Abstract: The horizon in front of a driver has a direct relationship with how the driver prejudges and treats dangerous conditions. Highway tunnel sidewalls are an important part of the visual field of a driver and have an impact on driving safety. A spectroradiometer luminance meter was used to test the lighting parameters of different sidewall coatings, and lighting environments with the same lighting parameters and different sidewall coatings were simulated. Using this highway tunnel lighting simulation and an effect evaluation device, the effects of three coatings on a driver′s visual perception performance were evaluated based on reaction time, and a new method of highway tunnel lighting was explored regarding driving safety and energy savings. The result shows that the lighting environment can be significantly improved by using energy-storage and self-luminous materials for the tunnel sidewall; under the same LED lighting conditions, the driver′s visual performance is improved by using the coatingg material with high reflectance and yellow and green components in the reflective spectrum and it is thus favorable in terms of driving safety and energy savings for highway tunnels.