A program set up by the Guizhou Provincial Transportation Department to conduct research on special coating material, which can reflect and save energy like fluorescent material does, to make the tunnel environment in mountainous areas more visible has passed a review by the China Academy of Sciences and China Academy of Engineering on December 20.

The research results of the program, which has adopted hi-tech light technology applied widely to tunnels, has helped create a safe driving environment and save energy.

A questionnaire survey of 500 drivers on the luminous conditions in tunnels has been carried out by the Guizhou Provincial Transportation Department. Roughly 41 percent of drivers consider the lighting conditions in tunnels as dark, and another 14 percent of drivers feel it is too dark.

Meanwhile, a majority of drivers believe the portal area into the tunnel is dangerous.

"Although I have years of driving experience, I still have fear while driving into tunnels because the lighting conditions in tunnels is normally not good," said a driver.

"The program artificially makes the lighting in tunnels closer to natural light conditions," said Guan Guiping, chief engineer of Guizhou Expressway Corporation.

According to the corporation, the appliance of the program will save $5 million in consumption on electricity every year, or roughly 61.6 percent of the electricity consumption last year, and help reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 3.45 tons.