HILLSBOROUGH, Fla. — When a storm knocks out power, traffic can turn chaotic as drivers try to navigate through darkened intersections.
In 2017 Hurricane Irma sparked widespread power outages forcing traffic operators in Hillsborough County to come up with a solution to make roads safer at darkened intersections.
"We came up with the idea of creating a system which responded immediately to power outages and that led to solar power, battery backs, that automatically switch on when the power goes out," Bob Campbell, the Transportation Engineering Manager for Hillsborough County, said.
These power outage emergency beacons are now installed right next to traffic signals. They're red and flash when in effect.
"We think this will solve some of the crash problems at intersections," Campbell added.
Campbell said when the power goes out, crashes increase and thousands of drivers a day either don’t know what to do when the signals go out or are seen blowing through the intersections.
"The overall goal is to save human life and eliminate crashes," Campbell explained.
Campbell said the solar-powered beacons are installed at around 150 intersections throughout the county.
"It alleviates the impact of having HCSO, Sheriff's Office or Deputies being called to intersections that may be dark that they have to come out and flag operations. So, it allows them to go to respond to other things that may be more urgent," Kyla Fisher, Hillsborough County Section Manager of Traffic Operations, said.
More than 130 intersections will have beacons installed in phase two of the plan.
For drivers, when you see the beacon lights flash red, you should treat the intersection as a 4-Way Stop.
"We hope this contributes to vision zero, which is zero fatalities... I think this is a great invention that is going to push Hillsborough County into the limelight of being a forerunner for traffic safety," Fisher added.
