Road marking is a very essential practice that is carried out on the surface of the roads following statutory traffic regulation or any other services. A road surface or road marking is any type of machine or material that can be applied on the surface of the road for the purpose of delivering official information or direction. Road marking operations can also be carried out to solve the purposes such as vehicle parking areas or designated spaces to serve other users.
Road markings are applied on paved road surfaces to demonstrate traffic-related information to car or lorry drivers as well as pedestrians. Maintenance of uniformity is a vital factor in mitigating confusion or misunderstanding as well as uncertainty related to their meaning. Various road marking slandered have been developed to bring uniformity in meaning at the borders of the countries.
Mechanical Road Markers
Mechanical road marking facilities may be either raised or levelled with the surface of the roads. They may have two options such as reflective or no reflective category. Most of the mechanical markers are permanent in nature. However, some movable mechanical markers are also found. Even today, you can find some road markings made with LED trips and they are used for the roadways. These road markings are especially used during the night and drivers can easily choose the right direction with the help of such markings during heavy fogs.
Examples Of Mechanical Road Marking Devices
- Botts’s dots: This type of mechanical road marker was named after its inventor Elbert Botts of California, U.S.A. It contains epoxy that makes them be glued down. This is one of the non-reflective types of mechanical road markers generally used to mark the edges of the traffic lanes.
- Rumble strip: This type of road marker is used for the same purpose as stated above. This consists of a series of simple troughs that are kept dip under the asphalt layer of the road surface. This is similar to Botts’s dot and uses raised strips painted to the road surface.
- Reflective type road marker: Reflective markers are used in travel traffic lane dividers for the purpose of marking the central median. This may also be used to mark the exit end of the road lane. This comprises an elevated retroreflective element that is more visible at night and in bad weather conditions. The design of the colour marker was found to vary in different countries.
Non-Mechanical Markers
Painted markers are the examples of non-mechanical markers which are mixed with additives such as retroreflective glass beads. These are normally applied to mark travel lanes as well as car parking lots. It is also used to mark disabled parking; loading area, as well as time, restricted parking areas.
Paint comprises three principal components such as pigment, resins or binder and solvent. Pigments are added after fine grinding that produces the colour effect and may also contain ultraviolet, UV stabilizers and fillers. Resins or binders are basically glued to bind pigment and glass beads together when applied on road surfaces. Resins used for water-based paints are polyvinyl acetate.
Paints are commonly applied just after the road is paved. Road marking is carried out by means of a truck called Striper and contains over a hundred gallons of paints stored in huge drums mounted on it.
Other types of reflecting markers are:
- Thermoplastic road marker
- Performed thermoplastics
- Performed polymer tapes, which may be overlay or inlay type
- Epoxy
Road surface marking is a special kind of activity and it should be performed by using best painting materials with the help of advanced technology. Road markings are used on paved roadways to provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians.