THE Lancashire Telegraph has launched an online petition to have the M65 lights switched back on at night.
MPs, union bosses, and road safety groups have backed the call for the Highways Agency and Lancashire County Council to illuminate the road overnight, after the Lancashire Telegraph launched a campaign on Tuesday.
It was prompted by the death of Burnley-born Mark Burgess, 39, who was thrown from his car when it crashed into a barrier near junction eight on Saturday night.
Three other vehicles and an ambulance, which was transporting a patient from Nelson to Royal Blackburn Hospital, crashed into the debris, with drivers saying they could not see it due to the lack of lights.
Now, motorists, many of whom had expressed concerns about the unlit stretch of motorway, are being urged to add their voices in support of the campaign, by signing the online petition.
The Highways Agency, which is responsible for the motorway between junctions one to 10, said the lights from seven to 10 were permanently switched off in 2011 as part of its scheme to save around 350 tonnes of carbon every year.
The agency said the remaining junctions had never had lights.
The stretch is part of around 121 miles of motorway nationally where the government switched off lights in a bid to help save the planet. There is no indication the first crash was linked to the lack of lighting but motorists said they believed they would have been able to avoid the debris had there been lights.
The section of the M65 from junction 10 to 14 is the responsibility of Lancashire County Council.
The lights along this stretch are switched off between midnight and 5am. Ray Carrick, who represents ambulance drivers in the GMB union, said: “We all support helping the environment and doing our best to decrease global warming, but not at the price of possible safety issues. By not having lights, visibility is reduced and to do that as a positive step and not as an emergency is puzzling.”
Lancashire Telegraph editor Kevin Young said: “This accident is positive proof that an unlit M65 is a hazardous place. Budgets and carbon emissions are important but not as important as saving lives.
“The Highways Agency needs to reverse its policy and the county council needs to turn on the lights between midnight and 5am.”
It is understood that firefighters on Saturday asked for the lights at the side of the motorway to be switched on, but were told it was not possible and had to use the light from the police helicopter and torches to look for casualties.
A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said that although fire engines have lighting units, extra street lighting could have been helpful.
Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said he had asked the Highways Agency for figures about the number of accidents on the M65 since the permanent switch off in 2011, but they had not responded. He has now written to the secretary of state for transport Patrick McCloughlin to get an answer. Mr Stephenson said: “A number of residents have raised concerns about the lights being switched off, particularly around the junctions. There have also been a number of residents raising concerns.”
Haslingden and Hyndburn MP Graham Jones said: “This tragedy is a warning to the Highways Agency of what can occur with limited visibility. There are other ways to save the planet than compromising safety on a very fast motorway.”
A spokesman for the Highways Agency: “There are two different schemes.
“The first scheme is midnight switch-off, where the lights are switched off between midnight and 5am.
“A facility to turn the lights back on is available with this initiative.
“Where we have a full switch-off in place, as is the case with the M65, we do not have this facility.”
A police spokeswoman said the road conditions and lighting would form part of their investigation.
of Saturday’s crash.
A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “Our lights are on at busy times and they are off between midnight and 5am.
“We are saving £10,000 a year by turning the lights off at those times of day.
“The reason we don’t have them on is because there are far fewer cars on the roads so it is considered safe to do it.”
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