Skip to main content

Saint Gobain widens access cover range

Saint-Gobain PAM UK is now offering the Opt-Emax and Ult-Emax variants of its anti-skid treated GripTop range of access covers. These units have been developed to help boost safety for vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists and cyclists in particular. Conventional access covers can wear away over time and become smooth and slippery due to decades of traffic. These pose major hazards to motorcyclists and cyclists, particularly in poor weather. The GripTop range from Saint-Gobain PAM UK features D400 an
July 14, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Saint-Gobain says its anti-skid drain covers boost road safety
5475 Saint-Gobain PAM UK is now offering the Opt-Emax and Ult-Emax variants of its anti-skid treated GripTop range of access covers. These units have been developed to help boost safety for vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists and cyclists in particular.

Conventional access covers can wear away over time and become smooth and slippery due to decades of traffic. These pose major hazards to motorcyclists and cyclists, particularly in poor weather. The GripTop range from Saint-Gobain PAM UK features D400 anti-skid treated access covers that are said to provide durable performance where the road configuration and traffic conditions require long-lasting grip for added safety.

Combining ductile cast iron and an aggregate surface, the GripTop range is fully compliant to BS EN 124 and has been proven to provide a Skid Resistance Value (SRV) superior to 63 after 130,000 6.5tonne loaded passages at 40mph. An SRV of 55 is recommended by the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) as a minimum for high-risk situations.

To help improve aesthetics in the urban environment, the range can be finished to match the surrounding road surface colour, including red to match bus and cycle lanes.

For ease of maintenance, developments are also underway to use coloured aggregates to help identify the type of chamber that sits below the access cover.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rigorous testing for high performance materials
    February 9, 2012
    Today’s highways require high performance materials, and this means rigorous testing as Patrick Smith reports Highways are under greater pressure than ever today and asphalts have to grant high performances in order to withstand traffic and meet the standards. Studying the plastic permanent deformations in hot mix asphalt (HMA) is very important to obtain useful information for mix designers as an appropriate mix design will reduce the formation of unevenness on road surface. To investigate the effect of mi
  • Repairing utilities quickly with new tool
    April 4, 2017
    A new tool offers the chance to speed repairs to utilities, reducing disturbance to drivers and pedestrians alike in busy urban areas. The conventional way to break into an existing cast iron main has been to expose it from the surface in a pit and then hit it hard with something until it breaks. However, this is no longer considered either safe or efficient. Instead, Utility Innovation Solutions (UIS) has delivered a more effective tool, the Click Stick.
  • Noise needed for quiet cars
    January 9, 2014
    Electric vehicles and hybrids should be fitted with noise emission equipment to reduce danger levels for the blind and partially sighted, according to the European Blind Union (EBU). The EBU is calling on the EU to make noise generators compulsory for all electric and hybrid vehicles due to the obvious risks these pose to blind and partially sighted people. Hybrid vehicles generally run in electric mode when operating at lower speeds in the urban cycle and generate very little engine noise, while electric v
  • European Transport Safety Commission makes call for traffic safety boost
    July 10, 2015
    In 2013, 7,600 people died in road traffic while cycling or walking in European Union (EU) countries – the equivalent of a commercial airliner full of passengers being lost every week Because of this risk of death, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) wants vehicle manufacturers and local authorities to pay special attention to improving safety for cyclists, walkers and pedestrians. In a new report, the ETSC said the numbers being killed are falling more slowly than those for vehicle occupants. Over