Solar-powered LED road markers could light future roadways
Night-time travel is a necessary part of the busy world in which we live, but due to decreased visibility, traveling in the dark can be dangerous. The British have shed some light on night driving with the invention of the Astucia SolarLite flush road stud. The stud emits LED light, which is powered by small solar panels. The new stud tech is present on 120 British roads, and night-time accidents are down a dramatic 70% since the devices were installed. Amazingly, the SolarLite road stud gives drivers 900 meters of visibility, which increases reaction times to over 30 seconds. Reaction time with standard reflector studs is just 3.2 seconds.
With thousands of Americans dying on night roads every year, any incremental price vs. reflector studs would likely be a drop in the bucket when compared to the incredible savings in insurance claims alone. The government mandates billions of dollars in safety equipment on our cars and trucks, and both the automakers and customers foot the bill in the name of safety. If the SolarLite road stud is nearly as effective as it claims, the governments incorporating them could effectively reduce the likelihood that many automotive safety features would never need to be deployed.
[Source: Astucia]
Gallery: SolarLite road stud
20th November 2007
BRITISH INVENTION SHOWS WAY AHEAD IN NIGHT-TIME DRIVING
Astucia SolarLite flush road stud uses stored solar power to give a ten-fold improvement in night time road visibility.
Shorter days and longer hours of darkness, along with inclement winter weather place particular emphasis on the need for road delineation, to show the driver where the road goes next. The latest generation of a British-designed "smart" road-stud has just been certified by the Department for Transport and is making a significant improvement to driving safety, with a big boost in visibility compared with the traditional reflective "cats-eye."
The Astucia SolarLite™ stud stores solar energy during the day, then built-in Light Emitting Diodes automatically illuminate from dusk to dawn, providing drivers with up to 900 metres of visibility. This is ten times greater than the traditional, retro-reflective, passive road stud which relies on being illuminated by the headlight beam of the approaching vehicle. At best it has a useful range of 90 metres.
The increased visibility given by the SolarLite road stud extends driver reaction times from 3.2 to over 30 seconds, when driving at 60mph. The studs are now in use in approximately 120 locations across the UK and a number of Local Authorities have reported reductions in night time accidents of well over 70% since the installation of the SolarLite "smart" road studs.
Research carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory also shows that when the smart studs are used, drivers also significantly less likely to cross the white line in the centre of a road or move out of lane on a dual carriageway. They also brake earlier and more consistently.
The greater number of visual references also means that drivers tend not to speed into the corners. In addition, the flush fitting studs are also safer for cyclist and motorcyclists. All make their contribution to added driving safety.
The latest generation of the SolarLite F Series intelligent road stud has taken advantage of improved solar panel and Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology, along with internal design developments, to allow costs to be dramatically reduced in comparison with earlier units.
The latest Astucia stud reduces casualties on the road and has a projected life of eight to ten years, compared with just one to two years for a conventional retro-reflective stud. Over its lifespan an Astucia "smart" stud will therefore cost no more than a traditional cat's eye. The units' efficiency can also allow a reduction in the use of energy- and maintenance-intensive, carbon-inefficient, streetlights.
In comparison with the cost and trauma of a fatal road accident of course, the price of any road stud fades into insignificance. According to the latest UK Department for Transport annual statistics, there are on average more than 8 fatal accidents every day, each one costing the country £1.69 million pounds. While only one third of all journeys occur at night, almost half of the serious or fatal accidents occur during the hours of darkness.
In the UK, Astucia road studs are currently installed on roads in Lothian in Scotland, the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, in Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and Oxfordshire. They are also used in more specialised applications such as demarking cycle lanes in Cambridgeshire and Fast Track bus lanes in Essex.
The smart, safe and sustainable concept that created the Astucia SolarLite studs was conceived in 1989 by Martin Dicks. A former member of the London Fire Brigade, he formed Astucia to develop and market his invention in 1992..
Martin is recognised within the industry as one of the true visionaries in this vital field of road safety, building on the legacy of Percy Shaw, the inventor of the original "cats-eye" in the 1930s. Dicks is the inventor of an entire product range covering solar and hardwired studs, including studs that can warn of impending hazards such as fog, ice and surface water, or stationary traffic ahead
In 2003, Astucia made a significant step forward when John Madejski OBE DL, best known for his ownership of Reading Football Club and, more recently for his charitable work in the arts field supporting the Royal Academy and the V&A museum, acquired a controlling interest in the business. He made further investments to fund the R&D program and has supported the development of the company as a part of the Clearview Traffic Group, which also includes Golden River Traffic, a leader in the field of automated traffic counting and classifying, and Count On Us, the largest UK provider of transportation data collection and analysis services.
"Astucia is shaping the future of traffic safety by providing superior information to drivers about potential hazards direct from the road in their natural field of vision" says Martin Rodgers, sales and marketing director for Clearview Traffic. "The advance information on the road ahead provided to drivers by the Astucia studs is clearly proven to reduce incidents, so we're delighted to be able to bring to the market this next generation of flush stud, which is also easier and therefore cheaper to install, further justifying a unique British product which is continuing to prevent accidents and save lives."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Michael Dixon 9:50AM (3/10/2008)
People!
I need your help. I work in the PA House of Representatives and i'm currently developing legislation to introduce Astucia road lighting systems on roads in Pennsylvania. Now, i'm from the UK and don't know which roads in PA require these lights the most. Would someone be able to provide me with this information? You can e-mail me at mdixon@pahouse.net
Cheers.
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ryan 7:21AM (8/01/2008)
I am a manufacuter of LED LIGHTS in HK.(ELECOSN INC.)
I have ideas about LED light:
LED light will be the future of lighting , turely
It is with advantages:
1. Low power consumption, saving up 80% evergy than traditional halogen bulbs
2. Green, no pollution. It is solid state lighting
3. Long use life. Up to 100,000 hours
it is means that for years, there will be no any addtional maintenance cost
For the heating problem, there are many solution so solve it. The powe of LED light is enough to light home, office, even street, it is no problem
The only problem now is the cost. Its cost is still high. For example, our 4.5W LED Bulb (its lum equal to 24W halogen bulb), the cost will be about USD20 including freight charge form Hong Kong to the wolrd. How about this price? Can afford? I hope LED COST could be down soon, so the world will use LED lighting, that will make our earth more green and clean.
I have a report about LED LIght Vs Halogen bulb at website, http://www.elecosn-led-display-screen.com/about/news_detail.asp?newsid=45
if you are interested in it, please read it, and hope it useful to you
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garlinski 8:34AM (11/21/2007)
I would make the dark drive across northern Pennsylvania more interesting, but after a few miles may grow very tiresome and annoying.
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Ligor 8:41AM (11/21/2007)
i think it's great,
now we can all go out for a joy ride at 2AM without worrying about police.
taking those turns without these lights is way too risky, but now it's just like day time.
bring on the joy
fm 1:29PM (11/21/2007)
The Poconos would merrit these aswell plus it'd allow you to concentrate more on looking out for deers and not at the 50 feet of road infront of the car. Plus the low glow would be cool imo.
R 1:42PM (11/21/2007)
I was reading the article thinking how awesome the technology sounded, then I cynically thought, "There must be someone out there who will find a negative" and what do you know, first post! ;)
garlinski 10:05PM (11/25/2007)
I really wouldn't categorize my comment as "negative" more like seeing it as a distraction. I drive in Connecticut mostly at night on the higways and for the most part, they are very well lit almost eh the entire length of the highway (I-84). When I make my monthly trips to upstate PA, the long drive on I-84 is VERY dark and the little lights in the road would become more of a distraction than the multiple 18 wheelers doing 80mph in the driving lanes! It's a neat technology, but not something I would like.
Ben H. 8:43AM (11/21/2007)
"Coming in for a landing" when you're flying-low. =]
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Jerk Face 8:43AM (11/21/2007)
Awesome. We need these here. There is no argument that could possibly be put together to speak against something like this.
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cheezwiz 9:43AM (11/21/2007)
$$$???
Jerk Face 9:46AM (11/21/2007)
@cheezwiz
Not if it saves lives like it is over there. Totally worth it. How about when you're driving at night in the rain and you can't see the lines? That is awful, especially if you've never been to the place you are driving before. With these? That would be a complete non-issue forever. Wouldn't that be nice?
kballs 12:58PM (11/21/2007)
How about getting scraped off by the plow the first time it snows?
naggs 1:10PM (11/21/2007)
as the article pointed out, the drop in insurance fees would more than offset the price of the solar lights.
total no brainer, these should be installed everywhere they could do a bit of good
kballs 1:10PM (11/21/2007)
Also if you install them recessed into the pavement, they'll just be covered in muck, sand, slush, snow, and ice most of the winter so they won't be functional (because they won't collect enough light to charge the batteries).
I have some yard lights that are solar powered LEDs, and even in the summer with all day southern sun exposure they only run about 5-6 hours... in the winter on sunny days they run about 1-2 hours. So even in non-shady areas these road lights wouldn't be lit very long at night.
R 2:03PM (11/21/2007)
Hmm, there's too many variables to compare with your yard lights, but from what you're saying, I suspect the issue lies more with your yard lights. LED's consume very, very little power. All day light exposure should provide you with far more power than 5-6 hours. Either your batteries suck, your solar panels suck, each light has a zillion LED's, or they're not even LED's, where "suck" is just codeword of "obsolete."
Astucia's site claims 10 days of lighting power for 4 hours of bright daylight charging. Some might call it a marketing ploy, but that's far more inline with LED characteristics than what you're describing with your yardlights.
Mike 8:47AM (11/21/2007)
Great idea. I remember about 15 years ago when they started putting in the passive reflectors in my area and it was a huge difference (we don't have many street lights in the area). I love to see this tech get here quickly. If the costs/durability really are in line with what they say, and they work as effectively as they say I'lll buy a bucket of them tomorrow and drop them off at VDOT so they can start installing them.
If you follow the link you see examples where they have different colors to warn of different road hazards. Red for sharp curves etc. With an entire generation learning to drive on XBox+Forza they will quickly take to the change of colors to show slowing down, hazard etc.
Mike
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LBuzzer 9:02AM (11/21/2007)
This makes so much sense, there's no reason to at least make some trial runs on dangerous roads.
In the winter, though, not so effective as they'll be snow covered; and the plows would probably jettison them all onto farmers' fields...
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testa di cazzo 10:01AM (11/21/2007)
not necessarily - if they are embedded into the asphalt (like the reflector things that exist now), and are made tough enough and not sticking out of the ground, snow-ploughs should do too much damage to them... and i also think they should be able to shine through at least a small coating of snow - of course, if there are feet and feet of snow, then all bets are off...
the other question is, what happens when you have a couple weeks of rainy weather with no real sun during that time (seattle?)... do the lights just stop working? how much power reserve is in them
Dr. Woo 8:51AM (11/21/2007)
THIRTY seconds?! That seems almost outrageous. If that's indeed the case, bring them on!
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calebe 9:00AM (11/21/2007)
Thats great. It should be on all roads.
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