The tiny beacons were...
The tiny beacons were installed less than a year ago on a three-mile stretch of the A12 near Witham in Essex. The theory was they would reduce the accident risk because they"d be permanently illuminated.
But a routine Highways Agency inspection discovered some of the bulbs had come loose. Others were even lying on the carriageway. Now all 1,222 of the studs - which cost more than í‚á£36,000 to install - have been replaced with standard-issue bulbs which work in headlamp glare. An HA spokesman said: "Some came loose, so we replaced them with normal reflective road studs for safety reasons. Having small objects on the road could be a potential hazard."
A spokesman for Kent-based supplier Astucia (UK) Ltd said: "We replaced them to make the road safe, even though a contractor installed them. We"re looking at why so many failed. Maybe the installation didn"t follow our criteria, or the road was opened before the mounts had set."