Road stripes not as reflective

[CT Rob]

I work second shift so my commute home is usually done between 1-2am depending when I get off work. This morning while driving in the rain I noticed that you couldn't even see the stripes on the road anymore, it was just black from ditch to ditch. They didn't reflect off the headlights at all. I spent most of my early childhood travelling with my grandparents who were in the trucking business and remember when the striped were super bright. It leaves me wondering if something has been removed from the paint in the last decade or so? Maybe something California doesn't like so nobody else can have it either?

$$$ cheaper to just use paint and no reflective material.They do the same here on many roads.

 

[eljefino]

In Maine we get a new fiscal year on October 1 then run around painting as many lines as we can to keep the guys working before snow falls.

Then the plows scrape it all to death.

 

[MNgopher]

$$$ cheaper to just use paint and no reflective material.They do the same here on many roads.

If we really want to get in the weeds...

Traffic markings are governed by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. published by the Federal Highway Administration. States either use it as written, or have their own version that has local items added to it.

Under Section 3, Markings, it requires that all markings on interstate highways must be retroreflective. All longitudinal markings (lane markers, center line, fog line) have a minimum reflectivity required (that requires the use of the glass beads previously discussed). The reflectivity requirement doubles if the speed limit is 70 or higher.

Exceptions are:
-If the speed limit is 35 mph or less.
-If ambient lighting assures the lane markers are visible - think street lighting.
-If the ADT (average Daily traffic) is less than 6000 vehicles per day.

The latter is the one that gets many roads away from requiring the minimum reflectivity.

Reality is you could pursue an agency that doesn't follow these requirements if an incident occured and it was traceable to the lane markers not being reflective (or reflective enough).

Nowadays. many agencies standards revolve around additional items - rumble strips down the centerline or down the fogline(s) or both, depending on the roadway to backup the reflectivity.

 

[Skippy722]

Do you happen to have LED or HID headlights? I’ve found that on wet asphalt they’re worse than halogens, at least to me.

 

[97prizm]

Quite possible. I remember seeing them applying a sprinkle (a generous amount!) of splarkly powder to the freshly-painted markings.... Do they still do it that way or is it now mixed in with the paint?

 

[Creekside]

The OP's question was on road stripes specifically - not reflectors.

And being more specific, in areas where the road is plowed on a regular basis, reflectors built into the road have a difficult life. The ones that are more snowplow durable tend to cost more to install, require more preparation of the pavement, and when they come loose from the pavement turn into 2 to 5 lb loose objects in the roadway made of cast iron or hard plastic - and can cause serious damage to a vehicle when they get kicked up... The other ones don't fare very well when the plows come out.

Fun facts - there is no federal requirement to use reflectors. Part of why their use varies so greatly geographically.

I can state we use a variety of products - latex paint, epoxy, preformed thermoplastics, and polymer tape. More or less more expensive as you go down the list. The last two are used mostly in spot high traffic areas (think intersections) and the thermoplastics for things like markers for turning movements, etc...

The more expensive Epoxy tends to get used when roads are new, and the higher priority the road, the more likely to be used. As the road weathers and deteriorates, it shifts to using a latex paint since it isn't being applied to the most solid of surfaces.

Similarly, the higher the priority of the road, the more likely the markings will be kept in higher functioning condition - ie: your local City street or minor county road is likely to get the cheap latex paint markings, and have them done on a longer period. The county I used to work at had a goal to paint the striping yearly, and all other symbols and markers every three years. Reality was nothing went more than 2 years... But a lot of it went 2 years.

The OP's question was on road stripes specifically - not reflectors.

And being more specific, in areas where the road is plowed on a regular basis, reflectors built into the road have a difficult life. The ones that are more snowplow durable tend to cost more to install, require more preparation of the pavement, and when they come loose from the pavement turn into 2 to 5 lb loose objects in the roadway made of cast iron or hard plastic - and can cause serious damage to a vehicle when they get kicked up... The other ones don't fare very well when the plows come out.

Fun facts - there is no federal requirement to use reflectors. Part of why their use varies so greatly geographically.

I can state we use a variety of products - latex paint, epoxy, preformed thermoplastics, and polymer tape. More or less more expensive as you go down the list. The last two are used mostly in spot high traffic areas (think intersections) and the thermoplastics for things like markers for turning movements, etc...

The more expensive Epoxy tends to get used when roads are new, and the higher priority the road, the more likely to be used. As the road weathers and deteriorates, it shifts to using a latex paint since it isn't being applied to the most solid of surfaces.

Similarly, the higher the priority of the road, the more likely the markings will be kept in higher functioning condition - ie: your local City street or minor county road is likely to get the cheap latex paint markings, and have them done on a longer period. The county I used to work at had a goal to paint the striping yearly, and all other symbols and markers every three years. Reality was nothing went more than 2 years... But a lot of it went 2 years

If we really want to get in the weeds...

Traffic markings are governed by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. published by the Federal Highway Administration. States either use it as written, or have their own version that has local items added to it.

Under Section 3, Markings, it requires that all markings on interstate highways must be retroreflective. All longitudinal markings (lane markers, center line, fog line) have a minimum reflectivity required (that requires the use of the glass beads previously discussed). The reflectivity requirement doubles if the speed limit is 70 or higher.

Exceptions are:
-If the speed limit is 35 mph or less.
-If ambient lighting assures the lane markers are visible - think street lighting.
-If the ADT (average Daily traffic) is less than 6000 vehicles per day.

The latter is the one that gets many roads away from requiring the minimum reflectivity.

Reality is you could pursue an agency that doesn't follow these requirements if an incident occured and it was traceable to the lane markers not being reflective (or reflective enough).

Nowadays. many agencies standards revolve around additional items - rumble strips down the centerline or down the fogline(s) or both, depending on the roadway to backup the reflectivity.

Very good information, thank you for posting all of this. Our 2 lane state highway that I was on when I noticed this is likely below 100 vehicles per day.

OP's vision is getting worse, so it's obviously someone else's fault!

I have developed astigmatism in the last few years however my intent with this post was not seeking fault with anyone. It was in sheer curiosity if a paint formulation or technique had changed or if they simply aren’t painted as often.

 

[PandaBear]

I have a feeling that we have more cars on the road today than before, the roads are "patched" more often than in the past vs being replaced with new asphalt. They don't make they like they used to and we didn't pay for them like we used to would be my guess.

 

[Jetronic]

I work second shift so my commute home is usually done between 1-2am depending when I get off work. This morning while driving in the rain I noticed that you couldn't even see the stripes on the road anymore, it was just black from ditch to ditch. They didn't reflect off the headlights at all. I spent most of my early childhood travelling with my grandparents who were in the trucking business and remember when the striped were super bright. It leaves me wondering if something has been removed from the paint in the last decade or so? Maybe something California doesn't like so nobody else can have it either?

It's always like that when raining, the light mirrors off the water instead of reflecting back to the source. glare is hellish with oncoming traffic.

 

[Jetronic]

For me, the markings have never seemed to be as reflective during rain.

I think glass beads are used to make the paint reflective. I saw a bunch of powder scattered over the lines when a nearby street was redone recently. But considering the quality of other street work around here, that may not be the industry's ideal method.

It's powder here too, but not when they put original markings on a new surface. Maintenance however is powder.

 

[Pew]

Do you happen to have LED or HID headlights? I’ve found that on wet asphalt they’re worse than halogens, at least to me.

The more blueish the color, the more the light will be reflected. Something about the color's wavelength and water.

 

[brianl703]

-If the ADT (average Daily traffic) is less than 6000 vehicles per day.

Virginia standard is if the ADT is less than 3000 vehicles per day, no centerline at all, regardless of speed limit. Not sure if other states might require a centerline if the speed limit is above 35MPH or something like that.

It's real fun when some of these roads have a 45MPH speed limit and a bunch of curves (in Virginia, the roads are as crooked as the politicians), and the lack of a center line doesn't help keep drivers on their side of the road.

 

[97prizm]

The machine may have not been correctly dispensing the glass reflective beads. I watched a road crew recently and had no idea until recently that the paint was mixed then sprayed onto the road surface. The roads around here seem to glow if hid or led headlamps shine on them.

 

[Astro14]

^^Is that sarcasm anyone can understand?^^
Brawndo is a "new" sports drink and Tarrlytons is a fictitious name used to connote any cigarette; appearing in a pointed anti-smoking billboard (as far as I can tell from Googling).

They're pop-culture references from a movie called "Idiocracy" - the basic premise of which is that while the protagonist, a person of average intelligence, was in suspended animation, dumb people reproduced faster than smart ones, and our hero woke up the smartest person in the world.

 

[JohnnyG]

^^Is that sarcasm anyone can understand?^^
Brawndo is a "new" sports drink and Tarrlytons is a fictitious name used to connote any cigarette; appearing in a pointed anti-smoking billboard (as far as I can tell from Googling).

Not that original. Do you remember the Tareyton brand of cigarettes?

 

[Kira]

Yes, and Carlton too.

 

[Jetronic]

Do you happen to have LED or HID headlights? I’ve found that on wet asphalt they’re worse than halogens, at least to me.

The amount of cars with LED headlights running around with high beams on when it's wet tells me you're right.

I have HID, but 4300k. It's as good as halogens in my experience. I also have halogen fog lights if needed, but I don't need them ever.

 

[SeaJay]

Paint used these days for road markings has to be more environmentally safe than years ago. It wears away faster than the old stuff.