Synthesis of Benefits and Costs of Alternative Lane Marking Strategies

Synthesis of Benefits and Costs of Alternative Lane Marking Strategies
Author: Michael D. Fontaine
Publisher:
Total Pages: 70
Release: 2009
Genre: Road markings
ISBN:

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) currently uses snowplowable raised pavement markers (SRPMs) to supplement longitudinal pavement markings on some facilities. SRPMs are much more visible than traditional longitudinal markings under wet, nighttime conditions. SRPMs have been reported to dislodge from pavement, however, which has raised the question as to whether alternative marking materials might be able to replace SRPMs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the visibility performance of longitudinal pavement marking materials currently on the market. The specific objectives of this study were (1) to determine whether or not new pavement marking materials could be used in place of SRPMs; (2) if SRPMs were to be used, to develop guidelines for their installation and maintenance; and (3) to determine the costs and benefits of using SRPMs to the maximum extent possible. No new data on the visibility or durability of pavement marking materials were collected for this study. The study primarily synthesized existing research on the characteristics of different marking materials and then applied information derived from the synthesis to Virginia-specific data to estimate the impacts of using different materials. National practices for installing, inspecting, and maintaining SRPMs were also reviewed. The results of the literature review indicated that SRPMs remain the only marking system that provides sufficient nighttime preview time at high speeds, especially under wet conditions. Further, SRPMs can improve safety in certain situations, but they can also degrade safety in other situations since drivers may travel at higher speeds when the distance they can see down the road at night increases. Proposed guidelines for the installation and maintenance of SRPMs were developed. They recommend that SRPMs be installed on all limited access freeways, on all two-lane roads with an average daily traffic volume above 15,000 vehicles per day, and on all roads with a posted speed limit of 60 mph or greater. Several other situations where SRPMs might be installed based on engineering judgment were also identified. A proposed maintenance schedule that requires inspections every 2 to 3 years was also developed. A conservative economic analysis indicated that the benefits of installing and maintaining SRPMs using the guidelines developed in this study outweighed the costs by more than 80 to 1, based purely on potential safety improvements on road geometries where SRPMs have been shown to improve safety. Further, VDOT can realize cost savings by discontinuing SRPM usage on low-volume facilities and by revising particular SRPM standards.

Determining the Effectiveness of Pavement Marking Materials

Determining the Effectiveness of Pavement Marking Materials
Author: Benjamin H. Cottrell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2001
Genre: Road markings
ISBN:

The purpose of this research was to determine the safety, motorist opinion, and cost-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 roads under most volume conditions and four- and six-lane low-volume roads. Using polyurea and a large contract for paint were the most cost-effective for high-volume two- and four-lane roads. Polyurea and waffle tape were the more cost-effective durable markings for high-volume six-lane roads. Changes in the use of pavement markings were recommended. Specifically, the Virginia Department of Transportation should (1) consider increasing the use of large paint contracts and minimizing its use of small paint contracts when possible; (2) consider a performance-based specification for durable markings; (3) continue consideration of a holistic approach for pavement management and markings, and (4) re-evaluate its pavement marking policy and include the recommendations of this study.

Enhanced Night Visibility Series

Enhanced Night Visibility Series
Author: James S. Gillespie
Publisher:
Total Pages: 101
Release: 2005
Genre: Automobile driving at night
ISBN:

"This volume of the Enhanced Night Visibility project is a cost-benefit analysis of the vision enhancement system (VES) and roadway marking technologies evaluated in the Phase II experiments of the Enhanced Night Visibility project. The cost-benefit analysis indicates that neither the ultraviolet-A (UV-A) headlamp nor the fluorescent pavement marking technologies are fully developed for implementation. Under the conditions simulated in the Virginia Smart Road tests, most of the combinations of experimental VESs and experimental marking materials show no net improvement in sight distance in comparison to the combination of halogen (i.e., tungsten-halogen) low-beam headlamps and a nonfluorescent pavement marking. The best-performing VES configurations were the halogen low beam (HLB) and five UV-A + HLB. HLB serves as the benchmark, with both its estimated crash reduction benefit and its incremental cost defined to be zero. The slight overall benefit of five UV-A + HLB over HLB would lead to a positive crash savings, but its cost of implementation would result in a cost-benefit ratio of 0.001 and in negative net benefits of less than zero. Among the pavement markings tested, the fluorescent paint generally performed worse than the fluorescent thermoplastic. Neither of the tested fluorescent pavement markings is forecast to generate positive benefits in comparison with the performance of the nonfluorescent pavement marking"--Technical report documentation p.

A Review of the Performance and Costs of Contemporary Pavement Marking Systems

A Review of the Performance and Costs of Contemporary Pavement Marking Systems
Author: Eli Cuelho
Publisher:
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2003
Genre: Road markings
ISBN:

The objective of this study is to provide the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) with information that will be useful in selecting cost effective pavement marking systems. This report begins with a description of available pavement marking technologies, including a discussion of performance parameters of importance and the advantages and disadvantages offered by the various technologies. A review of some of the pertinent studies completed by other states (Pennsylvania, Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Idaho) on their pavement marking programs is subsequently presented. Based on the summary of the states included in this study, pavement markings such as conventional paints are viable in areas where pavement markings do not experience high levels of wear due to traffic or winter maintenance activities. In areas where more durability is required, such as intersections, highways in snowy areas, etc., durable products like epoxy paints or thermoplastics are justified. Since the MDT is able to procure epoxy paint markings for a very reasonable cost, greater use of this durable pavement marking is certainly justified, especially considering the level of wear Montana state highways experience from snowplowing and sanding. MDT investigation of the use of mid-durable paints is warranted due to increased durability and lower cost of these products. In spite of their high cost, extruded thermoplastics and preformed tapes are still viable in areas of high wear, such as intersections and urban streets, according to the results of the studies reviewed in this report.

Feasibility Study for an All-white Pavement Marking System

Feasibility Study for an All-white Pavement Marking System
Author: H. Gene Hawkins
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Total Pages: 130
Release: 2002
Genre: Road markings
ISBN: 0309067723

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Background information -- Chapter 3. Driver understanding -- Chapter 4. Findings and recommendations -- Appendix A. Evolution of U.S. pavement marking system -- Appendix B. Previous research on driver understanding -- Appendix C. Comprehension study -- References.

Notes on the State-of-the Art of Benefit-cost Analysis as Related to Transportation Systems

Notes on the State-of-the Art of Benefit-cost Analysis as Related to Transportation Systems
Author: Joseph D. Crumlish
Publisher:
Total Pages: 48
Release: 1966
Genre: Cost effectiveness
ISBN:

This review of benefit-cost analysis as a tool for evaluating alternative courses of action describes the technique, discusses a number of benefit-cost studies, and indicates the difficulties inherent in this area of applied economics. * The author concentrates on the application of the technique to large scale transport problems, reviews the literature and indicates in his conclusions where the technique can be helpful and where there is little chance for its success.