Reflective road markings for roads and motorways
With the right road markings you can make a meaningful impact on the motorists that drive on your roads. Including high-performance pavement markings in your project will give you peace of mind that your roads will look good and perform great for years to come.
Why quality road markings matter
Safety: motorists need reliable lane guidance to help keep them safe on roads – day or night and in all weather conditions.
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Crash reduction: The increased brightness of high-performance road markings has been shown to reduce crashes, especially in nighttime¹ and rainy or wet conditions.²,³
More time to react: Brighter pavement markings provide drivers more time to react, which becomes even more critical when drivers travel at higher speeds.⁴
Safer for older populations: As populations age, brighter markings become even more important to keep drivers safe.⁵
ADAS friendly: As more drivers rely on advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), bright, wet-reflective and wider markings will help ensure your roads are as advanced as the vehicles that travel on them.⁶
Less risk to roadworkers: reduced maintenence occurances decrease the time road workers spend maintaining road markings over the lifetime of the product.
On observed projects, 3M™ Stamark™ Pavement Marking Tapes averaged above 100 mcd/m2/lux for 7+ years¹³ giving you peace of mind that your roads will perform for years to come.
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Study Summary: Safety Effects of Wet Weather Pavement Markings, 3M 2019.
Benefits of high-performing reflective road markings
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Long-term durabilityExtend the life of your road markings and ensure drivers and machine vision systems will continue to accurately detect road markings for years to come with high performance pavement markings. Longer lasting markings can help you reduce the costs associated with frequent replacement of faded and worn markings and reduce road closures.
For a full assessment consider the traffic patterns, average daily traffic (ADT) and local weather conditions to achieve the best long-term performance on your roads.
On observed projects, 3M™ Stamark™ Pavement Marking Tapes averaged above 100 mcd/m2/lux for 7+ years.¹³
3M Road Markings - Security and Cost Efficiency for years - A case study (PDF, 509KB)
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High contrast - retroflective levels and performanceConsistent contrast and brighter road markings help enable lane detection for human and automated drivers, creating a safer driving environment.
The higher retroreflectivity levels and performance standards for road markings is also critical for ensuring their performance at night and during inclemental weather conditions. Drivers rely on retroreflectivity for improved visibility of road markings to help them safely navigate the roadway.⁸
Increasing the brightness required in your road marking specifications can provide more consistent lane guidance allowing drivers more preview time and driving comfort which helps reduce crashes.⁹,¹⁰
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Wet-reflectivityRoad markings can disappear from the drivers view in wet, nighttime driving conditions, creating a dangerous situation.⁸
Recent studies demonstrate that wet reflective markings are an effective countermeasure for reducing 32% of wet-night crashes and 49% of wet-night fatal injury crashes¹¹,¹² so consider wet retroreflective performance when developing a road marking specification.
3M's recommended test method for retroreflectivity performance levels: E2832-12 for Wet Continuous, which involves a wetting apparatus that continuously wets the measurement area during measurement.
Safety Effects of Wet-Weather Pavement Markings Study Summary (PDF, 437KB)
Improve your road safety with 3M reflective road markings
Ready to make your roads and highways safer?
Choose the reflective road marking product that fits your needs
With high index optics, microcrystalline ceramic beads, durable components and advanced adhesives, our road markings are designed to help make roadways more visible.
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Get the durability, wet reflectivity and high-contrast visibility you need to help make roads easier and safer to navigate. These preformed reflective tapes are for permanent applications such as lane and centre lines, edge lines, gore markings, crosswalks, stop bars, symbols and legends.
Up to 3X brighter than standard markings after 15 months.¹
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Raise your visibility. Durable and highly-reflective 3M road studs are used for longitudinal lines and markings on asphalt or concrete surfaces. These lightweight, impact-resistant markers are suitable for all weather conditions.
Why wet retroreflective road markings matter
Did you know that on average, we only do 25% of our driving at night, yet 50% of traffic deaths happen after dark?² And when you add rain, the chances of getting into a crash increase.
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The visibility of road markings is critical day or night, rain or shine
As traffic engineers, your challenge is to make roadways safer especially when drivers need it most. At night during rainy conditions, non-wet reflective road markings disappear, leading to reduced driver visibility³. Applying reflective road markings may be one of the last things you do when completing your road project, but they’re a first step in helping to improve safety, reduce crashes and save lives.
This eBook will help you understand the benefits of wet retroreflective road markings and why the kind of road markings you choose matter.
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Here is the link to your eBook on Wet Retroreflectivity for Road Markings (PDF, 578 KB).
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See for yourself why wet retroreflectivity is so important
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3M Wet Retroreflective Pavement Markings makes driving safer by improving road conditions under poor visibility. This short video shows how effective our 3M™ Stamark™ High Performance Pavement Marking Tape A380 ESD works.
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See the performance for yourself? 3M™ Stamark™ Pavement Marking Tape A380 ESD compared to standard road marking solutions.
To discover the research on the safety effects of wet-weather pavement markings, access key study findings here (PDF, 459 KB).
Road Safety Matters - the safety effects of pavement markings
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Better visibility for drivers. Safer conditions for everyone.
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3M™ Stamark™ Pavement Markings meet the latest standards of road marking demands. The eBook "Safer roads for a safer future" illustrates all essential product benefits regarding safer driving conditions, improved worktime efficiency and reduced maintenance costs. It also features case studies showing our solutions’ performance under real life conditions.
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Thank you for requesting this eBook.
Here is the link to your Safer Roads For a Safer Future eBook (PDF, 4.2 MB).
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Explore the performance of 3M Stamark Pavement Markings through internal an external case study reviews, including comparison to thermoplastics, and durability studies.
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Less maintenenace, less traffic jams, less risk to roadworkers. Our cost efficiencey guide provides the analysis of performance and cost comparisons vs alternative materials over 25 years.
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Frequently asked questions about reflective road markings
Find answers to some of our frequently asked questions about reflective road markings.
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What are the advantages of tape vs liquid markings?
3M™ Stamark™ Road Marking Tape is a self-adhesive, preformed tape, manufactured under constant quality control. Unlike paint, it is ready to apply without sophisticated equipment. It is less dependent on applicator skills as there is no mixing on-site.
Time-saving and cost-efficient: In contrast to liquid markings, a 3M Road Marking Tape can be applied during asphalt installation processes. Ultra-fast to apply in a single pass with no drying time, its installation limits the number of workers present on the road for increased crew safety.
Exceptional durability: 3M Road Marking Tapes optimise replacement cycles and reduce maintenance costs over the lifetime of the road. Contact us to find out more!
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What are key elements to consider when choosing a road marking solution?
Elements to consider when choosing a road marking solution are: remaining lifetime of the road surface, traffic density, legal requirements, restrictions on noise emissions and many more.
Connect with us and let us support you! Contact us to find out more!
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Are road marking tapes also available for temporary marking?
Yes! Temporary tapes are a great way to install visual guidance in workzones for the time the workzone is on the road.
After roadworks are finished, temporary tapes can be removed manually to protect the road surface from damage. Contact us to find out more!
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What is a wet reflective road marking tape and why is it important?
"Wet reflective" means that the marking does not disappear in rainy conditions. Staying visible during bad weather is essential for visual guidance - both for human and machine vision. There are different types of wet reflectivity - depending on how much water is covering the marking. Contact us to find out more!
Want to talk to a 3M expert for more information?
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References
- http://cmfclearinghouse.org/study_detail.cfm?stid=409
- https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/15083/index.cfm
- http://cmfclearinghouse.org/study_detail.cfm?stid=567
- http://www.dot.state.mn.us/research/reports/2020/202009.pdf (PDF, 5.03 MB)
- https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/humanfac/04139/index.cfm
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0361198119847620
- Park et al. Safety Effects of Wet-Weather Pavement Markings. 2019.
- 3M blog: What happens to the road markings at night when it rains?
- Carlson et al. (January 2015). Nighttime Safety and Pavement Marking Retroreflectivity on Two-Lane Highways: Revisited with North Carolina Data. Crash Modification Factors Clearinghouse. http://cmfclearinghouse.org/study_detail.cfm?stid=409. (Retrieved September 16 2021).
- FHWA. (December 2005). Enhanced Night Visibility Series, Volume VIII: Phase II—Study 6: Detection of Pavement Markings During Nighttime Driving in Clear Weather. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/humanfac/04139/index.cfm. (Retrieved September 16 2021).
- FHWA. (December 2015). Safety Evaluation of Wet-Reflective Pavement Markings. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/15083/index.cfm. (Retrieved September 16 2021).
- Park et al. (January 2019). Safety Effects of Wet-Weather Pavement Markings. Crash Modification Factors Clearinghouse. http://cmfclearinghouse.org/study_detail.cfm?stid=567. (Retrieved September 16 2021).
- 3M Transportation Safety Labs. Contact 3M Transportation Safety for more information.
- https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1970133O/3m-cp-prix-innovation-securite-routiere-3-mars-2021-pdf.pdf (PDF, 171.62 KB)
- https://batinfo.com/en/actuality/the-new-3mtm-stamarktm-a380aw-ground-marking-makes-the-road-safer_12095
