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Citation |
Zwahlen HT, Hagiwara T, Schnell T. Transp. Res. Rec. 1995; 1495: 77-86. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 1995, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Temporary center stripe pavement markings in newly resurfaced zones were selected to study driver visibility as a function of the degree of pavement marking obliteration. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) specifies 0.1-m-wide retroreflective single dashed yellow stripes with a gap/stripe ratio of 10.98/1.22 m as minimum temporary center stripes in resurfaced zones. The study also investigated the begin and end detection distances of double-dashed (10.98/1.22 m) 0.05-m-wide yellow retroreflective center stripes. Such thin double stripes could be used (same amount of material) to actually indicate to a driver whether the traveled section of the newly resurfaced road is a passing or no-passing section by using the double-dashed pattern as a coding mechanism. The center stripe pavement marking treatments were randomly obliterated by removing 0, 50, and 75% of the retroreflective material from the stripes. Overall, it is possible to conclude that severe obliteration reduces the begin and end detection distance to a considerable degree. However, using four times less material and the shortest specified stripe length (10.98/1.22 m) reduces, for example, the 85th percentile begin and end detection distances from about 53 to 30 m. Therefore, from a begin or end detection distance point of view, if the nonobliterated center-line pavement marking treatment provides barely adequate visibility performance it may not be possible to tolerate much obliteration at all (more than 5 to 10%) before the visibility performance of the overall system (driver-vehicle-center stripe system) falls below the acceptable minimum safety level. Language: en |
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Keywords |
Automobile drivers; Traffic signs; Visibility; Pavements |