Is driving in the darkness the future?

Motorway lighting is to be permanently switched off on a stretch of the M1 in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and light pollution. Credit: PA

Motorway lighting is to be permanently switched off on a stretch of the M1 in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and light pollution.

The Highways Agency have announced that lights on a 13-mile-stretch of the motorway between Bedford (J13) and the border between Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire will be switched off just after midnight on 4th September this year.

The decision comes after an assessment revealed that turning the lights off will not increase risks to the safety of motorists.

However the motorway junctions will remain lit, Highways Agency's David Gingell says since 2009 certain sections have been switched off between midnight and 5.00am: