Smart Lighting Research

Street lighting makes significant contribution to traffic safety. A series of scientific papers confirm the positive correlation between the quality of street lighting and traffic safety (Krause, 2015, Riedel, Ringwald, & Rönitzsch, 2013, Walkling, 2017). Optimal street lighting helps road users to detect and recognize sources of danger on and off the roads at an early stage.

Central factors for reducing the number and severity of conflicts and road accidents are therefore optimal street lighting and "security through good vision".

Innovative lighting technologies such as LED allow an adaptive, dynamic and more precise illumination of the street space compared to previous lighting technologies, which can be steplessly adjusted to a standard-compliant light level. The current standards of the Swiss Light Society (SLG) allow the street lighting to be illuminated in three stages depending on the traffic volume. In addition to the advantages in terms of traffic safety, the use of new lighting technologies also brings advantages in other areas, in particular with regard to reduced light pollution and energy efficiency (Steinert & Otto, 2014).

The proposed research project is based on de Bellis et al. (2018) and closes the existing research gaps between laboratory and correlative studies. In general, for that

(1) factors are identified which influence the effect of street lighting on traffic safety and

(2) the optimization potential of street lighting is tested empirically

In particular, a systematic literature research and analysis, two field experiments as well as a complementary driving simulator study will be carried out in the laboratory. The expected results of the proposed research project will benefit various decision-makers in the field of road traffic (public authorities, traffic engineers, lighting technologists) as well as all road users.