FAQ - SAFETY

How can Solar Road Panels make the world safer?

There are so many ways that SR can make the world a safer place. The heating elements will help keep walking and driving surfaces from being icy and slippery. That will prevent many accidents and deaths. It will also keep road lines visible, which currently become covered under snow in northern climates, even when cities try their best to keep plowing current. The LED lights in SRPs will help people to see the lines better, especially in difficult situations such as nighttime, rain, glare and fog. For pedestrians the brightly lit walking areas should help reduce crime. There are many safety features that can be applied to crosswalks to help keep pedestrians safe. If cables are kept safely in SR Cable Corridors rather than on utility poles where they can be brought down by snow/ice and accidents, both the public and utility workers will be safer. The intelligence of the panels will eventually lead to the road providing vehicle specific guidance to one’s destination. Beyond that, this intelligence can make Autonomous Vehicles much safer, even allowing the road to drive the vehicle. 

How can Solar Roadways help keep our waters clean?

In our first USDOT contracts, one of the eight tasks we were given was to work on the stormwater problem in America. We educated ourselves and met with experts. We created our Cable Corridors, which have a channel for water. Water which runs off of roadways often contains pollutants such as oil, pesticides from lawns and other toxins. The water can be treated on site within our Cable Corridors or eventually even moved to treatment facilities to be treated there. In this way, we can help keep stormwater from reaching our lakes, rivers and oceans. 

How can this technology be used to make crosswalks safer?

When we are ready for city roads, we believe crosswalks will be a great place to start. There are so many ways that SR can make crosswalks safer: The heating elements will help keep pedestrians from slipping on snow and ice. The LED lights can warn drivers to slow down when a pedestrian is crossing, and also light up the crosswalk in special colors or cause it to flash so that pedestrian safety will be maximized. So many better for drivers too who certainly don’t want to accidentally hit a pedestrian.

I understand your system is a decentralized power grid. Why is that important?

Yes, indeed. Centralized power, whether coal, nuclear, or a solar array in the desert – they are all vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Solar Roadways is a decentralized system: roads, parking lots, driveways, bike paths etc. will meander all over the country – a huge benefit to National Security, for every country.