New Study Shines Light on Pavement Markings and Safety

nighttime photo of reflective pavement markings on roadway

When you drive at night and your headlights illuminate a lane marking, it makes you feel safer, right? After all, bright pavement markings are designed to help you stay in your lane and prevent you from running off the roadway. Called retroreflectivity, special materials in edge lines and lane lines create the brightness. With age [...]

Carlson Featured in Traffic Technology International

Portrait of Paul Carlson

Texas A&M Transportation Institute Research Engineer Paul Carlson was recently featured in the January issue of Traffic Technology International. The article is related to senior drivers and has a section on visibility, which Carlson is noted throughout the country for his research.  Carlson is the division head for the Operations and Design Division and also leads TTI’s Visibility [...]

Looking into the Retroreflective Glass

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As the paint–glass bead mixture used in roadway markings for light retroreflection is applied to the road, degrades over time, and is reapplied, what effect does it have on the people handling it and on our environment?

SPOTLIGHT: The Visibility Research Laboratory

Inside the darkened visibility laboratory

“A dark and stormy night” is more than a clichéd way to introduce a story — it’s a dangerous driving scenario when the visibility of road signs becomes critical for safe passage. Nighttime traffic fatality rates are three times higher than their daytime equivalents. While fatigue and alcohol play important roles in nighttime crashes, Texas [...]

NOW: Marking the Way: Research project improves performance of raised pavement markers

close up photo of a raised pavement marker

The worst of driving conditions calls for the best of roadway markers. And with their reflective properties, retroreflective raised pavement markers (RRPMs) have guided many nervous drivers safely to their destination on rainy nights. That’s why RRPMs‘ durability and performance are of critical importance to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). A few years ago, [...]