According to a survey by the local councils of England and Wales, turning off street lights late at night to save money doesn\'t seem to trigger an increase in traffic accidents or crime.
Scientists say data collected from 62 of the 174 local authorities on road casualties and crimes that may benefit from dark streets have failed to find links to reduced
street lighting.
The researchers suggested that the evidence could be used to support further cuts in street lights, or to replace lights with energy by dimming them --
Efficient light fixtures or turn them off completely-\"think carefully\" about any potential risks.
\"The simple conclusion of our study is that we have not found any evidence that there has been an increase in road casualties or crimes on the 25,000 km kilometres of roads we have observed, phil Edwards, the study\'s lead researcher and the London School of Health and Tropical Medicine, said.
\"It is estimated that Britain spends £ 300 a year on street lights.
Dr. Edwards said: \"At a time when local authorities need to cut spending, our findings suggest that by carefully assessing the risks, street lighting can be reduced without increasing car accidents or crimes.
\"That doesn\'t mean we can turn off street lights at midnight across the country because some roads are more risky than others, but a risk assessment has been done before the lighting changes, he said.
Labor\'s research last year found that due to the surge in street lights shut down to save local councils, most parts of the UK \"fell into darkness\" money after midnight.
Labor claims that 141 of England\'s 106 parliaments are either closed or some lights are turned off.
The latest research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health investigates crime and roads
Accident statistics from 62 local authorities responding to information requests.
Scientists focus on crimes that are more likely to happen at night, such as burglary, vehicle theft, robbery, violence and sexual assault. Over a 14-
During the year, many committees changed the policy of lighting up all night, and the researchers did not find that the increase in road accidents or crimes could be attributed to changes in lighting, such as dimming, converting orange lighting to energy-
Efficient white LED lighting or completely off after an hour.
The researchers acknowledge that the findings may be biased towards the Council answering 1 out of 3 of the survey, but they believe that the overall conclusion is still strong enough to facilitate policy development
Make a decision.
\"There is evidence that other local authorities considering reducing street lighting may take action.
\"They don\'t need to worry about it causing harm-although some people do fear walking in the dark at night,\" Dr. Edwards said . \".
Kevin McConvey, an Open University Professor of Applied Statistics who did not participate in the study, warned that,
Interpretation of the findings is that the study cannot be fully confident of eliminating harmful effects.
\"In general, this study reassured us that the impact of changes in lighting on road safety and crime has not been serious so far.
But because it\'s an observational study, we can\'t be sure why that is.
\"The impact on future policy is really unclear,\" said Professor McConway . \".
\"These data do not allow too much comment on how to consider risks, nor on how much scope there is for further security cuts beyond the risks already made.
This is not a blank check that can be turned around further.
Dimmings, \"he said.
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