Laboratory Testing of Road-marking Materials

Currently, road marking materials are assessed in the UK and in most other countries using road trials. The need for a repeatable laboratory test that differentiates the quality of road marking material is widely recognised - as it would be both faster and easier to reproduce. This report discusses laboratory tests of typical materials, the conditions of which were adjusted to provide maximum data in the minimum time, and the conclusion that this regime can be used to differentiate between materials. A standardised procedure has been devised on the basis of these tests. Further correlation with performance on the road will be required to validate it properly, but this procedure could be of use as a screening process prior to road trials, thus allowing manufacturers to try out a wider range of products and hence encouraging innovation. It may eventually replace road trials as the standard method of assessing road marking materials.