Lights out does not affect safety
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
By Chris Tindall THE HIGHWAYS AGENCY (HA) has defended its strategy of switching off lights on stretches of motorway and pointed to evidence showing safety has improved along some unlit sections.
The HA responded to figures released to the AA under the Freedom of Information Act that show lights along 121 miles of the motorway network have been switched off. Of this, 59 miles of the network are permanently unlit and 62 miles are switched off between midnight and 5am.
However, the HA told Commercial Motor that switching off the lights had not had an adverse effect on safety. Its figures show that on six stretches of motorway there had been no serious accidents and just one minor accident 18 months after switch off, compared with an average of 1.2 serious accidents and 3.6 minor accidents in the five previous years.
“On injury accidents only, for the 18-month period post switch-off on the first six sites, we are showing that accident numbers are significantly below the baseline levels,” said a spokesman. “It is too early to suggest that midnight switch-off is delivering safety benefits.” The AA said it was not condemning the strategy, but a spokesman said it would have preferred it if drivers had the comfort of lighting.
Chrys Rampley, infrastructure manager at the Road Haulage Association, said its main concern was combining unlit motorway sections with hard-shoulder running. “My concern is also about switching off lights and not replacing them. It’s about the comfort of having the lights there.”