Death count soars on roads with street lights turned off #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @i_amreginaldjr

ROAD casualties have soared in places where street lights were turned off to cut costs or in green crusades to reduce emissions, it was revealed yesterday.

Data shows that night time road deaths have increased 39 per cent when street lamps are switched off[POSED BY MODEL/GETTY]

Police data showed that night time road deaths rose 39 per cent in four years from 2009 after lights were switched off. Serious injuries were up 27 per cent and minor injuries by 19 per cent.

Overall the road casualty toll increased by 20 per cent in unlit areas – a total of 324 more people killed or injured over the period.

The leap in accidents after dark contrasts with a downward trend in UK road casualties generally.

An AA spokesman said: “We are ending up with street light martyrs. When you turn the street lights off it is more dangerous.”

At least 750,000 street lights are being turned off or dimmed as cash-strapped councils across the country struggle to find savings.

Meanwhile lights on motorways are being turned off by the Highways Agency in a bid to fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

AA research has shown there has been a national 19.6 per cent drop in accidents on urban roads.

But the figure shrank to 8.8 per cent where road users drove in darkness. And in bad weather the fall in casualties was seven times less on unlit roads.

AA president Edmund King said: “This insidious threat has crept in literally under the cover of darkness.

“Roads that are safe when lit can be unsafe with the lights off. Why did people have to become victims to prove the point?

“Lighting illuminates hazards and gives road users a greater chance of avoiding them.”

Roads that are safe when lit can be unsafe with the lights off. Why did people have to become victims to prove the point?

AA president Edmund King

The AA said councils could get money to install energy-efficient lighting from a £200million Government Challenge Fund.

RAC Foundation director, Professor Stephen Glaister, said experts had warned budget cuts could increase road casualties.

But councils and the Highways Agency disputed the findings.

The Local Government Association said: “Improving road safety is a key priority.

“Police and communities are always consulted before lighting is reduced. If councils were presented with evidence it was causing a safety risk they would act.However, this data fails to provide that evidence.”

The Highways Agency said: “Safety is a top priority. We continue to light our network wherever it provides a safety benefit.

“High safety records on routes have been maintained.”

Meanwhile, safety campaigners urged a ban on drivers using any type of mobile phone at the wheel, including hands-free.

Research found 45 per cent of drivers still chat while on the road, just over ten years after hand-held phones were banned.

The survey by road safety pressure group Brake and insurers Direct Line revealed that use of hand-held mobiles has slumped.

But use of hands-free phones is up, with nearly four in 10 motorists making calls on them. And any call while driving has been shown to slow reactions.

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of Brake, said: “There is a widespread belief that using a hands-free kit is a safe alternative. Don’t kid yourself..it’s not.”