Lighting for Pedestrian Safety

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) created the 

Research Report: Street Lighting for Pedestrian Safety to 

provide lighting recommendations for pedestrian safety. In 

developing the lighting recommendations, the effort 

considered the ability of pedestrians to detect hazards on 

walkways and crosswalks, the visibility of pedestrians to 

motorists, and impacts of lighting on pedestrian decisions 

related to whether to cross a roadway. 

FHWA also published the user-friendly companion 

document Pedestrian Lighting Primer as a resource to 

transportation practitioners interested in lighting to provide 

for safety and the security of pedestrians.

1

 The Primer

highlights how the results from the FHWA research report 

Street Lighting for Pedestrian Safety can complement 

commonly used lighting design guides.

 2 

Lighting of pedestrian facilities plays a key role in increasing 

the safety performance of the road network for all users. 

Effective pedestrian lighting installations are a means of 

addressing the vulnerability of pedestrians during dark 

conditions and improving safety and security for road users 

of all ages and abilities. Lighting may also increase a 

pedestrians’ confidence in performing certain tasks, such as 

assessing and selecting appropriate gaps at uncontrolled

crossings and monitoring vehicles approaching and making 

different movements through both signalized and 

unsignalized intersections. 

In 2020, 76% of all pedestrian-related fatalities occurred 

during periods of darkness. As figure 1 shows, the frequency 

of pedestrian fatalities during dark conditions has 

experienced an increasing trend over the past 10 years. 

Minority and disadvantaged communities may 

experience a disproportionate burden of pedestrian 

fatalities in dark conditions, as figure 2 shows. These 

numbers are even more compelling when considering 

that only 25% of all traffic volume occurs after dark.

Figure 2. Graphic. Percentage of pedestrian fatalities in dark conditions 

(i.e., “Dark – Not Lighted,” “Dark – Lighted,” or “Dark – Unknown 

Lighting”) by race (2008–2018). Source: NHTSA.

In addition to increasing traffic crash risk, dark conditions 

can have negative effects on pedestrian security. People 

may avoid walking at night as a precaution against potential 

crime.

3 Darkness is one of the primary factors that 

influences potential personal risk and heightened fear, as 

darkness reduces visibility and recognition and creates 

additional blind spots. 

Lighting for pedestrian security is particularly important at 

locations where the walking space is restricted, ambient 

light may be blocked, and pedestrian traffic is more 

separated from the surrounding context. New or improved

 

 

For more information, please contact:

Joseph Cheung, Office of Safety

Joseph.Cheung@dot.gov

FHWA-SA-22-062 

Figure 1. Graphic. Dark condition (i.e., “Dark – Not Lighted,” “Dark – 

Lighted,” or “Dark – Unknown Lighting”) pedestrian fatalities per year 

and dark condition pedestrian fatalities per year as a percent of total 

pedestrian fatalities. Source: NHTSA.
lighting can increase security and encourage pedestrian 

activity at night, specifically at and near transit stops. This 

can improve the safety and security of transit riders while 

boarding, alighting from, or waiting for transit. The 

American Public Transportation Association (APTA) 

developed the document Security Lighting for Transit 

Passenger Facilities as a resource for these situations.

4

Figure 3. Intersection at night with street lighting. Source: WSP. 

One pedestrian population that may especially 

benefit from improved lighting is school-age children. 

Walking or biking to or from school during the early 

morning or evening hours may cause students to 

travel in reduced lighting, increasing the risk of a 

crash.

Furthermore, children are particularly vulnerable to 

vehicular traffic as they are not as experienced at judging 

the direction of sounds, estimating the speed and distance 

of oncoming vehicles, or anticipating other road users’ 

behavior. Children are often smaller in stature and less 

visible to motorists, and thus more difficult for motorists to 

see, particularly at intersections and other crossings. The 

Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Online Guide identifies 

pedestrian-scale street lighting as an important measure for 

improving safety and security for children walking to school 

http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/. 

The Primer presents an overview of a four-step process that 

involves selecting design criteria, selecting equipment, 

determining the control strategy, and conducting the 

lighting design and verification. As the Primer illustrates, 

lighting of pedestrian facilities is key to increasing the safety 

performance of the roadway network for all users. Effective

pedestrian lighting, such as that shown in figures 3 and 4, is 

a means of addressing the vulnerability of pedestrians 

during dark conditions and improving the safety and 

security of all road users spanning different ages and 

abilities. This Primer, along with the companion FHWA 

research report, Street Lighting for Pedestrian Safety, can 

help transportation practitioners realize the benefits of 

lighting designs and provide safer facilities for pedestrians 

at night.2

References

1. Federal Highway Administration (2022, April).

Pedestrian Lighting Primer. FHWA-SA-21-087.

Washington, D.C.

2. Terry, T., Gibbons, R., Kassing, A., Bhagavathula, R., &

Lutkevich, P. (2020). Research Report: Street Lighting for

Pedestrian Safety. Federal Highway Administration.

FHWA-SA-20-062. Washington, D.C.

3. Painter, K. (1996). The influence of street lighting

improvements on crime, fear, and pedestrian street

use, after dark. Landscape and Urban Planning, 35, 193-

201.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/

0169204696003118?via%3Dihub

4. APTA. (2009). Security Lighting for Transit Passenger

Facilities. American Public Transportation Association,

Washington, DC. https://www.apta.com/wpcontent/uploads/Standards_Documents/APTA-SS-SISRP-001-10.pdf.

Figure 4. Roadway at night with street lighting. Source: WSP.