# Street lights go out when you drive under them???



## Scurrow (Nov 25, 2009)

Does anyone have experience with this weirdness?  This has been happening to me a lot lately, more than coincidence would allow I think.  Every time I drive, at least one street light goes out, sometimes more, right before I pass under them.  Today 4 went out on just a 2 mile drive!  The other day, it happened a few times, and I got to a traffic light right near my house and focused on this one light.  My exact thoughts were "that's a really bright one, I could never make that one go out"  So guess what happens?  Yeah, it goes out as soon as I finish that thought.  

I was driving with my friend who this also happens to apparently, and together we killed like 8 street lights!  (not on purpose of course).    Then I pointed out the one light I had consciously made go out the day before when we were approaching my house, and it went out again!!!

This is weirding me out, I must admit.


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## foxmusk (Nov 25, 2009)

I KNOW YOU! 

and yea, that kinda stuff is really creepy. i think it's super weird when you open your phone to text/call someone, and you open it right as they text/call you. it happens to me FREQUENTLY.


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## moonchylde (Nov 25, 2009)

Um, I've always assumed this was a non-phenomenon based on selective memory, sort of like the old "it-always-rains-when-you-wash-the-car" thing. You don't notice the thousands of streetlights you drive/walk under that _don't_ go out every day, now do you... 

Now, if five in a row go out as you walk under them, watch out for Thor and a giant golden eagle with odd wing markings. I'm just saying...


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## Captain Howdy (Nov 25, 2009)

There actually is an acronym for this

SLI! My bad, correction. Street Light Interruption.


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## Scurrow (Nov 25, 2009)

HarleyParanoia said:


> I KNOW YOU!
> 
> and yea, that kinda stuff is really creepy. i think it's super weird when you open your phone to text/call someone, and you open it right as they text/call you. it happens to me FREQUENTLY.



Yeah, that's always weird too.  It's like, you think about some enough, and they all of a sudden call you.  I wish stuff like that could be used to just send brain messages to people.  

You know me??  You're psychweasel, right??


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## kashaki (Nov 25, 2009)

That happens to me all the time. I feel like they hate me.


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## Scurrow (Nov 25, 2009)

moonchylde said:


> Um, I've always assumed this was a non-phenomenon based on selective memory, sort of like the old "it-always-rains-when-you-wash-the-car" thing. You don't notice the thousands of streetlights you drive/walk under that _don't_ go out every day, now do you...
> 
> Now, if five in a row go out as you walk under them, watch out for Thor and a giant golden eagle with odd wing markings. I'm just saying...



It's not like street lights just go out all the time.  What's the odds that a street light goes out EVERY TIME I drive WHILE I'm driving under it, let alone several street lights during one trip???


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## Captain Howdy (Nov 25, 2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_light_interference <~


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## Scurrow (Nov 25, 2009)

Lastdirewolf said:


> There actually is an acronym for this
> 
> SLI! My bad, correction. Street Light Interruption.



Cool!  Thanks, I'll have to look that up now.


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## foxmusk (Nov 25, 2009)

Scurrow said:


> You're psychweasel, right??



most def


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 25, 2009)

> _When one of them starts to "die", it requires more voltage. This will cause the lamp to go off temporarily;__when it cools down, it will come on again for a while. Eventually it will die completely._


I think this is the most logical explanation. I don't think SLI exists. A street light outside my apartment recently did this, on, off, on, off did that continuously for a few nights in a row and now the thing is completely dead.


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## ToeClaws (Nov 25, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> I think this is the most logical explanation. I don't think SLI exists. A street light outside my apartment recently did this, on, off, on, off did that continuously for a few nights in a row and now the thing is completely dead.



Aye - if you wait long enough, you'll find that the light that goes out as you pass by does so continuously.  And think about percentages here too - you of course notice the ones that go out specifically because they go out.  If you were to count all the ones that stayed on and ran a comparison to those that go out, you'll probably well under 1%.  Not exactly staggering odds.

Now... if you can point at it, say "bang" and make the light explode... that's freakin' cool.


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## Sinjo (Nov 25, 2009)

This is lame.

Same shit as "people are more likely to talk about their bad experience than their good"


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 25, 2009)

Sinjo said:


> This is lame.
> 
> Same shit as "people are more likely to talk about their bad experience than their good"



I beg to differ on that. Most people I know can't wait to rub their good experience in your face.


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## Toonix (Nov 26, 2009)

The headlights from a car make the light sensors on the streetlight think it's day, hence they go out.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 26, 2009)

Toonix said:


> The headlights from a car make the light sensors on the streetlight think it's day, hence they go out.



That is impossible to do, the light sensors are placed on the top of the light unit itself, thus the sensor is way out of headlight range.

EDIT: You didn't put much thought into it did you.


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## Toonix (Nov 26, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> That is impossible to do, the light sensors are placed on the top of the light unit itself, thus the sensor is way out of headlight range.


Seeing as the sensors are spherical, and the 'reflexes' of the street lights are quite slow, you could fire light into the sensor, then drive under the light for it to turn off.


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## Smokey_Kitty (Nov 26, 2009)

Yeah don't hate me for but, I was packing this bowl at night time once and every time i moved to a street lamp to see it would go out and the one i was just at (which went out) would turn back on... What the hell? its like someones just fucking with people at the street light place :O


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## Captain Howdy (Nov 26, 2009)

Toonix said:


> Seeing as the sensors are spherical, and the 'reflexes' of the street lights are quite slow, you could fire light into the sensor, then drive under the light for it to turn off.



Those poles stand what, 50+ feet tall? I don't think you can just 'fire' light into the sensor, that is on TOP, and doesn't go on the sides either.


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## Toonix (Nov 26, 2009)

Lastdirewolf said:


> Those poles stand what, 50+ feet tall? I don't think you can just 'fire' light into the sensor, that is on TOP, and doesn't go on the sides either.


I am just trying to save face here.
But my theory is still a bit more rational than 'people have magic powers'.


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## Azure (Nov 26, 2009)

Maybe they're cycling to save energy?  I mean, in my old town, all the street lamps would be lit, but after a certain time, some of them would go out, because of less traffic.  Maybe they're on timers, and you come home at the same time a lot. Or you just have cheap ass street lights.


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## Sparticle (Nov 26, 2009)

Then this is the forum for you. 
Seriously consider plastic memory before you turn into these guys.


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## Captain Howdy (Nov 26, 2009)

Toonix said:


> my theory is still a bit more rational than 'people have magic powers'.




This is true.


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## Adelio Altomar (Nov 26, 2009)

HarleyParanoia said:


> I KNOW YOU!
> 
> and yea, that kinda stuff is really creepy. i think it's super weird when you open your phone to text/call someone, and you open it right as they text/call you. it happens to me FREQUENTLY.



Yeah, this with the phone, and the other thing with outdoor lights. It happens quite frequently and quite a ways away from the lights. Like I'll be standing about 200m away from the damn thing and it just goes out just by me looking at it. It was really quite surprising at first but now I just have fun with it. 

Like the other day, I was at my sister's apartment and I stepped outside to go smoke. And there about 30-40m across the parking lot on the apartment away from me was an outdoor light. All I did was glance past it in that directions and the damn thing just went out like a light, as they say. So for the next few minutes, while I was puffing away at my cig, I would turn my head and attention away from the light; it'd go back on; then I'd turn to it again and watch it go out for as long as I stared at it. It was quite fun, to say the least. 

And I've done this with other things, too, like radios, I'd stare at it for a couple of seconds and there would be instant interference, or I'd do the same to some fluorescent lights and they'd just flicker until I turned my focus elsewhere. Lol


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 26, 2009)

Toonix said:


> Seeing as the sensors are spherical, and the 'reflexes' of the street lights are quite slow, you could fire light into the sensor, then drive under the light for it to turn off.



You really have no clue on how a light sensor works do you, I suggest you shut up before you make yourself look more stupid.

A light sensors outer case is sepherical, however the actually sensor INSIDE the casing points UPWARDS, therefore no light from a cars headlight will hit the sensor. Also a cars headlight beam does not go that high up. \

Now, I suggest you research something before trying to come out with an attempt to look smart against someone who actually knows how these things work.


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## amtrack88 (Nov 26, 2009)

Lots of outdoor arc lamps like this go out every now and then. Not just street lamps. I always thought it was just a cooling cycle for the light.


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## Azure (Nov 27, 2009)

This thread just gets dumber and dumber.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

amtrack88 said:


> Lots of outdoor arc lamps like this go out every now and then. Not just street lamps. I always thought it was just a cooling cycle for the light.



That is because it isn't just street lamps that use that type of bulb.


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## Kit H. Ruppell (Nov 27, 2009)

I'm very good at this kind of thing.


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## Mangasama (Nov 27, 2009)

Mine is blowing games in arcades. I've zapped 2 in the last month by touching them. I'm assuming it's some sort of grounding issue, but it's still a mind blower. And, yes, I have this street light issue as well.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Kit H. Ruppell said:


> I'm very good at this kind of thing.



wat?


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Mangasama said:


> Mine is blowing games in arcades. I've zapped 2 in the last month by touching them. I'm assuming it's some sort of grounding issue, but it's still a mind blower. And, yes, I have this street light issue as well.



SLI does not exist.


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## Kit H. Ruppell (Nov 27, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> wat?


"Breaking" time. I've answered questions before they were asked, knocked on my friend's door at the same time somebody knocked on TV (without knowing it), etc. Sorry for the vagueness!


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## Kommodore (Nov 27, 2009)

God I know exactly what you mean, they go out all the time when I am under them, though it happens more often when I am waling under them as opposed to driving under them. It's a fucking conspiracy I tells ya.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

CommodoreKitty said:


> God I know exactly what you mean, they go out all the time when I am under them, though it happens more often when I am waling under them as opposed to driving under them. It's a fucking conspiracy I tells ya.



No, the phenomenon has already been explained in this thread.


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## Kommodore (Nov 27, 2009)

:\


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## Scurrow (Nov 27, 2009)

ToeClaws said:


> Aye - if you wait long enough, you'll find that the light that goes out as you pass by does so continuously.  And think about percentages here too - you of course notice the ones that go out specifically because they go out.  If you were to count all the ones that stayed on and ran a comparison to those that go out, you'll probably well under 1%.  Not exactly staggering odds.
> 
> Now... if you can point at it, say "bang" and make the light explode... that's freakin' cool.




Ok, if you compare "street lights that have stayed on when I drove under them" to "street lights that have shut off when I drove under them", obviously group B would be like .0001 %.  I don't know a lot about street lights, but they probably go out, what, once every 5 year or something?  The odds that I am driving under that street light when it goes out is probably slim on its own, and then on top of that for it to happen several times in a day, and every day for a three week period?   The odds of that have got to be staggering.  It's true I don't notice the ones that stay on, but I don't remember any going off like this at all before 3 weeks ago.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Scurrow said:


> Ok, if you compare "street lights that have stayed on when I drove under them" to "street lights that have shut off when I drove under them", obviously group B would be like .0001 %.  I don't know a lot about street lights, but they probably go out, what, once every 5 year or something?  The odds that I am driving under that street light when it goes out is probably slim on its own, and then on top of that for it to happen several times in a day, and every day for a three week period?   The odds of that have got to be staggering.  It's true I don't notice the ones that stay on, but I don't remember any going off like this at all before 3 weeks ago.



Could be poor maintenance on the street lights in your area.


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## Scurrow (Nov 27, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> Could be poor maintenance on the street lights in your area.



It's possible, in my area there are a LOT of street lights out.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Scurrow said:


> It's possible, in my area there are a LOT of street lights out.



Quite a few out in my town too.


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## Scurrow (Nov 27, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> Quite a few out in my town too.



Maybe they just aren't up on the repairs like they should be because of the recession.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Scurrow said:


> Maybe they just aren't up on the repairs like they should be because of the recession.



My towns council are hopeless before the recession, they have always been slow on repairs, on any street furniture. 

Get this though, before I moved back into my home town (Where I am now) I lived in a tourist town on the coast, now it would be hard to believe that the little tourist town suffered any vandalism because it was repaired pretty damn quick, even fly tipped trash was cleared within two days of it being dumped tops! graffiti would be cleaned etc, why? to keep the town looking smart for all the tourists.

9 miles inland in this town they take for ever to repair anything, the benches have been broken around the town clock for the past four months and still have not been fixed. Though it was chavs that vandalized the damn bench, stupid little fuckers.


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## Kipple (Nov 27, 2009)

There's been a single street light that goes out without fail when I walk under it for the past few weeks. It's only that streetlight and none other, so I think it's a malfunction rather than spoooooky phenomenon. I can't think of any mechanism that would make it do that, but it's very unlikely that it's simply random. 

My friend calls it a demon but he is a bit of a goober.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Kipple said:


> There's been a single street light that goes out without fail when I walk under it for the past few weeks. It's only that streetlight and none other, so I think it's a malfunction rather than spoooooky phenomenon. I can't think of any mechanism that would make it do that, but it's very unlikely that it's simply random.
> 
> My friend calls it a demon but he is a bit of a goober.



The reason street lights do that has already been said in this thread. 

To keep it short it is due to the special type of light bulb they use, basically when a street light bulb comes to the end of it's life it will start to go out, when the bulb cools down, it comes back on again, and it repeats this untill it finally dies.


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## Kipple (Nov 27, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> The reason street lights do that has already been said in this thread.
> 
> To keep it short it is due to the special type of light bulb they use, basically when a street light bulb comes to the end of it's life it will start to go out, when the bulb cools down, it comes back on again, and it repeats this untill it finally dies.



ok web sheriff, I guess this case is closed!


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 27, 2009)

Kipple said:


> ok web sheriff, I guess this case is closed!



Lol sheriff!

Naa, I may lack knowledge when it comes to political debates on these forums, but anything like this topic I have a good knowledge on. I didn't pass double science in high school for nothing, and I did learn a lot on the years worth of work experience I did with some local electricians.


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## Ieatcrackersandjumpcliffs (Nov 27, 2009)

For a while my friend thought the local cops were fucking with with him.


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## Hottigress (Nov 28, 2009)

Well, I happen to have this lighter like thing, and when I flick it, the lights go into it. My name is also Dumbledore now...


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## Toonix (Nov 28, 2009)

Hottigress said:


> Well, I happen to have this lighter like thing, and when I flick it, *the lights go into it*. My name is also Dumbledore now...


Eh?


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## Sam (Nov 28, 2009)

They light up when I go under them :C

I guess it's cause I'm black.


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 28, 2009)

This thread just turned into crap.


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## Hottigress (Nov 28, 2009)

FUUUUUUUUCK no it didn't. Now we have black people. Everyone knows I like black people. ^^.


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## Jack (Nov 28, 2009)

I guess than can be weird.
maby u, or Ur car has an electro magnetic resonance.
I've been in high static environments (like packing facility's) and when I got home, I could touch our TV's screens turning them on or off. lights would also flicker around me until I bathed, or washed my hands.


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## Hottigress (Nov 28, 2009)

Jack said:


> i guess than can be weird.
> maby u, or Ur car has an electro magnetic resonance.
> because I've been in high static environments (like packing facilitys) and when i got home, i could touch our TV's screens and turn them on or off. lights would also flicker around me until I bathed, or washed my hands.


 

Bill Nye the Science Guy  ^


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## Randy-Darkshade (Nov 28, 2009)

Jack said:


> I guess than can be weird.
> maby u, or Ur car has an electro magnetic resonance.
> I've been in high static environments (like packing facility's) and when I got home, I could touch our TV's screens turning them on or off. lights would also flicker around me until I bathed, or washed my hands.



Not possible, the only type of electromagnet in a car is in the alternator witch generates an electrical current, it would not interfere with street lights. Also read back a page or two I and someone else explains the most likely reason. 

As for static it is hard to reach that high to touch the light to turn it on via a static electric charge.


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## Adelio Altomar (Nov 28, 2009)

Jack said:


> I guess than can be weird.
> maby u, or Ur car has an electro magnetic resonance.
> I've been in high static environments (like packing facility's) and when I got home, I could touch our TV's screens turning them on or off. lights would also flicker around me until I bathed, or washed my hands.



Lol, you're the furry Static Shock!


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## Toonix (Nov 29, 2009)

RandyDarkshade said:


> You really have no clue on how a light sensor works do you, I suggest you shut up before you make yourself look more stupid.
> 
> A light sensors outer case is sepherical, however the actually sensor INSIDE the casing points UPWARDS, therefore no light from a cars headlight will hit the sensor. Also a cars headlight beam does not go that high up. \
> 
> Now, I suggest you research something before trying to come out with an attempt to look smart against someone who actually knows how these things work.


Albeit I forgot to add a 'maybe' in my first post there's no reason to get so worked up. It was only a theory.


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## Sam (Nov 29, 2009)

Hottigress said:


> FUUUUUUUUCK no it didn't. Now we have black people. Everyone knows I like black people. ^^.




C:


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## furret (Nov 30, 2009)

If you've ever taken enough cough medicine you would know it's actually a cosmic coincidence with the sole purpose of fucking with your head.


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