Dutch design firm Studio Roosegaarde has created a futuristic concept that could make driving through dark, country roads a safer and more enlightening experience.
These Intelligent Interactive Roads will be trialled in Holland in mid-2013 and could become a standard practice very soon. The normal road markings will be re-painted with a photo-luminescent paint which absorbs light during the day and creates a glow-in-the-dark road by night – similar to the hands on a watch.
The firm has also created a Dynamic Roads concept, where snowflake icons would be created on the roads using temperature-sensitive paint. When the temperature drops below zero, the snowflakes will glow and alert drivers to icy and hazardous road surfaces.