The Impact of New Street Lighting Technologies on Traffic Safety

Abstract

Street lighting systems are very important in terms of traffic safety and energy saving. For the purpose of energy saving, new technologies of street lighting have been developed last decade and implemented in several cities worldwide. The most common of new technologies, with most potential of energy saving, are Light Emission Diodes (LED) and Adaptive Lighting Systems (ALS). The impact of these new technologies on road accidents is not well examined yet. This study attempts to evaluate the traffic safety impact and traffic risk of these technologies on road users, mainly drivers and pedestrians. Since the new lighting technologies have been recently tested and applied, the safety impact of them on road users could not be evaluated through direct measures of traffic safety e.g. before/after accident rates. Therefore, this study aims to create a new conceptual framework by introducing some indirect safety measures (e.g. speeding profile, behavior adaptation, traffic conflict, jerky driving and visibility of pedestrians) and presenting relevant performance indicators for future experimental design. 

Literature Review and a Conceptual Research Framework of Adaptive Street Lighting Criteria

“…Roadway lighting reduced fatal accidents and injuries by 60% and property damage by 15% in [14]. However, as the electricity consumption of street lighting is considered high for the municipal authorities representing 10-40% of total consumption, many cities adopt new technologies in lighting systems [14]. In the last five years, a number of municipalities switched to new lighting technologies (e.g.…”

Spatial Equity Analysis of Nighttime Pedestrian Safety: Role of Land Use and Alcohol Establishments in Albuquerque, NM

“…Each category of “nighttime” lighting condition incorporated both lighted and unlit intersections and corridors. Literature review findings suggested that street lighting had minor effects on crash rates resulting from the many interacting variables associated with nighttime crashes ( 40 , 41 ). Next, we used the “Buffer” tool in ArcGIS to designate 0.25-mi analysis zones around all alcohol facilities and commercial areas.…”