Three Times More Dangerous After Dark
Nighttime roads are three times more dangerous than daytime travel. Despite only 25% of vehicle miles traveled happening after dark, nearly half of all traffic crashes occur at night. For pedestrians, the numbers are even worse - darkness contributes to 76% of pedestrian fatalities.
The Federal Highway Administration recognizes effective street lighting as a Proven Safety Countermeasure, with research demonstrating 28-42% crash reduction from proper illumination. This designation opens the door to federal transportation funding for new and innovative approaches to making streets safer for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users.
And yet nighttime crash rates have increased sharply since 2010 - coinciding with the widespread adoption of LED street lighting that often follows outdated design approaches.
The LED Paradox
LED technology offers superior energy efficiency. But many installations simply replaced existing fixtures one-for-one without optimizing light placement for transportation safety. The result: adequate illumination for general visibility, but insufficient lighting exactly where crashes occur most frequently - at intersections, crosswalks, and areas where vehicles and vulnerable road users interact.
A crosswalk needs substantially more illumination than the roadway beside it. A driver approaching an intersection at 40 mph needs to see a pedestrian in time to stop. Traditional lighting design frequently fails to deliver the right light levels at these critical decision points - not because the technology is inadequate, but because the design approach treats every location the same.
Light Where Crashes Happen
Photometrics AI integrates with existing lighting control systems to prioritize areas with a history of transportation safety challenges between dusk and dawn. The system identifies:
- High-crash locations using historical crash data
- Crosswalks and intersections where vehicles and pedestrians interact
- Vulnerable road user facilities - bike lanes, school zones, transit stops
- Substandard locations where current lighting fails to meet IES RP-8 standards (typically about 2% of total lights)
For each of these areas, the system calculates the precise illumination needed - not blanket brightness, but targeted optimization that accounts for each fixture’s beam pattern, mounting height, and relationship to adjacent lights.
Dynamic Response to Conditions
Transportation safety needs change throughout the night. Photometrics AI enables dynamic responses:
- Peak pedestrian hours - enhanced crosswalk illumination during bar closing times, event dispersal, early morning commutes
- Wet weather - increased illumination for rain-slick roads where stopping distances increase and visibility drops
- Post-crash response - immediate area illumination following incidents, supporting emergency response and evidence preservation
- Traffic management integration - coordinated responses that support both safety and efficient traffic flow
The Value of Crashes Prevented
Using NHTSA crash cost data and FHWA crash reduction factors, Photometrics AI delivers an estimated $5.82 per streetlight per year in transportation safety value - representing a conservative 3% of darkness-related crash costs allocated to the portion attributable to lighting quality.
This may sound modest per light, but across a 50,000-light city it represents $291,000 in annual crash cost reduction - fewer injuries, fewer fatalities, lower emergency response costs, and reduced liability exposure.
And unlike many safety investments, this one requires no new infrastructure. The lights are already there. They just need to be told what to do.
Effective street lighting saves lives. The goal is to ensure light reaches where crashes happen and vulnerable road users need protection most.
How to Apply
Coming soon - practical guidance for transportation agencies on implementing crash-reduction lighting strategies with existing infrastructure.