Drivers’ experiences of presence sensitive roadway lighting match experiences of traditional road lighting – a case study in Finland

Abstract

This research aimed to test and study presence sensitive roadway lighting in a housing area in Finland, and to evaluate drivers’ experiences and attitudes of it. The lighting adapted both to motor vehicles using the road and to the measured traffic density along it. The case study was conducted on a collector road in Salo, a town in southern Finland. New, controllable LED lighting with PIR (passive infrared) presence sensors was built along the road, and test scenarios were designed, programmed, and tested. Drivers’ experiences and attitudes of the lighting were collected in a three-phase evaluation with questionnaires from the community of about 1000 households using the road as part of their daily mobility. The results indicate that as an experience, presence sensitive lighting in a road environment was at least as positive as traditional, uncontrolled lighting. The experiences of presence sensitive lighting did not differ from the experiences of uncontrolled lighting regarding pleasantness, uniformity, glare, and road visibility. Most of the drivers (86 %) did not notice any dynamic change in lighting. When informed about the tested lighting strategies, most of the participants (72 %) would prefer either one of the intelligent lighting modes to be the permanent lighting solution. The results encourage the use of intelligent lighting in striving towards more sustainable lighting solutions while maintaining user comfort and safety.