NOV 26

Can we use environmental technology to save lives, money, and the environmental costs of replacing totaled automobiles? Yes...and we can do it with those little reflector bumps in roads. England has begun installing SolarLite Smart Studs on some of their darker stretches of road. The solar studs have a little solar panel in them, along with an LED light and traditional reflecting surface.

Drivers on the retrofitted roads enjoy 10 times more visibility (90 meters to 900 meters) with the new in-road lights. And drivers have a resulting 10 times more time to adjust to changes in road direction. Even better, the lights, in some scenarios, can replace overhead street lamps, completely eliminating the need for the roads to be on the electric grid.

The lights last about ten years, and after that they are just as useful as the old studs used to be. Preliminary tests in England have shown a 70% decrease in nighttime accidents.

The parent company, Astucia, doesn't have any plans to sell to the U.S. yet, but I can think of a few roads here in Montana that could definitely use an upgrade.

Via Engadget

Comments (8)

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written by EV, November 26, 2007

Ok, I can see how these work. I hope they come in yellow and not red, though. Otherwise I think people would be likely to mixup the road LEDs for a car's tail lights. (and I'm including myself in this)

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One little issue...
written by Airmon, November 26, 2007

Unless they're mounted flush with the road, requiring a little divot for each light, snowplows will prevent these from being used in much of the U.S.
We've got the reflective ones here in Florida, and they're great.

Re: the colors - if they're like the reflectors, they're red on your side of the road and white on the other side. Yellow in the middle, IIRC.

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A definite improvement
written by Butch, November 27, 2007

When they started putting plain reflectors on the roads here in the US, night driving became so much easier for me, especially in bad weather. With these, the amount of light isn't dependent on your headlights, so they seem to be a big step forward.

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Sceptic
written by smwtcool, November 27, 2007

If you visit their website you'll see that they offer a flat version for areas with snow.

My concern is the battery life. In real world conditions such as cold and hot temperatures batteries often fail to live up to their expectations. So I find it hard to believe that these will last ten years before someone has to replace millions of batteries all along the highways. If these are spaced 40 feet apart (like normal dashed lines), on a 2-lane highway that's a minimum of 396 (more if you need two in the middle lane). That's 400 blocks of lithium-ion that are thrown away plus the costs involved in manpower to replace them all. I find it hard to believe that they decrease accidents as much as advertised and are that much better than passive reflectors.

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written by EV, November 27, 2007

You bring up a good point about the batteries. I'm curious if they could replace them with capacitors. Much longer lifespan.

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Sort of work.......
written by rob, November 27, 2007

There is a stretch of road a couple of miles long, on the way to visit my parents in Norfolk (UK), that has had these self illuminated catseyes, for a few years.
They are very good, although I will admit being a little confused the first time I drove along the rode, I wondered what was happening with my headlights, I could see the direction of the road so far ahead.

The downside is that every time I come along the stretch of road (about twice a year), a few more have failed. They seem more vulnerable to damage than normal catseyes, often leaving a black space when they fail.

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We supply many solar road stud
written by Jack tian, October 20, 2008

Jack Tian
HangZhou Tiantian Solar Co, Ltd.
Products:Solar products
MSN: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Skype:tianjingjing12345
Mobile:0086-13758167727
Please add my contact information,then i can send you our solar road stud quotation

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Batteries Not Included
written by Jonathan Robins, December 17, 2008

Our company has developed SRM's that run off capacitors, and are high performance, IP68, and stand fast against any conditions. No Lithium Ion in SolarPath Roads...

Check us out - www.SolarPathUSA.com

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