Light Bulb Moment Could Make For Safer Roads

Whether they’re helping stranded motorists or maintaining gas, water and electricity supplies, essential workers often have to park their vans on the roadside to do their job. It can be a potentially dangerous situation – every year, roadside workers are killed or injured on Europe’s roads.

Parked vans can be hazardous to other drivers too, as they can sometimes only be seen when close enough for their warning panels to be lit by approaching headlights. In bad conditions or on winding roads, that doesn’t leave much time to slow down and pass safely, so we came up with a bright idea. 

Our new Electronic High Visibility Panels use technology from aeroplane cockpits and medical or military equipment screens to light up the back of our Transit and Transit Custom vans. Once switched on, the panels create their own light, helping vans and workers on the roadside be seen clearly sooner than when using just reflective chevrons. 

Engineers developed the panels in collaboration with Northumbrian Water Group in the UK. Their staff often work on dark, winding roads, so we listened to their experiences in real-world scenarios to help make the system as simple and safe as possible. The Group’s companies¹ are now the first commercial user, and we’re exploring ways to make Electronic High Visibility Panels available in other European countries.

1 Electronic High Visibility Panels are now being used by Northumbrian Water Group. This includes Essex & Suffolk Water, which is part of Northumbrian Water Group.

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