Unit 4: road surface marking

1. Before you start. · What is the main purpose of road markings? · What colour are road markings in your country?

Read the words and learn them by heart.

1. uniformity – единообразие

2. сat’s eyes – дорожный световозвращатель «кошачий глаз»

3. to mount – устанавливать

4. rubber – резина, каучук

5. housing – установка

6. fore – вперед

7. aft – назад

8. Botts’ dots – точки Боттса

9. epoxy – эпоксидная смола

10. snow plow – снегоочиститель

11. rumble strips – предохранительная полоса

12. to warn – предупредить

13. crossing – перекресток

14. to assist – помогать

15. striper – машина для нанесения разметки

16. drum – цилиндр

17. retroreflectivity – ретроотражение, световозвращающее отражение

18. stop bar – стоп линия

19. pylon – дорожный конус

20. HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lane – полоса для автомобилей с пассажирами

 

Read and translate the text to learn more about the basic types of road surface markings.

Road surface markings

Road surface marking is a kind of device or material used on a road surface in order to convey official information. They can also be applied to mark parking spaces or areas for other uses.

http://www.roadsafeco.com.au/

Road surface markings provide guidance and information to drivers and pedestrians. Uniformity of the markings is an important factor in minimizing confusion about their meaning. However, countries and areas categorize and specify road surface markings in different ways.

Road surface markings can be mechanical, non-mechanical, or temporary.

Mechanical devices may be raised into the road surface. They are either reflective or non-reflective. Most are permanent; some are movable.

Cat’s eyes equip most major routes in the British Isles. They consist of four reflective lenses mounted in durable white rubber housing, two facing fore and two facing aft. The lenses are available in a variety of different colours, mainly white, yellow, orange, green, red and blue.

http://www.commercialmotor.com/big-lorry-blog/solarlites-cats-eye-saves-lives

http://www.reflective-safety.com/snoline-polystud.html

Botts’ dots are round non-reflective raised pavement markers named after California Department of Transportation engineer Elbert Botts, who invented the epoxy that keeps them glued down. Generally they are used to mark the edges of traffic lanes often together with reflective raised pavement markers. They are used only in warm climates since snow plows usually remove them along with the snow.

A rumble strip is usually either applied in the direction of travel along an edge- or centerline to alert drivers when they drift from their lane, or in a series across the direction of travel to warn drivers of a stop ahead or nearby danger spot. In favorable circumstances rumble strips are effective (and cost-effective) at reducing accidents due to inattention.

http://paulpetersoncompany.com/news/blog/

Reflective markers are used as lane dividers to mark the central reservation. They are typically more visible at night than standard road marking lines. The color of markers varies depending on the country of use. Reflective markers are also referred to as raised pavement markers. In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, raised markers are used to mark crossings to assist the blind in crossing streets. In colder climates reflective markers may be installed below ground.

Non-mechanical markers

Paint is generally used to mark traffic lanes, spaces in parking lots or special purpose spaces for disabled parking. Colors for these applications vary by locality. Paint is usually applied right after the road has been paved. The road is marked commonly by a truck called a “striper”. These trucks contain hundreds of gallons of paint stored in huge drums. The markings are controlled manually or automatically by the controller.

Thermoplastic is one of the most common types of road marking. The main advantages of thermoplastic are durability and retro-reflectivity. Most thermoplastic is produced in white and yellow colours.

http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/contractors/road_marking/kadcam/

Plastic is used to mark crossroads, stop bars, and traffic guidance such as turn lanes, train crossings, pedestrian crossings, taxi lanes, bus and bike lanes.

Pylons are sometimes used to separate HOV lanes from regular traffic lanes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_surface_marking