Poor lighting puts people off driving, according to Yotta research

Just over a quarter of UK adults in a recent survey said they avoid driving after dark because of poor street lighting on their local roads. The research, commissioned by technology company Yotta, polled 1,000 UK adults. The results found that many people are also put off from walking or cycling through local green spaces after dark by poor lighting. Nearly one-third (30%) said they are less likely to visit them because of the quality of the lighting. In addition, more than one quarter (26%) of respondent
January 9, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Just over a quarter of UK adults in a recent survey said they avoid driving after dark because of poor street lighting on their local roads.

The research, commissioned by technology company 8110 Yotta, polled 1,000 UK adults. The results found that many people are also put off from walking or cycling through local green spaces after dark by poor lighting.

Nearly one-third (30%) said they are less likely to visit them because of the quality of the lighting. In addition, more than one quarter (26%) of respondents overall said the quality of street lighting in their town or city made them feel less safe about going out after dark, compared to just 19% who said the lighting quality made them feel safer.  

Despite concerns about the quality of street lighting, 17% of UK adults believed the council are inefficient at fixing broken street lights in their local town or city.

In addition, when respondents were asked what public areas they would be happy for lighting to be switched off to help the council reduce costs,  the “no areas” option received 32% of the vote. Minor roads were cited by 19% of respondent and motorways by 18%.

Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Making the U-turn
    August 2, 2012
    Political hostility to a toll road project in Australia has been turned around by the quality and amenity of the project writes Adrian Greeman Cars, trucks and vans were taking to the new EastLink toll road in Melbourne with enthusiasm this July, pleased to try out its 39km route for time and cost savings. As well as the convenience of the uncongested route, drivers were also able to view an extraordinary multi-shaded perspective of transparent green and orange noise wall panels, burnt earth-coloured retai
    Read More
  • Why Hitachi rental electric excavators are a perfect fit
    July 1, 2025
    When Jurgen van Uijthoven needed an electric excavator for a short-term project, he knew exactly who to ask. The long-standing customer of Hitachi Construction Machinery sub-dealer Pellen BV found an ideal solution to win the tender and complete the work.
    Read More
  • Zipping up road lanes
    September 28, 2018
    QMB has a Lindsay Road Zipper on duty near Montreal. World Highways deputy editor David Arminas climbed aboard As vice president of Canadian barrier specialist QMB, based in Laval, Quebec, Marc-Andre Seguin is sanguine about the future for moveable barriers. On the one hand, it looks good. The oft-stated advantage of moveable barriers is that the systems are cheaper to install than adding a lane or two to a highway or bridge. Directional changes to lanes can boost volume on a road without disrupting tra
    Read More
  • Highway 99 revisited
    March 6, 2024
    David Arminas recently returned to Seattle for an inside look at some of the features of the now-complete SR99 tunnel that was a World Highways key project report in November 2017.
    Read More

Highlighted Content