The urban light is considered a relatively low-cost intervention that has the potential to prevent traffic accidents. Public lighting can improve the driver’s visual ability and ability to detect road hazards. However, there are those who believe that public lighting can have a negative impact on road safety, and drivers may “feel” more safely because lighting can increase their visibility, thereby increasing their speed and reducing their concentration.
This system assessment is designed to assess how public lighting affects road traffic accidents and related injuries. The authors searched all controlled trials to compare the effects of new public and unbright roads, or to improve street lighting and pre-existing lighting levels. They found 17 controlled pre- and post-studies, all of which were conducted in high-income countries. Twelve studies investigated the impact of newly installed public lighting, four improved lighting effects, and another studied new and improved lighting. Five of the studies compared the effects of public lighting and individual regional controls, while the remaining 12 used day-to-day control data. The authors were able to summarize data on death or injury in 15 studies. The risk of bias in these studies is considered high.
The results show that public lighting can prevent road traffic accidents, casualties and death. This finding may be of particular interest to low- and middle-income countries because their public lighting policies are underdeveloped and the installation of suitable lighting systems is not as common as in high-income countries. However, further well-designed research is needed to determine the effectiveness of public lighting in low- and middle-income countries.
Post time: Aug-21-2020