Evaluation of the Performance of Permanent Pavement Markings and Retro Reflectors in Snowplow able Raised Pavement Markers

摘要

In anticipation of federal retro reflectivity standards for pavement markings, the New Jersey Department of Transportation undertook to evaluate their three-year fixed schedule re-striping strategy, to see if it is consistent with the actual service life of the pavement markings. One of the primary tasks was to develop a threshold value of retro reflectivity level below which a pavement marking will no longer be considered 'bright enough' to be useful for motorist nighttime guidance. The results suggested that the threshold value of acceptable versus unacceptable level of retro reflectivity appeared to be between 80 and 130 mcd/m2/lux, for New Jersey drivers of age less than 55 years, and between 120-165 mcd/m2/lux for drivers of age greater than 55 years. This result is consistent with conclusions reached by other investigators on similar research, with results generally ranging between 70-170 mcd/m2/lux. Based on the rating panel used, the analysis further suggested that, concentrating resources on re-striping New Jersey Pavement markings with retro reflectivity below 130 mcd/m2/lux would achieve a greater relative increase in driver satisfaction than re-striping pavement marking with retroreflectivity above 130 mcd/m2/lux. The Interim Visibility Indices (IVI) were developed for each age group based on pavement marking type, for use by NJDOT in determining and prioritizing needs and qualifications of related resources required, based on the threshold between acceptable retro reflector and unacceptable retro reflectivity, when developing the new pavement marking management system.