Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Useful Information On Lighting

• What are the HA responsible for?
• So, why are some roads lit and majority not?
• What other safety features are installed?
• How do we decide whether to light or not?
• Impacts of revised figures
• Green Energy
• Sustainability
• Technical information
• What happens to disused lighting columns?
• Increasing the HAs energy efficiency
• We do the best we can
• Further information

What are the HA responsible for?

We are responsible for the operation management and maintenance of England's Motorways and Trunk roads (A roads). It is our objective for our roads to be and to be seen as safe. You can view a map of the roads we manage.

Those roads not highlighted on the map are managed by local authorities. This means we have control over only 4.3% of England's 5.6 million road lights and two-thirds of our motorways and A roads are un-lit.

So, why are some roads lit and majority not?

Lighting on the road is a safety feature (for accident reduction during the hours of darkness) and not mandatory. Unlike local authority roads, most of our roads are placed away from residential areas and amenities. This means that often (but not always) when considering the benefits of lighting issues such as crime prevention and amenities access do not have to be considered.

What other safety features are installed?

Lighting is not the only safety feature installed on our roads. A mixture of strategically placed Electronic signs, static signs, queue protection systems, road re-alignment, white line adjustments, roads studs (which reflect light from vehicle headlights to highlight road markings), boundary fences etc are used to keep travellers safe and moving. In many cases these other features provide more safety benefits to the road-user than the introduction of lighting could.

How do we decide whether to light or not?

Each lighting scheme is considered on an individual basis. The whole life cost (which is over an average 30 year period) of a lighting scheme is considered and includes:

• Cost of installation - lighting column and crash safety barrier package can be costly
• Cost of operation (Energy consumption)
• Cost of maintenance
• Cost of removal

These costs are then compared to the potential benefits the scheme could bring. A lighting scheme is only accepted if the benefits outweigh the costs. And during the analysis of benefits, we use figures published by senior economists within The Department for Transport (DfT). The calculations take into account many factors. But, as stressed above, other safety features can be used which may provide more benefit to the traveller than lighting.

Impacts of revised figures

Having carried out in-depth analysis and gaining vital feedback from many people inside and outside the HA, including the UK lighting board; we now know that lighting reduces accidents on motorways by only 10% and not 30%, which earlier research indicated. As a result there will be less lighting schemes in the future.

Green Energy

The HA were asked to procure at least 10% of its energy from green sources by 2010. The HA have surpassed that target and we already source 15% of our energy from renewable and Good Quality Combined Heat and Power (GQCHP).

Sustainability

As part of our Sustainability Action Plan (817KB PDF), our specialist Engineers are looking at methods to help us manage our lighting in a more sustainable manner. For example, with lighting providing an  accident reduction of only 10%, we are considering switching off our lit motorways between midnight and 5am when traffic levels are so low, the cost of lighting provides no equivalent benefit. We are also looking at energy efficient Light Sources, fuel cell technology (which is more reliable then wind or solar powered systems) and methods to make our lighting maintenance regime more cost effective.

Technical information

This section lists information such as wattage ratings, column height & spacing and their placement on the road.

Note: Each lighting scheme is unique as they are designed according to specific road conditions.

• Typical Wattage, Motorways:  250W - 400W high-pressure sodium luminaires or 11kW (kilo watts) per km - 53kW per km, dependent on lighting scheme.
• Wattage per kilometre for A roads is significantly lower
• Column spacing: 30 - 45m
• Column height, Motorways: 12 - 18m
• Column height, A  roads: 8 - 10m

The diagram below shows the requirements for full cut-off. 'Full-cut off' states there should be no stray light above the dashed horizontal line. This HA standard ensures sky glow from HA lighting schemes is kept to a minimum, keeping light pollution levels down to a reasonable level. This also helps Astronomers continue their analysis of our Universe and we were awarded for our work by the British Astronomical Association Campaign for Dark Skies.

Full cut-off requirements:

What happens to disused lighting columns?

Once our lighting columns have expired, they are handed over to licensed organisations who dispose of them appropriately.

Increasing the HAs energy efficiency

Just like householders, we try to re-use as much as we can. This includes our lighting asset, so long as they still meet our safety standards.

We also welcome new ideas that are aimed at further reducing our carbon footprint and the ideas listed are examples of some suggestions tested against British and European standards:

Remove every other or every third lighting column

In theory this would significantly reduce our carbon footprint. But, in practice there are important factors to consider such as preventing shadows and obscuration of hazards. There is research that indicates lighting in this way could put strain on the road-users eyes.

Mount wind turbines on columns

This would be a good source of green energy, but to keep costs to a minimum we make sure our lighting columns are not over-engineered. This means they will not support any additional weight.

Mount transverse wind turbines along the central reserve

We no longer install new equipment (unless there are exceptional circumstances to do so) on the central reserve. It is a dangerous place for our road workers to be. We want to take every step possible to keep them safe.

Wind and Sun (Solar) Power

This would be an ideal source of energy. Unfortunately, such sources are not reliable enough for our lamps.

LED lighting

We feel LED lighting may be the future and agree on the potential energy consumption reductions through its use. However, at the moment LED lighting does not yet meet Highways Agency lighting requirements, especially on motorways. In the mean time, we are keeping a close eye on the LED manufactures for developments.

If you have any ideas or are considering a design and want further information on what to consider, please view the list at the bottom of this web-page under section: further information.

We do the best we can

Our experienced lighting engineers come up with and seek old and new innovative ideas from all over the world to make sure wherever lighting is installed, we have the safest and most cost-effective solution in place.

Further information

The following references are used by the HA when considering a lighting scheme:

Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB)

Volume 8, section 2 and 3

1. IAN 69/05: Designing for Maintenance (147KB PDF)

British Standards and BS EN Standards

Please be aware there may be a charge for viewing the following British and European standards:

1. BS EN 12767: Passive safety of support structures for road equipment - requirements and test methods.
2. BS EN 13201 (all parts): Road lighting.
3. BS 5489 (all parts): Code of practice for the design of road lighting
4. BS EN 60529: Specification for degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP code).
5. BS 7671, Requirements for electrical installations - IEE Wiring Regulations
6. BS EN 40 (All Parts) Lighting Columns
7. EN 12899 - 1 and EN 60598 - 1: Sign lighting

Legislative Documents

1. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations: 2007

If you have any questions regarding the information presented on this website or any ideas you want to submit, please contact us.