- The accident risk for pedestrians is trebled when the lights are switched off
- The frequency of road accidents increases four-fold when the clocks change with it taking a week for road users to adapt to the new conditions
- 78% of motorists say that switching off essential street lighting is an appalling and dangerous idea. Nearly a third (30%) think local authorities should carry out consultation before implementing the measure
- There are 7.5million street lights in the UK. Some local authorities have turned off lights at selected times and switched others off completely, in a bid to save money[1]
As Britain prepares for the clocks to go back, a new road safety study has revealed the accident risk for pedestrians could treble[2] as a number of local authorities’ consider plunging the UK’s roads into blackout chaos.
A report from Autoglass® and conducted by road safety expert Dr Nick Gkikas[2] compared fatalities in areas with similar surroundings but where the road lighting was either poor or where it was adequately in place and found that switching off road lights seriously compromises road safety for motorists, with drivers struggling to see pedestrians or cyclists in the dark.
The report highlighted that the high involvement rate of pedestrians and cyclists in accidents associated with limited lighting indicates that street lighting should be compulsory, particularly as there is a low frequency of vehicle-only accidents in those surroundings.
Other findings reveal that driving in poor lighting conditions is further heightened around the time of year when the clocks change. The frequency of road accidents in the dark increases four-fold in the week after the changeover as road users take up to a week to adapt their behaviour to the new lighting conditions[2] and with two thirds (62%) of motorists regularly driving in the dark this highlights a real and present danger.
It’s a timely reminder and has heightened the debate why street lighting should not be switched off. A poll of 3,000 motorists showed that more than three quarters (78%) believe that switching off essential street lighting is an appalling and dangerous idea and 30% think local authorities should carry out consultation before implementing the measure.
Motorists are also concerned that switching off the lighting will jeopardise pedestrians’ safety (50%), put cyclists at risk (40%) and also impact on motorists’ safety (35%). More than a quarter (27%) acknowledge that turning off the lights will affect their ability to see hazards clearly. Only half (50%) of drivers deliberately adopt a more careful approach when driving during wintertime and less than a third (30%) of them drive slower.
Buckinghamshire County Council, Leicestershire, Somerset and Essex have already turned off street lights and similar schemes are already planned across Swansea, Devon and parts of Yorkshire. In addition, seven stretches of motorway have now been plunged into darkness until 5am every night.
The situation may become even more widespread following the recent Spending Review, with local councils expected to have to make savage cuts in services as they tackle cuts of nearly 30 per cent. This may lead to more local authorities considering switching off street lighting as an immediate way to save costs.
Furthermore, the study showed that 40 per cent of pedestrians questioned go out walking at night time more than twice a week, and that nearly eight out of ten times (76%) this takes place in an urban or suburban environment. In parallel, 64% of cyclists regularly go out during the night, but worryingly only a quarter (27%) wear high visibility clothing, which could help drivers detect them from a safe distance in the dark.
Matthew Mycock, managing director of Autoglass® comments: “The Highways Agency has already admitted there could be an increase in accident rates as a result of turning off the road lighting. There are also fears that more roads will see black-outs as councils across the country try to save money. We have commissioned this report as the road safety of motorists is paramount to us and we are calling for local authorities to seriously consider the locations of the blackouts and the potential use of alternative measures such as dimming the lights, turning off every alternative light or switching to low energy lamps.”
Dr Nick Gkikas comments: “While we’re not suggesting it is impossible to implement energy saving schemes without compromising road safety, our report clearly shows that more thought needs to be given to the detailed factors behind visibility-related accidents. At the moment, it all seems rushed and decision-makers haven’t realised what is at stake.
“Of course we all want to do our bit for the environment and the economy, but as a single serious injury can cost society millions of pounds in the long term, we need to develop methods for the appropriate specification of when and where to switch lights off. This means taking into account some of the points this report highlights, such as a driver’s visibility of hazards and the likelihood of where they will face these risks most often.”
For more information and advice on driving in the dark or to view footage visit http://www.autoglassnews.co.uk/
Autoglass® is the UK’s leading vehicle glass repair and replacement service, with 101 branches nationwide and 1,300 mobile service units. For details of your nearest centre call 0800 36 36 36 or visit http://www.autoglass.co.uk/.
-ends-
Notes to editor
Shocking footage showing the dangers of driving at night in poor lighting conditions can be downloaded at https://files.me.com/thriller4/8pehc6
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11209143
Dark nights
[2] The research report is based on evidence to show the safety implications of turning off street lighting. Dr Nick Gkikas completed a literature review study and a road user survey. The literature review revisited relevant technical publications, official documents and over 20 recently published academic journal articles examining the relative contribution of road-lighting to driver safety.
Dr Nick Gkikas is a Human Factors Engineer for Autonomics (http://www.autonomics-consulting.co.uk/). He is founding member and Chair of the Driving Ergonomics SIG of the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors. He has previously worked for the Vehicle Safety Research Centre (VSRC) at Loughborough University. In 2008, he was member of the research team which won the Queen’s Anniversary Award for Higher Education for its contribution to road safety in the United Kingdom.
Other statistics
- The risk of a fatal accident is three times higher at night than during the day
- 40 per cent of fatal and serious injuries are sustained by drivers between the hours of 7.00pm and 8.00am
- One in ten accidents on the UK roads caused by impaired vision
- The report found that being able to see hazards clearly in the dark not only relates to light quantity but also contrast between objects and their background
- More than half (59%) of motorists had an eye test more than a year ago
- Only 17% having had a contrast sensitivity function test, which checks the level of contrast necessary to distinguish objects
- Chips on a windscreen cause light diffusion from incoming sources. This is worst at night time when there are few and concentrated sources, for example other vehicles and road lighting, which can cause glare and impact on a driver’s ability to see hazards clearly
