A standard test method being developed by TTI could increase the safety of nighttime drivers across the country and beyond. Paul Carlson, program manager of the Operation and Design Division, is working to get approval by ASTM International for a standard retroreflectivity test method of rain-soaked pavement markings.
“Currently, there is no reliable standard test method for conventional pavement markings,” Carlson notes. “It’s extremely important to get a standard in place because it’s not uncommon for reflective materials to work extremely well during dry periods, but poorly during rainy conditions.”
To generate the needed data as prescribed by the ASTM International requirements, the city of Bryan closed a portion of Beck Street near Farm-to-Market Road 2818 on March 24 so that Carlson and other members of the ASTM International Technical Committee could safely conduct the tests. Carlson and his team tested the markings using the new standard test method, which has been designed to provide accurate measures of pavement marking performance under continuous wetting conditions.
The test results will be documented and discussed for June’s ASTM International meeting. If all goes as planned, a standard could be in place by the end of the year.
“The new standard will be used not only across the country, but also in Central and South America and many Asian countries as well,” Carlson says. “Helping save the lives of motorists is the ultimate goal of these standards. We are proud to put TTI’s name on this one.”