3080 miles of motorways and trunk roads are completely unlit at night (Photo Luke Addison
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has revealed the extent to which local authorities are turning off streetlights to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
73 per cent of 134 councils that responded to the survey carried out by the newspaper said they had or were planning to switch off or dim lights.
The investigation found that 3,080 miles of motorways and trunk roads are now completely unlit, while a further 47 miles of motorway have no lights between midnight and 5am. 70 per cent of the motorway network now remains unlit after midnight, including the M1, M2, M4, M5, M6, M27, M48, M54, M58, M65 and M66. The Highways Agency claims to have saved £400,000 last year by implementing blackout policies and said it planned further switch-offs around the UK.
The Sunday Telegraph went on to quote road safety campaigners who are opposed to streetlighting switch-offs, such as a spokesperson from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, who said, "The presence of lighting not only reduces the risk of traffic accidents but also their severity. Surveys have show that the public are in favour of street lighting as a way of improving road safety and that, if anything, it needs to be improved in some areas."
