The objective of this study was to compare skid resistance on adjacent tangent and nontangent sections of roadways based on the results of a full-scale field testing program. Test sites were selected in new york state and in texas to provide data from different climatic regions. It was found that blank-tire skid numbers in both regions are significantly lower on nontangent curved sections than on adjacent tangent straight sections. The ribbed-tire skid number measurements in texas followed the same pattern; however, no significant difference was found between tangent and nontangent ribbed-tire skid numbers on sites in new york. The absence or presence of winter effects, which stimulate recovery of the pavement microtexture, seems to be responsible for the different observations regarding ribbed-tire data in texas and new york. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1215, Pavement management and rehabilitation.
Abstract