Seeing the road is an essential component of safe driving. Drivers depend on a continuous flow of information as they move along the roadway to properly position their vehicle. Centerline and edge-line markings delineate the vehicle lane for drivers, while other markings such as stop bars and railway crossings provide key safety information and alert […]
pavement markings
TTI Developing New Automated and Connected Transportation Test Bed
The Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) shares an industry vision where vehicle collisions are eliminated. Vehicles will interact — through technology — with other vehicles, drivers, the infrastructure, pedestrians and bicyclists to prevent crashes. The entire transportation system will be connected in a way that transforms how people live, work and interact. Achieving this vision […]
New Study Shines Light on Pavement Markings and Safety
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 […]
Looking into the Retroreflective Glass
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?
Looking Out for Pedestrians
Two recent research studies on pedestrian crossings have aimed at making crosswalks safer and more efficient. Both studies are influencing national standards and making conditions better for pedestrians.
SPOTLIGHT: The Visibility Research 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 […]
THEN: TTI’s Contributions to Pavement Marking Started Early
The Hot-Melt Plastic Stripe as a Pavement Marking Material By Charles J. Keese (Excerpted from Bulletin No. 130, Texas Highway Department, March 1953) “PAINT IS THE STRIPING MATERIAL FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES OF STREETS AND HIGHWAYS. However, its resistance to wear and weathering is so poor, that frequent maintenance of stripes is necessary. Such maintenance […]
NOW: Marking the Way: Research project improves performance of raised pavement markers
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, […]
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