More stretches of motorway are to be lit up at night from the autumn as part of the cabinet’s plans to improve road safety.

Around 550km of motorway have been unlit at night since 2013 for a combination of environmental and cost-saving reasons, but the current coalition agreement includes a pledge to review the situation.

Highways operator Rijkswaterstaat will spend the next few months analysing which stretches of road should have the lights switched back on after research showed that lit roads are safer.

Infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen said safety considerations would be balanced against the extra cost and the implications for nocturnal animals. Other solutions will be considered if the lights disrupt the activities of creatures that live at night.