VicRoads has placed high skid resistance treatments at various locations in an effort to reduce traffic incidents by providing a more effective skid resistant surface for motorists. This project was expected to provide documented evidence of the trends in traffic incidents at treated sites. This paper relates to an investigation into the performance of calcined bauxite treatments on road surfaces with regard to the impact on traffic incident trends at twenty-none treatment sites. The objective of the project was to determine the skid resistance performance of high skid resistance treatments, and determine if a relationship existed with recorded traffic incident performance. The project investigated twenty-nine high skid resistant treatments within Melbourne and Geelong, Australia. The sites included only calcined bauxite treatments. The investigation showed calcined bauxite treatments provide a uniformly high level of skid resistance for at least five years after placement. The skid resistance of the treatments appeared to be independent of the visual condition of the surface. The investigation was inconclusive regarding the effectiveness of calcined bauxite treatments to reduce traffic incidents. It appears better selection of sites with regard to traffic incident numbers and types of incident may be key to achieving benefits from the treatment. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. 0612AR242E.
Abstract