Dear Sir

The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) believe that David Millward’s article of 10 August in Motoring News, entitled ‘Motorway lighting switch off triggers safety fears’ does not fully reflect the proposals being implemented by the Highways Agency (HA).

The HA’s press release of 10th August states that ‘Motorway lighting will be permanently switched off and removed on sections of the M1 motorway in Bedfordshire, reducing carbon emissions and light pollution’.

According to the article, a number of industry organisations have raised concerns about future safety on this part of the M1 related to the introduction of managed motorways.  This reporting may raise anxiety among drivers, causing them to travel at different times, or avoid motorways which are proven to be our safest roads.

CIHT is aware of a number of factors that influence the management of the strategic network. These include;
• the improving of journey time reliability,
• minimising environmental impact,
• enhancing road user or road worker safety,
• delivery at an optimum cost especially in times of greater restrictions on capital and revenue budgets. 

CIHT recognises that there is a perception that lit motorways are inherently safer, but the evidence suggests otherwise.  The monitoring of street lighting switch-off schemes on motorways showed that in 12 months of lighting removal between midnight and 05.00 hrs at 6 motorway sections, only one collision occurred.  This resulted in slight injury and was caused by a driver arrested at the scene for drink-driving.

Many local highway authorities have undertaken extensive programmes of lighting switch-off or removal, and published records to date suggest that collisions do not rise in frequency as feared, but fall instead.  One reason for this positive outcome may be increased confidence and reduced concentration by drivers in lit areas.

Managed motorways principally operate in peak times, so a majority of the time that hard shoulder running is in use will be in daylight hours.  The Managed Motorway schemes implemented to date have seen substantial collision reduction occur and significant benefits are likely with the application of the system to the M1 scheme.
 
The lighting removal within this project has the potential to provide a number of benefits;
• the safety of road workers, as the removal of columns reduces the burden of future maintenance work,
• reduction in the environmental effect of the lighting, with benefit to local people and a reduced impact on ecology
• a revenue cost saving from energy charges and  maintenance costs.  

CIHT welcomes the combined cost and wider benefits which the initiative is predicted to bring to road users, local communities and the environment.

CIHT believes that when looking at innovative ideas you have to consider the balance of benefits. In this instance the balance will be positive to the road users, local communities and the nation as a whole.
 
The Institution believes that it is vital that the outcome of this pilot is closely monitored and analysed, to gather information for the national Managed Motorway programme and the management of other strategic and local highway networks.  The findings from this pilot should be promptly published, to disseminate the knowledge gained to all relevant stakeholders.

CIHT is aware that one of the central tenets of the HA's policy is 'safe journeys'.  If this can be achieved through switching off lighting and if the real-term savings can be spent on low-cost, well-proven casualty reduction measures then CIHT supports this due to its net road safety benefit.

Yours faithfully

John Smart, Director of Professional & Business Development, CIHT