AI cameras watching drivers in £4.6 million UK streetlight experiment

Ten councils led by East Riding of Yorkshire have used AI thermal imaging cameras to test whether rural roads stay safe without conventional streetlights, in a £4.6 million programme called Decarbonising Streetlighting Live Labs 2.

Active Travel England published the results on 18 September as a case study alongside its new Rural Design Guide.

The programme set out to show that highways can remain safe while cutting reliance on carbon-intensive streetlighting, and questioned the assumption that conventional lighting is always needed at junctions and on high-speed routes.

Transoft Solutions developed the thermal imaging AI system with support from the University of Sheffield, in what Active Travel England described as a world-first application.

The cameras monitored vehicle speeds, lane positioning, near-miss events and pedestrian movements around the clock in both lit and unlit conditions, so the team could compare performance before and after each installation.

Instead of standard streetlights, the project used high-reflectivity road markings, solar-powered road studs, vehicle-activated signs and simplified layouts to slow traffic. It installed 3-metre pedestrian-scale columns made from 80% recycled aluminium, with optics designed to light the footway rather than the carriageway, and crossing lights triggered by passive infrared sensors when someone approaches.

Across the network, 75% of sites recorded speed reductions and motorcyclists slowed by more than 10%. Active Travel England said night-time collision rates fell relative to the wider network, and where speeds rose slightly they stayed within the limit.

At Hayton, a village in the East Riding, the AI cameras showed that random crossing movements before the scheme became centred on a single low-level lit crossing afterwards. The agency said this change carried over into daylight hours, because the design created a predictable environment.

Audio sensors tracked bats and birds along the corridors and camera traps recorded foxes, rabbits and otters, some previously unrecorded in the area. Residents in Hayton, who took part in VR workshops and app-based wildlife reporting during the design, reported improved sleep, reduced glare and quieter nights.

Over ten years, the alternative designs cut carbon emissions by 25% compared with replacing traditional streetlighting, rising to 36% with value-engineered versions, and saved £1.24 million. The University of Leeds built a decision support tool that lets councils compare traditional lighting renewals with the new designs over different asset lifecycles.

“It is by far and away one of the most galvanising projects in the region. Its visible benefit to motorists and pedestrians is clear for all to see. There are repeated requests for similar schemes to LiveLabs2 to be implemented across the region,” said Paul West, ward councillor and cabinet member for highways at East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority have invested a further £4.5 million to scale the approach locally, with an estimated £6 million in long-term savings.

The Institute of Lighting Professionals is preparing new technical guidance based on the results, and the British Standards Committee is exploring whether to allow low-level pedestrian lighting as a compliant rural solution in future standards.

The other participating authorities were Aberdeenshire Council, Northern Ireland Highways, Lancashire County Council, Hull City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Westminster City Council.

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