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Research may cut accidents
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Tuesday 10th Dec 2002.
NIGHT-TIME accidents on badly-lit roads could be cut thanks to a groundbreaking engineering project with backing from Swindon.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council is funding the work of engineers at Queens University in Belfast to the tune of £122,000.
The experts are developing what the research council describes as a revolutionary way of assessing whether roads are equipped with appropriate levels of lighting.
The system incorporates automated techniques that the project team has already tested and used to assess the landing lights at Belfast International Airport.
Digital video cameras, light filters and light meters are fitted onto the roof of a car, which is then driven at normal speed down the stretch of road under investigation.
Meanwhile, a global positioning system gives the car's precise location and sensors provide information about the road's contours.
An on-board computer captures all the data, which is later processed in a laboratory.
The data can then be used to aid decisions about whether any roads or sections of any road need better lighting to make them safer for both motorists and pedestrians.
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