TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – LED streetlights are designed to be more energy-efficient and provide a brighter light across the spectrum when working properly. When the light malfunctions, it typically flickers slowly or flashes rapidly, resembling a strobe light. Several factors can cause the malfunctions, including current changes, loose connections, or damaged LED light beads.
The problem a few motorists traveling on Route 9 at night or in the early morning hours is a streetlight that is flashing rapidly, gives the appearance of a rapid-flashing strobe light.
The exposure to a strobe light can cause “flicker vertigo” that can trigger several symptoms including disorientation, nausea, rapid blinking, and muscle rigidity. The symptoms, according to research, are typically temporary and disappear when the individual is removed from the area. Flicker vertigo symptoms are similar to those associated with epilepsy.
On the southbound side of South Road/Route 9, just before the Speedway gas station, there is a flickering LED streetlight which motorists say only recently began to malfunction. The more distracting streetlight that is distracting travelers is located on the northbound side of Route 9, just before reaching the Spackenkill Road overpass. The light, one of the brightest in the area, has been malfunctioning for more than a month.
Motorists have said that the strobing effect of the light is a major distraction that affects drivers on both Route 9 and Spackenkill Road. One individual says he reported the issue to DOT more than a week ago but nothing has been done to repair it.
Mid-Hudson News used a dashcam during the evening hours to record the flickering southbound light as well as to record the Route 9/Spackenkill Road light in the pre-dawn hours. The technology of the camera slows down the strobing light on the recording, indicating that the light is much more distracting when viewed by the human eye.
Mid-Hudson News dashcam video of the LED streetlights:
