A REVIEW OF STREET LIGHTING IN RELATION TO ROAD SAFETY

This document is a review of street lighting in relation to road safety. The review deals with the frequency and severity of night accidents and contrasts them with day figures. Effects of street lighting on accidents, lighting standards, cost and benefits and the relationship between street lighting and headlighting are considered. This is an analysis of published data and no new work is presented. The results indicate that higher night accident rate can be attributed to different traffic flow and road users behavior patterns, but mainly darkness; fixed street lighting reduces frequency and severity of night accidents on the whold hierarchy of roads; most countries agree that lighting requirements increase with difficulty of the viaual task; cost of lighting may be recouped from savings in accident costs; and headlamps and rear lamps cannot substitute for street lighting. It was concluded that future cost benefit studies on lighting should include the vehicle as well as the fixed mode. It is suggested that blanket use of vehicle headlights in well lit urban areas is illogical. Economically worthwhile research projects into aspects of visual performance, lighting techniques and economic analysis are suggested. /MW/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Australia Department of Transport.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of New South Wales

  School of Transportation and Traffic
  Kensington, New South Wales  Australia  2033
• Authors:
  • Fisher, A
• Publication Date: 1973-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 111 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Benefit cost analysis; Crash rates; Crash severity; Days; Economic analysis; Headlamps; Highway safety; Night; Street lighting
• ITRD Terms: 1661: Accident prevention; 1612: Accident rate; 8006: Australia; 224: Cost; 9007: Day (24 hour period); 1342: Headlamp; 1341: Headlamp setting; 505: Light intensity; 545: Lighting (street); 525: Luminance; 9052: Night; 2229: Perception; 1623: Severity (accid, injury); 187: Specification (standard); 2972: Surfacing; 6783: Visibility
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00098865
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL)
• Report/Paper Numbers: NR/18
• Files: ITRD, TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 5 2000 12:00AM