Quote:
Originally Posted by Sigaba
I would bet that: - the municipality in question did not hire the right consultant to talk about the lights;
- the decision to purchase and to install the lights was driven by political considerations more than environmental ones;
- the timing of the decision was reliant on getting federal bail out monies;
- at least one person on one crew tasked with installing the LED bulbs asked the question "Will these puppies burn hotly enough to keep from freezing?" At which point, the other members of the team went on a snark fest. (I am guessing that many understood that the LED bulbs were meant to lower costs in terms of workers' pay....)
|
LEDs have been used in traffic lights for a while now, long before this whole "green" trend. LEDs are brighter, LED bulbs last for years while the old halogen bulbs only last a few months. Replacing bulbs costs the municipality money for the trucks and people who do the work, it also ties up traffic. Increasing the replacement interval can save a city money. LED bulbs save a lot of energy, they probably consume a 1/5 or less compared to their halogen bulb counterparts.
I'm far from a greenie, but blaming the LEDs causing the problem in this case because they're now labeled as "green" I believe is wrong. If the OPs report he heard today is the same as the article that I linked, then it was a rare freak accident. It looks like strong winds blew the snow horizontal into the light, causing the blockage. This isn't something that's common. Signal housings have big shields that cover 80% of the circumference of the light, and extend out about 12"
The real issue here is the idiot driver who plowed through a non functioning light and killed someone. Everyone is "supposed" to know how to treat a traffic light that's out.
What happens if there is a power failure or a car hits a traffic light service box and there are no lights and accidents ensue. Who do we place the blame on then for the lack of lights?
This is just my opinion, and sorry for the rant. My father was a traffic light engineer/planner for UDOT for a few years previous to his retirement. I'm just reranting his disgruntled rants
