710202Development of a Road Surface Texture Depth MeterClosedGRD Proof of ConceptInnovate UKRoad markings contain tiny glass beads to reflect the light from car headlights whilst driving at night. A technical issue concerning the effectiveness of road markings is that paradoxically they have to wear out to expose the glass beads, to facilitate retro-reflection. Consequently in order to wear the stripe has to be proud of the road surface and to be proud, the road marking paint has to first fill the voids and follow the contours inherent in the surface texture of the road. Therefore Highways Engineers need to know how much paint is required to fill the voids in the road surface in order to specify the correct amount of paint to be applied. Put simply for a stripe to be 2mm proud the volume of paint specified may need to equate to a thickness of 5mm. Currently Highways Engineers have no accurate way of calculating how much paint needs to be applied. This project will consider various innovative technologies which might best be used to solve this problem. The technical innovation of the project will be an attempt to select the most appropriate method of measuring “road surface mean texture depth” in both longitudinal and transverse planes. This will assist Highways Authorities to comply with the British and European Standard which applies to road markings. The main outcomes of the project will be: • An improvement in road safety and traffic flow • A reduction in accidents at night • Creation of a new market • Development of a product in response to an identified market need • Job creation Achievement of these outcomes will have significant environmental, social and economic impacts.