Approaches to Adaptive Lighting on Roadways

Abstract

Adaptive lighting is an approach to lighting design that proposes to change the light level on a roadway on the basis of the needs of drivers. A review of the literature and building the connection between crashes and light level allowed the development of a system to select roadway luminance levels and then modify these levels on the basis of the needs of the driver. This adaptive lighting system uses parameters such as traffic volume, ambient light levels, pavement marking quality, intersection density, and, most important, the presence of pedestrians to allow lighting design criteria to be selected through a weighting system. As these parameters (such as traffic volume) change, a new light requirement is determined, and the lighting system can be adjusted with controllable luminaires and a master control system. Guidelines for the implementation of this system and an example are provided.