Skip to main content

Mobile LTL-M from DELTA

Danish company DELTA has been highlighting its new mobile retrometer, the LTL-M, which will measure line width and other geometry properties and also be able to monitor defective or missing road pavement markers. Measuring the retroreflectivity of road markings is essential to ensure high visibility, and thus traffic safety. But, according to DELTA, until now the measurements of retroreflectivity have mostly been done with hand-held instruments.
February 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The LTM-prototype during the VTI field test
Danish company 199 Delta has been highlighting its new mobile retrometer, the LTL-M, which will measure line width and other geometry properties and also be able to monitor defective or missing road pavement markers.

Measuring the retroreflectivity of road markings is essential to ensure high visibility, and thus traffic safety. But, according to DELTA, until now the measurements of retroreflectivity have mostly been done with hand-held instruments.

It says that while such instruments are easy to use for making a limited number of measurements they are not optimal for monitoring long distances such as motorways: the road also has to be partly closed during measurements. As traffic increases, there is a growing demand for mobile measurement methods, which offer more safety for staff and drivers in traffic speed.

DELTA says that some existing mobile retrometers have limitations in accuracy and for this reason have until now only been used for screening purposes, while hand-held instruments are still needed for precise measurements if low values are screened, and for contractual disputes.

The company is now introducing its new mobile retrometer based on a new optical technology that has the same properties as used in its series of hand-held LTL retrometers.

"The objective for the development of the LTL-M has been to make a mobile retrometer that should be as easy to use and as accurate as a hand-held retrometer," says DELTA.

"Several laboratory and field tests performed by the Swedish Road Research Institute (VTI), comparing the LTL-M, an existing mobile retrometer and using a hand-held instrument as a reference, have shown that the LTL-M measures with accuracy similar to hand-held retrometers."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ARRB Systems' network-level continuous friction testing
    November 20, 2024
    Pavement safety assessments have traditionally focused on discrete low-density friction assessments using proven technology. But more detailed investigations and analysis are now feasible through improved technologies, explains Simon Tetley of ARRB Systems*.
  • Via Nordica turns international
    July 31, 2012
    Via Nordica, the road technology conference of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) has changed from the traditional Nordic event to become more international The conference, held every four years, rotates between the five countries, and the 2008 event, held in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, was a clear demonstration of the international trend. An accompanying exhibition attracted more than 70 companies and organisations from 14 countries. Pär-Håkan Appel, the secretary g
  • New radio wave technology assesses asphalt integrity
    March 14, 2017
    Real time information on asphalt density and uniformity can boost construction quality - *Roger Roberts, GSSI. Properly compacted asphalt is a major factor in the lifespan of a road, as inadequately compacted asphalt deteriorates at a more rapid rate than properly compacted material. With the billions spent on road construction and repairs each year, it has become a matter of urgency to find new technologies that can ensure the integrity of asphalt on newly paved roads. New radio wave technology is now avai
  • RetroTek: standards are key
    December 12, 2022
    Accurate retroreflectivity measurements of line markings across the full lane width has become even more important after the US adoption of minimum levels of retroreflectivity.