Determining the Effectiveness of Pavement Marking Materials

摘要

The purpose of this research was to determine the safety, motorist opinion, andcost-effectiveness of pavement marking materials used by the Virginia Department of Transportation and to develop guidelines, where possible, as to when each type of material should be used. Interstate and primary road segments that had been remarked with a different type of pavement marking material were identified to perform a before-and-after accident analysis. When possible, segments that were remarked using the same pavement marking material were included to provide comparison sections. The number of sites and accident count data were insufficient to support a finding that the use of a particular pavement marking material reduces the number of target accidents. The results of a motorist survey indicated that the participating drivers were more satisfied with pavement markings with higher retroreflectivity values than those with lower values. Participating drivers over the age of 65 were generally less satisfied with the brightness of the pavement markings than were participating drivers under the age of 65. Using a large contract for paint was the most cost-effective for two-lane