CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale
Benefits from well-designed roadway lighting systems are often neglected
despite the fact that the areas where such systems are implemented greatly
deals with the safety and security of commuters, drivers, general pedestrian
and residences. A study by IATSS Research showed 33% of pedestrian
casualties in Europe was caused by the difficulty of seeing the incoming
vehicle. It was also noted that 40% was attributed to the difficulty on the part
of the driver to see the pedestrian.
Road accidents are a major problem worldwide, especially in low and middle
income countries. The accident rates and severity index, in terms of fatal and
serious injuries are almost 2-3 times higher at night traffic than in daylight
despite that only about 20% of traffic flow takes place at night. Keck (1991)
found that 80% of the vehicle miles driven in 1988 in US were in the hours of
daylight but more than half of the fatalities occurred during the night hours.
Reduction of fatal accidents would be facilitated by a properly illuminated road
way. Planis (n.d.) on his study found that fatal accidents for motorways is at
4.3% due to the absence of street lighting which improved greatly to 2.6%
with a road way lighting system installed on the area. An improvement from
1.9% to 1.3% of fatal accidents was also observed for built up roads. There
was a reduction from 4.9% to 3.1% for non-built up roads in terms of fatal
accidents.
The need for street lighting nowadays is indispensable which is likely to
positively correlate with the population of the area. In order to keep the street
lighting needed, a 10% to 40% of the total electric bill goes to the expenses of
operating the road way lighting systems (Ghazwan, 2014). As a result,
different technologies are being ventured or implemented to reduce the
electric consumption of the said lighting systems. This includes but not limited
to the use of LED based luminaires and automatic daylight detection for an
automated switching.
Such methods could be seen on the current street lighting setup
encompassing the portion of a major road - Sayre Highway which traverses
Central Mindanao University (CMU) land area from the university land mark in
Dologon, Maramag Bukidnon extending up to the Philippine Carabao Center
(PCC) area of the said university. With proper analysis and design strategies
for a new lighting system setup, a conducive roadway for pedestrians and
vehicles was achieved by the researchers aimed at incorporating added
safety on the said areas during night time. Economical and energy-efficient
designs are also of the concerns that were looked upon to during the design
process.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
1.3.1 General Objectives:
The study was aimed to create a new lighting system design for road way
lighting encompassing the Dologon, Maramag, Bukidnon Central Mindanao
University land mark to the university land mark fronting the Mt. Calayo
Botanical and Zoological Garden, CMU.
1.3.2 Specific objectives:
1. Gather existing road way lighting system data;
2. Gather road parameters;
3. Determine current illumination levels using a lux meter;
4. Compare obtained illumination data to EN 13201:2015 standards;
5. Design an optimum road way lighting system; and
6. Determine the financial viability of the new design.
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1.3 Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study is focused on the assessment of the existing road way lighting
system encompassed by the portion of the major road - Sayre Highway which
traverses Central Mindanao University (CMU) land area from Dologon,
Maramag, Bukidnon Central Mindanao University land mark to the university
land mark fronting the Mt. Calayo Botanical and Zoological Garden, CMU.
Average illumination levels were measured using a luxmeter and random pole
samples were selected for the measurement. Coefficient of utilization and
maintenance factor parameters were not considered during data collection.
Uniformity parameters were also neglected during the photometric evaluation.
Only EN 13201:2015 road way lighting standards were used to assess the
sufficiency of both the existing and designed road way lighting setup. Pole
spacing measurements were performed through onsite evaluation using a
tape measure. The photometric evaluation was performed on March 6, 2018.
