Road Markings, Barriers & Workzone Protection

FHWA move promoting safety for highway workers

September 19, 2017

A new move by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the US will help improve safety for highway workers and road users alike. The FHWA has issued a guidance memorandum saying how states can recoup the cost of acquiring highway safety equipment as a direct charge on federal aid projects. According to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), this move will help encourage innovation and competition in public and private sectors by allowing funding for new classes of construction

US driving distances see continued increase

September 6, 2017

New data released by the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) shows that US driving topped 2.53 trillion kilometres in the first six months of 2017. This continues a streak of steadily increasing vehicle distances travelled that began in 2011.

Ringwood is Readi

September 1, 2017

UK maintenance company Ringway says that it has invested in Readi Barriers to help improve the management of road closures and reduce the number of incidents with the travelling public. Several automatic Readi Barrier systems have been trialled as an alternative way of enforcing road closures at sites in the English counties of North Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, Cheshire West, the East Midlands and Cambridgeshire.

Safer cone collection with X-Cone among the latest safety innovations

August 30, 2017

X-Cone is a new traffic cone management system offering a higher level of safety for workers and maximum efficiency for contractors. Austrian-made X-Cone is a truck-mounted system that can manage the setting out and collection of cones from the flatbed of any 3.5tonne vehicle. It does not matter if the cones are straight or laying on the road, the X-cone can still manage the work quickly, safely and reliably, according to the manufacturer. For setting out standard cones, the driver can decide the distance b

TransCalm is full of air

August 14, 2017

TransCalm is a stand-alone bolt-down speed hump designed to persuade drivers to comply with the limit in 32kph zones and described as a ‘responsive speed control’ by its manufacturer Mallatite. The TransCalm is constructed from a rubber compound containing a pneumatic cylinder, fitted with a patented valve that operates at a preset safe speed. The valve is open for drivers under normal safe use, allowing the cylinder to deflate to around 45mm, reducing the firmness of the unit. If the safe speed is exceede

Colourful crosswalks are promoting safer crossings

August 14, 2017

Safety remains paramount but crosswalks can also be colourful and fun. The increasing popularity of colourful crosswalks is exercising the creativity of municipalities around Europe. An example is the use of DecoMark preformed thermoplastic markings in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The art collective Opperclaes, working with urbanism agency Street Makers, designed an artwork-style crosswalk on the Westblaak area of Rotterdam. The Westblaak is a busy street in the city centre and connects Churchill Square with the

High-tech, high places: 3M in US and MetService in New Zealand

August 1, 2017

The US state of Michigan sets up a high-tech test road while New Zealand’s transport officials buy in some high-tech weather forecasting. The road safety division of 3M will provide the US state of Michigan with lane markings and retroreflective signs for a connected vehicle technologies trial along the I-75 highway. Around 5km of the Interstate 75 work zone in Oakland County will be transformed over the next four months to improve safety for drivers and test advanced vehicle-to-infrastructure technologie

UK’s M3 motorway gets first orange emergency area

August 1, 2017

The first of a new-style smart motorway emergency stop area is being trialled on the M3 in England. The redesigned emergency area has a highly visible orange road surface and better signs to improve its visibility, according to Highways England, the wholly government-owned company responsible for modernising, maintaining and operating England’s motorways and major A roads.

Evonik’s Degaroute paves the way at Istanbul Technical University

July 21, 2017

Ari Gate and the entrance to Ayazağa Campus are now pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly as part of Istanbul Technical University’s ongoing Green Campus project. The university is more than 250 years old and has five campuses spread throughout the centre of historic Istanbul, Turkeys former capital and now a financial and transport hub. The network of campuses and myriad buildings make it extremely difficult for staff and students to get around quickly and efficiently so they must resort to a vehicle, either ca

UK’s M3 motorway gets first orange smart motorway emergency area

July 19, 2017

The first of a new-style smart motorway emergency stop area is being trialled on the M3 in England’s county Surrey. The redesigned emergency area has a highly visible orange road surface and better signs to help improve its visibility make it more obvious to drivers on smart motorways, according to Highways England.