arbitrarily chosen. It's not supposed to be, no. But the gaps are not always optimal. The spacing of the street lights in the video (to the extent I can tell) seems to be quite wide, wider than I would think is optimal.
- throwaway2048 9y ago
  The edges of the "lightpool" that the lamps normally cast is probly being clipped by the cameras crappy dynamic contrast, it is almost certainly a much larger lightpool in real life.
  - pdonis 9y ago
    > it is almost certainly a much larger lightpool in real life. Not according to the post by niftich upthread.
    - thomasz 9y ago
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XOVxSCG8u0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XOVxSCG8u0
  - Natsu 9y ago
    Not usually, and I say this as someone who has spent a lot of time driving nearby roads at night.
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
If Tempe is like Tuscon, they are using different kinds of street lighting from the rest of the country to minimize light pollution for star gazing reasons.

eanzenberg 9y ago

Also in those stormy conditions you slow down enough where the stopping power should roughly equal your visibility.

jsmthrowaway 9y ago

Keep in mind a lot of folks in this thread might be suddenly realizing they have reduced ocular ability at night, a likely common condition that pretty much nobody is aware of when it’s minor (because it’s not obvious something is amiss; maybe it’s just that dark). I agree with you that streetlights and headlights are almost universally sufficient in my experience. If they’re not, it’s worth getting your eyes checked out for light sensitivity at night. You never know. I’m not sure a typical eye exam checks for it, either, because none of the tests I can think of seem like they’d be useful. (As usual, an even keeled comment based on family experience is -2 and rapidly being silenced with zero feedback inside 5 minutes, which makes me wonder why I contribute to this community at all, probably time to stop)

lifeisstillgood 9y ago
I suspect it's too late to chnage now but have a "throwaway" account is an indicator you might not be committed to the community. one has to dig a little deeper to find out a multi year history with 4000 karma. so first impressions of your comments might be getting biased (it might just the "red car effect" but i am seeing a lot more throwaway accounts these days) I would also not judge the community based on reactions to this very contentious thread - i am wary of jumping in on this one, but thought it worth noting your comment was not wildly out of place. stay, we have cookies :-)
- nugi 9y ago
  Judging a comment, or commenter, based on karma is asinine. Respond to comment, not commenter; ideas not people. You are not well representing HN, and this is my 'unpopular opinion' account talking. There are plenty of better ways to engage, and I do appreciate your enthusiasm for HN. Perhaps this is an apt introduction to the heated discussion that is HN.
  - acdha 9y ago
    This may be how you believe you see the world but most people take reputation into consideration and on sites which expose that information account age and karma are very popular cues for that.
    - buvanshak 9y ago
      Karma does not mean shit. It just means you are complaisant. I think the proper way to use things like HN/reddit is to always use a throwaway account and always speak your mind without the fear of negative karma...So I also agree 100% with the parent. Reply the comment, not the commenters, their karma or their entire history.
  - lifeisstillgood 9y ago
    Well, in my view I was responding both to the comment ("i am leaving") and the commentor (making the years of participation and 4000 points relevant). If someone has been a contributor for many years then we should consider why they chose to leave. it might be them, it might be us. I actually believe i am representing HN as a place where different opinions can be voiced, hopefully in a manner to generate light not heat. Heated discussions are rarely the useful or interesting ones to read. Thank you for appreciating my enthusiasm. PS Are you using two accounts - one ("my 'unpopular opinion' account) for saying things you fear people might not like? That seems odd. May I ask why?
brokenmachine 9y ago
Wouldn't a visual field test show this? I did one at my last eye exam and it was pressing a button when you see dim flashes in all different locations. If you had low sensitivity, you wouldn't see those flashes and presumably you'd get a low score.
- rkangel 9y ago
  That test mostly isn't testing sensitivity, it's testing field of view which is an indicator of some potential eye health issues. It might end up testing sensitivity incidentally but that's not the purpose.

pdonis 9y ago

> Keep in mind that the gap is not arbitrarily chosen. It's not supposed to be, no. But the gaps are not always optimal. The spacing of the street lights in the video (to the extent I can tell) seems to be quite wide, wider than I would think is optimal.

throwaway2048 9y ago
The edges of the "lightpool" that the lamps normally cast is probly being clipped by the cameras crappy dynamic contrast, it is almost certainly a much larger lightpool in real life.
- pdonis 9y ago
  > it is almost certainly a much larger lightpool in real life. Not according to the post by niftich upthread.
  - thomasz 9y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XOVxSCG8u0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XOVxSCG8u0
- Natsu 9y ago
  Not usually, and I say this as someone who has spent a lot of time driving nearby roads at night.

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

If Tempe is like Tuscon, they are using different kinds of street lighting from the rest of the country to minimize light pollution for star gazing reasons.