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 […]
retroreflectivity
Unique Transportation-Related Curriculum Being Developed to Inspire Students
After years of inspiring students with their demonstrations of street sign and pavement marking retroreflectivity, researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) have developed a no-cost curriculum that will soon be available to teachers across the country. The curriculum project was made possible with funding from the Safety Through Disruption (Safe-D) University Transportation Center […]
TTI Provides Guidance for Overhead Sign Lighting
One of the major emerging technologies in highway safety has been the improvement of the types of retroreflectivity sheeting used on overhead signs on roadways. Modern signs are very efficient at returning light back to the driver, creating a much safer nighttime driving environment. Because of this, many departments of transportation are opting to remove […]
TTI Researchers Identify Elusive Relationship Between Safety and Pavement Marking Brightness
In what is described as a key breakthrough regarding safer nighttime driving, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers have identified a technique for developing safety-based retroreflectivity criteria for pavement markings. The technique, described in a Transportation Research Board paper submitted by TTI Senior Research Engineer Paul Carlson and TTI Associate Research Scientist Raul Avelar, quantifies […]
Rural Roadway Signage: When Brighter Is Not Always Better
Ever since agencies started using uniform traffic signs, the conventional thinking concerning nighttime visibility is that brighter is better. But a recent Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) research project revealed that signs along rural highways can be so bright that they cause disability glare to the point of reduced hazard detection distances, which can be […]
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 […]
Carlson Featured in Traffic Technology International
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
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
“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
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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