Clearview Traffic develop unique road safety innovations and sustainable, cost-effective traffic data collection.
Through three brands - Astucia, Golden River and Count On Us, they give councils and local authorities the power to capture, monitor and analyse traffic data and enhance road safety.
Astucia develop innovative road safety products to reduce road accidents and reduce road casualties.
Golden River incorporating the Marksman traffic data collection range - vehicle counters and vehicle classifiers, traffic signal wireless vehicle detection and weigh-in-motion systems plus modular systems to enable future developments and the addition of new technologies.
Count On Us provide the tools and services for ultra reliable traffic surveys and are equipped for every project from ANPR to Microsimulation Modelling.
Chances are you’ll be familiar with our SolarLite road studs – proven to have reduced accidents dramatically by 70%. The road may be long and winding – but at least it’s delineated.
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93% of drivers in favour of streetlight switch-off schemes
According to new findings
It’s the talking point of the traffic industry and a topic causing controversy among road safety groups and the general public.
Yet for all the heated debates it’s sparked, our recent survey has revealed that in fact, 93% of drivers are in favour of streetlight switch-off schemes.
The schemes have been growing in popularity since 2009 when the concept debuted and politicians decided whether to back the new idea in an attempt to cut rising energy bills in Bath and North East Somerset.
As the success of initial trials spread, councils up and down the country began to consider how they could implement their own switch-off schemes. Yet as talk of proposals and plans got underway, panic set out among the general public with a fear that collisions and crime would be on the up when the lights went down.
Views were so extreme that in Corby, angry drivers lined the streets to protest and even set up a Facebook group to shun the scheme in a bid for Northamptonshire County Council to return to full illumination after the first wave of lights were switched off.
So how do you cut costs and keep discerning motorists happy? There’s too much at stake for trial and error. Pilot schemes are all very well, but who’s going to be held responsible for the errors which could lead to fatalities on the roads?
Regardless, 93% of drivers are in fact in favour of streetlight switch-off schemes according to our recent survey.
The survey, designed to investigate the views of the general public also found that 56% believe road studs to be the most efficient source of light on the roads, with headlights following closely behind and a mere 12% trusting streetlights as the main aid for illumination.
81% of drivers agreed that multiple light sources could in fact be detrimental to seeing clearly and create a ‘glare’ which distracts from the road ahead.
56% of drivers were concerned about the rise of collisions and crime after dark whilst only 31% deemed the cut in CO2 levels worthwhile for a greener planet.
The research may come as a surprise to some considering the bad rap streetlight switch-off schemes have received in the press lately. To appease the general public whilst also continuing to progress with the schemes, some councils have chosen to adopt additional safety measures to ensure visibility is not compromised. Dimming lights rather than switching them off entirely, as seen in Nottinghamshire, along with sustainable solutions such as solar powered road studs as seen in Buckinghamshire.
Astucia SolarLite road studs are an ideal accompaniment to install alongside streetlight switch-off schemes. Thanks to their intense brightness, they provide 10 x greater visibility than retro-reflective studs plus are energy efficient charging and activating from natural sunlight alone.
Click onto www.astucia.co.uk to find out more
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A bright idea or a shadow of doubt?
M1 street light switch off sparks concern for road safety
The current trend for street light switch-off schemes continues as The Highways Agency unveiled its plans to deactivate lights on the M1 between junction 10 at Luton and junction 13 at Milton Keynes from the hours of midnight to 5:00am.
Streetlight switch-off schemes are part of an overall agenda to cut costs and carbon emissions, implemented by the Department of Transport as its contribution to the Government’s austerity programme.
Although whilst the government focus on economic expenses, the expense of road safety has been met with controversy.
And in light of the proposal to switch off the 15-mile stretch of the M1, doubts over the impending darkness are becoming even more frequent.
Andrew Howard, the AA’s head of road safety voiced his own lack of confidence:
‘Where you can and can’t be is defined by signals and without lights there is a greater chance that people will make a mistake’
The road safety charity Brake is in agreement. A spokesperson for the charity commented:
‘When crashes do happen on these roads they are much more likely to involve multiple deaths and serious injuries because of the high speeds involved’
Whilst the M1 switch off may be the no.1 concern at present, it’s certainly not the first of its kind. The Department for Transport have tested the schemes on various stretches of the M2, M4, M5 AND M27. And most importantly, they’ve done it with success.
Granted, it’s a triumph but there’s still wide-spread caution which needs to be addressed. Which is why many councils have chosen to compromise by adopting additional safety methods. One of these methods is to install dimmer lights. A less drastic measure, but still signifying willingness to change, whilst appeasing the public.
Another method is to install additional road safety methods such as Astucia SolarLite road studs to deliver a clearer view of the road ahead by delineation.
These innovative, sustainable studs provide 10 x greater visibility than conventional cats eyes, charge and activate entirely on natural sunlight and have already been deployed with great success including an installation on the M25 where there was previously no street lighting whatsoever.
Buckinghamshire County Council was also keen to deploy thousands of streams of SolarLite road studs alongside additional safety measures at selected rural and semi-rural locations.
To find out more about Astucia SolarLite road studs, click onto www.astucia.co.uk or read the entire article about the M1 street light switch-off here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8693552/Motorway-lighting-switch-off-triggers-safety-fears.html
