Weatherwatch: Guiding lights – the motorist's friend on murky nights

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2012/dec/28/weatherwatch

Version 0 of 1.

When car headlights were more like 40-watt bulbs, white lines not yet painted on our roads, and street lights a rarity, finding your way home in fog was slow and dangerous. In 1933 Percy Shaw, a blacksmith in Halifax, got round this problem by using the reflection of lights in tram tracks to guide him. But one day in December someone had removed them. In the total darkness his lights were only reflected in the eyes of a cat sitting by the edge of the road. That moment produced a brilliant idea.

He patented Catseyes the following year. Reflective glass beads were encased in a rubber mould, which sank into a metal casing when run over, automatically cleaning the "eyes" in rainwater. The war and the blackout proved the usefulness of the invention and in 1947 a junior transport minister, Jim Callaghan, extended their use all over Britain. In poor weather conditions, especially in fog, they were credited with saving hundreds of lives. Shaw's company exported more than a million a year, and he became a rich man.

Five years ago a new form of cat's eye was adopted. These use solar powered lights that can be seen from 10 times farther away. Just two hours' sunlight is said to keep road "studs" illuminated for days. Nearly all Shaw's original Catseyes have been removed or have disappeared, replaced mostly by white lines. On forgotten country roads some survive, still guiding motorists on murky winter nights.