Before talking about the specific problems of lighting roads outside built-up areas, I would like to discuss some general problems of fixed lighting. To answer the question of how and when the system of fixed lighting started, we have to go back far in history. In Holland, for example, in the 17th century Jan v.d. Heijden devised the first street lighting project for the city of Amsterdam. The idea of this lighting was to prevent people from walking into the canals and as a general crime-prevention measure. Of course the level of illumination was very low but the siting of the lampposts was care-fully planned. In fact, this type of lighting was only a kind of beacon lighting. From the 17th to the 20th century there has been a rapid development in lighting techniques, but the purpose of public lighting remained the same until after the first world-war. Then, with the beginning of the motorisation of traffic, the public lighting acquired a new purpose: that of road safety. The further development and use of street lighting is dominated by three important influences. 1) The desiderata of the road safety engineers and scientists as a result of statistical aspects. 2) The desiderata of the illuminating engineers as a result of their research. 3) The economic aspects of street lighting compared with other improvements. In the various sections of this discourse these influences will be dealt with.
Samenvatting