Better Lighting for Bay County

Lighting along the roads

   During the evening when everyone is getting off of work you don’t usually think too much about street lighting because you are in a car. Lately I have noticed there is a lack of lighting in areas around Panama City and I think better lighting would improve safety around the city and allow for more security in these areas. Lighting can benefit everyone in the surrounding area and will help with safety concerns in Panama City.

How lighting can help improve traffic

   For traffic it’s better to see everything around you in your general area. At night it can be hard to see if there are any hazards on the road. This can be anything from an animal crossing the road and you not being able to see it due to lack of lighting. Or it could be a car without its lights on coming down the road in the wrong lane. Having better lighting on the road will allow you to be aware of situations coming your way so you will be able to make decisions and hopefully be able to avoid any issues coming your way. Deer-car accidents cause about 175 to 200 fatalities and 10,000 injuries annually. This is according to the moneygeek website but some of these accidents may have happened at night. Some of these accidents that are like this sometimes end in death so being aware of what is around you will help to improve the outcome or help to avoid the issue completely.

Fixing road lights in Panama City

One road that comes to mind when thinking of a need for road lights would be along cherry street. This street goes all the way to the papermill and even the road running past the papermill could use lights to help lighten up that section of road. There have been a few accidents along this road but as of now I’m not sure of the complete cause of the accidents. However, I do think some of them may be attributed to not being able to see what is coming so lighting may have helped in some of these issues.

How this will add more safety for public transport

Having more lighting will help people who are walking, riding bikes, or even taking the bus from location to location. Having better lighting will help with keeping dangers away and make it better to see at night. Sometimes people who walk around at night or cross busy streets are not seen till it’s too late by drivers. This can sometimes be fatal but could be avoided with better lighting on the streets. According to NSC.org “While we do only one quarter of our driving at night, 50% of traffic deaths happen at night. It doesn’t matter whether the road is familiar or not, driving at night is always more dangerous. More than 42,000 people were killed in car crashes in 2020, according to Injury Facts. By taking some extra precautions, we can all contribute to reducing these numbers.” these findings are important as it shows there is a need to help with reducing this number and help people be more safe at night.

Bibliography 

How Many Car Accidents Are Caused by Deer? | MoneyGeek.com

Driving at Night – National Safety Council (nsc.org)