No later than January of 2015, all public agencies will be required to implement and maintain an assessment standar

Seeing is Believing... On the Road

Let's face it; we have all taken an ill-fated 2am drive down a long stretch of highway at some point. The circumstances that lead us to said journey through the darkness vary. It could be that we just found out we may have won a large sum of money and we need to collect it right away 3 states away. It could be that we are on the tail end of a matrimonial celebration and need to make it home and shower before work the next day. Or it could be that we need to make it to Canada before anyone notices we are gone. But no matter how we got into this situation, we all end up hoping and praying that we can keep our eyes peeled and that there is plenty of visibility on the roadway.

Ever since the advent of the automobile, the several ton speeding bullet we man every-day, safety has always been a concern. Vehicle-related fatalities are one of the top non-health related killers in the world. Over the last 5 years, the number of fatal crashes has hovered between 30 and 40 thousand. A healthy portion of these can be attributed to either poor road conditions or visibility issues according to a study done by P.I.R.E. in 2009.

Thanks to P.I.R.E., you maybe safer at night

These statistics were not lost on lawmakers and they took action so as not to leave the blind leading the blind. No later than January of 2015, all public agencies will be required to implement and maintain an assessment standard to ensure that all road signs attain or exceed minimum specified retro-reflectivity requirements. The length of the compliance period was set up so that officials would have time to make the appropriate upgrades to smaller municipalities or hard to reach roadways. Some of the specific material guidelines include:

• ASTM D4956 Compliance
• Any prismatic sheeting materials
• High Intensity Beaded and Super Engineer Grade for all signs (except white legend on overhead signage)
• Engineer Grade for all signs (except white legend on guide signs, white legend on street name signs, and yellow/orange warning signs)

The cost of these materials is comparable to legacy materials and will offer a greater level of visibility when used in compliance. This means that overall cost for the overhaul will be minimal while it is expected that the number of visibility related crashes will decrease. And if all goes to plan, you will be fairly warned as you approach that extreme curve around the corner of the mountain in the pitch black of night.

https://www.pire.org/documents/PireStudyLowRes.pdf
https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/transportation/motor_vehicle_accidents_and_fatalities.html
https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/night_visib/policy_guide/sign_newreq/