Aussie roads could glow in the dark thanks to a successful trial in NSW

A six-month run of eerie glowing roads in regional New South Wales has resulted in a 67% drop in near misses, Transport NSW says.

So it looks like the effect will be rolled out to more roads, and if it means I get to feel like I'm flying through Escape from New York's night-vision effect, I'm here for it.

The trial was run on a 200-metre stretch of Bulli Pass, a notoriously tight and twisting piece of road south of Sydney that recorded 125 near-accidents in the preceding 12 months alone. Which... is pretty wild. How did it take this long to get something done?

It's a neat solution they've arrived at, though: just like the classic glow-in-the-dark stickers we all had as kids, the photo-luminescent lines absorb light during the day to emit a soft glow at night.

Community feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 83% of surveyed drivers reporting greater confidence on the hazardous road.

And some action will come from it! Transport for NSW confirmed the trial’s success has prompted the agency to identify other high-risk sites for the technology.

This isn't about replacing streetlights – although it might as well in some cases, given those are probably costly to maintain along long stretches of regional road – but offering a pragmatic and cost-effective safety improvement where traditional lighting is impractical.

“The benefit of the glow was greatest in improving visibility beyond the range of vehicle headlights,” a Transport for NSW spokesperson said. “When fully charged, it increased line detectability to just below daylight levels.”