Performance Criteria for Retroreflective Pavement Markers (2022)

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2022 N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1015 Performance Criteria for Retroreective Pavement Markers Adam M. Pike Timothy P. Barrette Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System College Station, TX Shauna Hallmark Nicole Oneyear Guillermo Basulto-Elias Omar Smadi Center for Transportation Research and Education Iowa State University Ames, IA Raghavan Srinivasan Wesley J. Kumfer Taha Saleem Highway Safety Research Center University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC Fan Ye Ohio Northern University Ada, OH Paul J. Carlson Automated Roads Greensboro, NC H. Gene Hawkins Texas A&M University College Station, TX Tomás E. Lindheimer City of College Station College Station, TX Subscriber Categories Highways • Pavements • Safety and Human Factors Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ofcials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state departments of transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transporta- tion results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to high- way authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- tiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation, under Agree- ment No. 693JJ31950003. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of special- ists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs iden- tified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Direc- tors and the National Academies. 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Published research reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to https://www.mytrb.org/MyTRB/Store/default.aspx Printed in the United States of America NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1015 Project 05-21 ISSN 2572-3766 (Print) ISSN 2572-3774 (Online) ISBN 978-0-309-68747-8 Library of Congress Control Number 2022946749 © 2022 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trade- marks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. 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The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or speci- fications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. 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e National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. e National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. e National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. e three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. e National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org. e Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. e mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. e Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. e program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research reported herein was performed under National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 05-21, “Safety and Performance Criteria for Retroreflective Pavement Markers,” by Adam M. Pike and Timothy P. Barrette (Texas A&M Transportation Institute), Shauna Hallmark, Nicole Oneyear, Guillermo Basulto-Elias, and Omar Smadi (Center for Transportation Research and Education), Raghavan Srinivasan, Wesley J. Kumfer, and Taha Saleem (Highway Safety Research Center), Fan Ye (Ohio Northern University), Paul J. Carlson (Automated Roads), H. Gene Hawkins (Texas A&M University), and Tomás E. Lindheimer (City of College Station). CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1015 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Sid Mohan, Associate Program Manager, Implementation and Technology Transfer, National Cooperative Highway Research Program William C. Rogers, Senior Program Officer (retired) Camille Crichton-Sumners, Senior Program Officer Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications NCHRP PROJECT 05-21 PANEL Field of Traffic—Area of Illumination and Visibility Steven Strength, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Baton Rouge, LA (Chair) James W. Ellison, Federal Way, WA Angela Kargel, Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, OR Charles Keller, Road Commission for Oakland County, Waterford, MI Nikita Reed, Florida Department of Transportation, Gainesville, FL Glenn Rowe, Kittelson & Associates, Inc., Harrisburg, PA Brian J. Walsh, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA Jeff Wolfe, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Frankfort, KY Greg Schertz, FHWA Liaison (retired)

NCHRP Research Report 1015: Performance Criteria for Retroreflective Pavement Markers provides practitioners within state departments of transportation with updated strategies related to the use of retroreflective pavement markers (RPMs). These RPMs include raised and recessed RPMs. The report documents research that provides incremental advance- ment in this body of knowledge and practical approaches that should be of immediate use. Pavement markings are the most common traffic control device used to communicate roadway information to drivers. They transmit information on lane designation and cur- vature in all lighting and weather conditions. RPMs have been used throughout the world since they were patented in 1934. Several research projects have looked at the safety and operational impacts of RPMs with mixed results on their benefits and implementation criteria. No statistically significant relationship between safety and the retroreflectivity of pavement markings and markers was noted in prior studies. This led to the need for additional research, particularly on the interaction between the driver and roadway environment. Under NCHRP Project 05-21, Texas A&M Transportation Institute was retained to develop a guide for transportation practitioners that describes and evaluates the safety benefits, as shown by driver performance or other methods, of both raised and recessed RPMs for nighttime driving, particularly during wet weather. This research builds upon the research conducted under the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP 2) Safety Project S08D, Analysis of Naturalistic Driving Study Data: Roadway Departures on Rural Two-Lane Curves and NCHRP Project 17-28, “Pavement Marking Materials and Markers: Safety Impact and Cost Effectiveness” completed in 2004 and summarized in NCHRP Research Results Digest 305. The research team conducted a review of the state of practice and performed an evaluation of RPM performance across a range of conditions. Appendix F contains the “Practitioner’s Guide for the Use of Retroreflective Pavement Markers.” F O R E W O R D By Camille Crichton-Sumners Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Summary 9 Chapter 1 Introduction 9 1.1 Project Background 10 1.2 Project Objectives 11 1.3 Report Organization 12 Chapter 2 Literature Review 12 2.1 Safety-Related Studies 25 2.2 Application-Related Studies 30 2.3 Visibility-Related Studies 31 2.4 Summary 33 Chapter 3 Survey and Review of State Practices 36 3.1 Use of RPMs 38 3.2 Types of RPMs Used 40 3.3 Installation of RPMs 48 3.4 Using Red RPMs to Delineate Wrong-Way Traffic Flow 49 3.5 Reflectivity of RPMs 51 3.6 RPM Replacement Criteria 52 3.7 Summary of the Survey and Review of State Practices 55 Chapter 4 Treatment Recognition, Visibility, and Driver Behavior Evaluations 56 4.1 Data Collection Procedure 63 4.2 Statistical Methodology 64 4.3 Driver Recognition of Treatments 70 4.4 RPM Visibility Modeling 85 4.5 Driver Behavior Through Curves Analysis 102 4.6 Closed-Course Limitations 104 Chapter 5 Driver Performance Evaluations 104 5.1 Data 109 5.2 Analyses Methodologies 111 5.3 Results 121 5.4 Summary 124 Chapter 6 Other Research Areas 124 6.1 Field Speed Study 125 6.2 In-Service RPM Retroreflectivity Measurement 126 6.3 Safety Analyses C O N T E N T S

128 Chapter 7 Findings and Suggested Research 128 7.1 General Guidance 128 7.2 Facility Type (Speed, Volume, and Traffic Mix) 129 7.3 RPM Spacing and Roadway Alignment 129 7.4 Operational Speeds 130 7.5 Lane Position and Centerline Encroachment 130 7.6 Maintenance 131 7.7 Winter Weather Locations 131 7.8 Visibility Performance 132 7.9 Safety 132 7.10 Suggested Research 134 7.11 Summary 135 References 139 State Policy Documents 149 Appendix A Curve Study Exhibits 165 Appendix B Recognition Study Exhibits 178 Appendix C SHRP 2 NDS Exhibits 185 Appendix D Field Speed Study 208 Appendix E In-Service RPM Retroreflectivity Measurement 225 Appendix F Practitioner’s Guide for the Use of Retroreflective Pavement Markers 232 List of Abbreviations