I was just thinking what a great idea. When a headlight is reflected in those little studs marking out a road at night. Someone noticed how reflective cats eyes were in the dark and replicated them for road use.
All I can say it is lucky the cat was facing head on and not the other way.
I never thought of it that way… very clever.
I wonder how they came up with the idea of a zebra crossing? Did one lie down prostrate on the road? 
“On a foggy night in 1933 or 1934, Percy Shaw was driving along a dangerous, winding road near Halifax, Yorkshire
Without tramlines to guide him (which had been removed for repairs), he narrowly avoided driving off the road. He noticed the glowing eyes of a cat sitting on a fence reflecting his car’s headlights
He used that reflection idea to create a rubber dome holding glass bead reflectors fitted into a cast-iron base in the road”
If the cat was facing he othe way he would have driven into a hole as suggested in my original post
Cats eyes are for youngsters, pensioners should not be driving at night 
They also have little brushes built in so every time a vehicle tyre passes over them it cleans the reflectors…
Cat’s eyes certainly do make it easy to see the side of the road and the centre line.
We also have blue cats’ eyes on the road. These signify that there is a fire-hydrant on the verge.
