Bright lights of Dover
UK based company Astucia is helping to guide drivers at night on the roads leading to the port of Dover.
Two of the busiest sections of trunk route in Kent towards the port of Dover are in the process of having Astucia SolarLite intelligent road studs installed to improve night time road safety with enhanced full lane and edge delineation. Both these stretches of dual carriageway are also prone to suffering from fog and mist.
In total more than 21,000 Astucia SolarLite F series embedded intelligent road studs with built in solar powered Light Emitting Diodes are being installed by Clearview Traffic Group’s own contracting team for the UK Highways Agency via their Managing Agent Contractors Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald JV.
The A20 links the end of the M20 motorway at the Cheriton Channel Tunnel terminal with the port of Dover. Routed via the cliff top, fog and incidents have regularly occurred on this 10km stretch of road. Being within a conservation area, alternative measures, such as traditional street lighting, were neither viable nor cost effective options, the Astucia SolarLite intelligent road studs are being installed throughout.
The 21km stretch of the A2 from its junction with the end of the M2 motorway at Brenley Corner and the recommencement of street lighting at Lyddon also suffers from night time / early morning fog and mist. Driver safety and comfort will be greatly improved by this installation of Astucia SolarLite intelligent road studs.
In both cases the use of the Astucia SolarLite intelligent road studs provide enhanced driver safety benefits in a cost effective manner without being detrimental to the local environment. The Astucia SolarLite intelligent road studs automatically illuminate from dusk to dawn and provide drivers with up to 900 metres of visibility. This is ten times greater than the traditional, retro-reflective, passive road stud which is limited by the headlight beam of the vehicle. With the increased visibility of the SolarLite road stud driver reaction time is of potential hazard in the road ahead is increased from 3.2 to over 30 seconds, when driving at 60mph.
A number of Local Authorities with existing installations in the UK have reported significant reductions in night time accidents of well over 70% since the installation of the Astucia SolarLite intelligent road studs.
The studs are being installed by Clearview Traffic’s own Contracting Division who hold the full Highways Agency Sector Scheme 7 accreditation for installation of road studs. Nick Lanigan, Supply Chain Director for the group commented; “we are delighted with the effect of the Astucia studs and we are confident that this enhanced delineation will have a positive effect on the safety and night time road environment on these busy sections of road.”