What a Great Road!

Bex and Dan find out about different kinds of roads, how they're made, and what makes a great road!

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All about Cats Eyes

Find out more below!

Dan and Bex are on a road trip and travelling through the night. It may be dark and a bit foggy but some very smart technology is helping to keep them on the right track!

Cute or not, cats eyes – or road studs, are certainly clever! They were invented by Percy Shaw in the 1930s after he was driving down a steep winding road on a dark foggy night.

It was almost impossible to see the road, but the light from his car reflected in the eyes of a cat on the verge and helped him find the road’s edge.

It might have even saved his life!

And strange as it might seem, cat’s eyes don’t have lights in them – they’re just little bits of mirrored glass.  The spots of light you see are the car’s own headlights reflecting back – like shining a torch in the mirror! 

Instead of using reflective glass, engineers have been experimenting with new types of lights, including solar power LED lights.  

LEDs are so bright, they can be seen up to 1 kilometre away and the clever thing about LEDs is that the colour of the light can change at different times of the day or in different conditions, even using wireless technology to get updates and feed back information. 

For example, they could change to get drivers to use particular lanes, or switch to amber or red if the road was icy, or if cars were travelling too close to each other.  

MOBILE: Kids Guide to Transport: Rail and Road

Bex and Dan learn all about the future of Britain's roads and railways!

Are We There Yet? with support from the Royal Academy of Engineering

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What a Great Road!

Bex and Dan find out about different kinds of roads, how they're made, and what makes a great road!

More From What a Great Road!