Towards a wet-night visibility requirement for roadmarkings.

The introduction of performance based contracting for roadmarking in 1998 brought two major changes for the industry: a transfer of risk to the contractor and their materials suppliers, and also the identification of appropriate performance criteria for contracting, so that road marking systems would best meet the delineation and safe guidance needs of motorists. More recently, the industry has focused on the wet-night visibility of roadmarkings. Wet-night conditions are some of the most demanding for drivers, and marking systems are available, that provide good delineation for drivers under these conditions. This paper looks at the additional performance criteria, it outlines measurement methods and systems, and looks at current international experience. It also looks at existing marking systems, and evaluates their relative performance, in the wet and dry, and on a number of different roading surfaces. This paper seeks to recommend performance criteria for wet-night visibility. It also aims to focus attention on the importance of material selection. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E208431.