The Johnster and I just got back from a weekend of good dining in the Bay Area and while we were on the road late at night driving from LA to the San Francisco, I got kind of lost in contemplation as I normally do. When we were driving on that strip of straightness on the 5 freeway and it was pitch dark at 3AM, I just started to think about the vision of the road. There are highway reflectors, sure, but your vision is only limited to the 200 feet or so of your car's headlight power. Trusting the safety of the road 200 feet at a time sounds okay but I'm still not convinced that it's the best we can do to ensure motorist safety for long drives at night. Well, leave it to those smart guys from the UK to provide a resolution for this problem and increase the visibility of the road for the potentially dangerous drives at night.
Astucia, a company that specializes in traffic safety systems, has introduced their SolarLite flush road stud. The studs are more convenient than reflectors because they are powered by small solar panels which emits LED light. These lights provide 900 meters of visibility which is 10 times stronger than the traditional reflecting studs...AND without having to rely upon illuminating headlights! Also, reaction time is increased to 30 seconds instead of the average 3.2 seconds of those reflective studs which can only add to the equation of increasing motorist safety at night.
How these studs work is that during the day, the Astucia SolarLite
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