According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), 6,590 pedestrians in the United States were killed in traffic incidents in 2019, the highest number in more than 30 years.

As you might imagine, there are many reasons for this, including drivers who are impaired, distracted, or speeding. However, numerous studies also show that inadequate lighting at or near crosswalks presents a heightened risk to pedestrians. For example:

  • Nighttime crashes that occur on unlit roads are almost twice as likely to be fatal as those that occur on well-lit roads
  • Nighttime crashes account for more than 90% of the total increase in pedestrian deaths in the past decade
  • Better street lighting can reduce nighttime crash frequency by 40% and crash severity by 26%

Typical streetlights often fail to adequately protect pedestrians because they’re usually mounted too high or spaced too far apart to provide the necessary lighting to illuminate a pedestrian or light an entire crosswalk.

Carmanah provides high-intensity, purpose-built, pedestrian-level light that maximizes the contrast and illuminance of pedestrians on or near crosswalks. Unlike other lights that prioritize brightness at all costs, Carmanah’s fixtures offer consistent light uniformity spanning the entire crosswalk area. This makes for better visibility, while reducing eye strain and “flicker” for both drivers and pedestrians.

Carmanah’s overhead crosswalk lights also minimize the kind of dangerous glare that characterizes unshielded and non-directional lights by employing flat glass luminaires mounted parallel to the roadway (instead of at an angle which allows light to “leak” upward into the night sky, or into nearby residences).

This solution works well for crosswalks with no lighting or conventional lighting, including crosswalks situated in heavily wooded areas (such as parks) that attract plenty of walkers and bikers.

Please contact us for more information about how to make your community safer through more effective lighting. We recommend working with a professional lighting consultant who can advise you during the planning and installation phases of these lights.