Dutch inventor Daan Roosegaarde and road construction company Heijmans, will team up to complete an experimental road next year that glows in the dark using a concept designed to reduce accidents caused by dark or inclement weather conditions.

The new design, which won Best Future Concept at the Dutch Design Awards, is similar to the old glow in the dark toys. It uses luminescent paint that charges by the sun’s light during the day, and glows at night, for as long as 10 hours.

In the Roosegaarde concept, roads could also be designed with ‘intelligent’ glow in the dark patterns which only glow under certain conditions, such as a snowflake pattern that only glows when road temperatures approach freezing, a concept seen on other products, such as beer cans and baby products.

The first experimental glow in the dark road is expected to be installed in the Netherlands in 2013.

by Honda News & Views: http://ahm.lma-web.com/roadways-may-soon-glow-in-the-dark-to-reduce-accidents#.URABqB00WSo