When a Tempe Crash Is Caused by Poor Street Lighting: Who’s Liable?
It’s easy to take streetlights for granted—until they’re not working. Poor lighting at intersections, curves, or pedestrian crossings can lead to serious crashes, especially in dense neighborhoods or along poorly maintained roads. In Tempe, where college traffic, residential streets, and aging infrastructure intersect, bad lighting conditions can leave drivers and pedestrians vulnerable to preventable wrecks.
If you were injured in a collision where poor street lighting played a role, our Tempe crash liability team outlines how to investigate fault and what your options might look like for seeking compensation.
How Street Lighting Conditions Affect Crash Risk
Street lighting plays a critical safety role after sunset—especially in areas with heavy foot traffic, multiple lanes, or limited visibility due to curves and structures. When lights are out, dimmed, misdirected, or never installed at all, it’s far more likely that drivers won’t see:
Pedestrians entering a crosswalk
Cyclists on the shoulder
Road debris, curbs, or medians
Vehicles exiting side streets or driveways
Poorly marked stop signs or signalized intersections
Crashes in unlit areas are more likely to involve rollovers, T-bone impacts, and pedestrian injuries—all of which carry high risks of serious harm or death.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Bad Street Lighting?
Streetlights are usually installed and maintained by city governments or utility contractors working under municipal agreements. If a streetlight was broken or insufficient and the city failed to act, the City of Tempe may be liable under Arizona’s public entity negligence statutes.
To file a claim, you generally must show that:
The lighting problem created an unreasonably dangerous condition
The city knew or should have known about the issue
The condition wasn’t repaired within a reasonable time
That failure directly caused the accident and injuries
This is the same legal foundation as other infrastructure-related claims, such as filing over unrepaired potholes or malfunctioning traffic signals.
Private Lighting and Parking Lot Collisions
Not all lighting is managed by the city. If your crash occurred in a:
Business parking lot
Gated residential community
School driveway
Apartment complex
Privately maintained road
Then liability may fall on the property owner, property manager, or maintenance contractor responsible for keeping the area reasonably safe. These are standard premises liability claims—not government claims—and don’t involve the same 180-day notice deadlines.
If the crash occurred in a parking lot or in a neighborhood like Meyer Park, lighting records and property maintenance logs may help determine fault.
What If the Lighting Issue Was Temporary?
Sometimes lights are removed or powered down during road construction, events, or temporary detours. If your crash occurred during one of these scenarios, liability could fall on:
A road construction contractor
A utility crew
A city inspector who signed off on unsafe work
A third-party event operator (concerts, festivals, parades)
Temporary lighting failures are often overlooked in crash investigations—so it’s important to document the scene early and thoroughly. These issues may overlap with claims involving unmarked roadwork or confusing road paint.
Proving That Lighting Was the Cause of the Crash
You’ll need strong evidence to show that poor lighting—not driver error—was a primary cause. Useful documentation includes:
Photographs of the area at night, showing how dark it is
Records of prior complaints to the city or HOA
Police reports noting low visibility or lighting failure
Witness testimony
Maintenance logs showing how long the light was out
Expert reports or crash reconstructions
Dashcam or surveillance footage
In some cases, lighting may be one of several contributing factors, including distracted driving or uninsured drivers. Arizona allows fault to be split proportionally under its pure comparative fault rules.
Damages You May Be Able to Recover
If your claim is successful, you may be eligible to seek compensation for:
Medical bills
Future treatment needs
Lost wages or job opportunities
Reduced earning capacity
Vehicle repair or replacement
Pain and suffering
Out-of-pocket costs (transportation, in-home care, etc.)
Crashes caused by lighting failures can involve severe outcomes like spinal injuries or even permanent paralysis, which dramatically increase the value and complexity of your case.
Time Limits to File a Claim
If the City of Tempe is a potential defendant, you must file a Notice of Claim within 180 days of the accident. Miss this deadline and your right to sue may be gone forever.
If your case involves a private party (property manager, business owner, etc.), you typically have two years to file under Arizona’s standard personal injury statute of limitations.
For full instructions, check out our legal resources or consult someone familiar with Arizona roadway claims.
Final Thoughts
Crashes don’t always happen because someone was speeding or texting. Sometimes, it’s the city—or a property owner—that failed to keep the environment safe. If broken or missing streetlights contributed to your accident in South Tempe, North Tempe, or a nearby intersection, don’t overlook the role that infrastructure failure may have played.
You may still be eligible to file a claim and recover what you’ve lost—if you act quickly and gather the right evidence.
