19 hours ago
7
Bulli Pass in southeast New South Wales will be the first trial site following a spike in near-miss accidents along the mountain road.
The New South Wales government will trial glow-in-the-dark line markings on one of the state’s notoriously dangerous roads.
According to the announcement, the photoluminescent road markings will first be tested for six months on the hairpin turn on Bulli Pass – a mountain road approximately 76km southeast of Sydney – and was chosen as the first site following “a spike in near-miss incidents between 9:00 pm to 4:00 am”.
The NSW state government said there have been 125 near accidents recorded along Bulli Pass in the 12 months before to 30 June 2024, with the glow-in-the-dark line markings located “part way down the steep descent to increase awareness of the sharp bend”.
“Data shows around a third of fatal crashes in NSW happen at night. If this trial is deemed a success, we will look at the application on other locations with a history of crashes or near-misses where better visibility is needed,” John Graham, NSW’s Minister for Roads, said in a written statement.
“Bulli Pass has had a rising number of near misses, particularly at night so using Glow Roads to improve driving conditions will help thousands of motorists who rely on this busy route,” Minister Graham added.
Additionally, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison said, the road safety feature is a “new alternative for areas where street lighting may not be practical.”
“Locals know this road and others like it across the state can have visibility plummet in a second when fog or a storm rolls in,” she added.
The Glow Roads work by absorbing and storing the sunlight during the day before they glow at night.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
