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| 3M products, services and expertise help traffic professionals address sign retroreflectivity upgrades and maintenance for positive guidance and traffic safety |
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Produce a Strategic Highway Safety Plan
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- Consult with stakeholders in planning, traffic, enforcement, vehicle administration and safety
- Establish baseline conditions by reviewing existing literature, analyzing crash data, identifying problems and ranking severity by location
- Devise a strategy with a goal, emphasize "four E’s" (Engineering, Education, Enforcement, EMS), determine priorities and draft the plan
Determine U.S. Approach
The U.S. DOT notes "there might be situations where, based on engineering judgment, an agency may want to provide higher retroreflectivity." To maintain minimum retroreflectivity standards as proposed in Revision 2 to the 2003 MUTCD (Section 2A.09), determine both measurement and management methods:
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Measurement Methods
- Nighttime visual inspection conducted by a trained sign inspector (consistent with current practice) to look at inventory at night for worn or poorly reflecting signs
- Calibration sign procedure that measures sign retroreflectivity using a retrereflectometer (ASTM E1709, Standard Test Method for Measurement of Retroreflective Signs using a Portable Retroreflectometer)
Management Methods
- Expected sign life method that records a sign’s age to note timely replacement
- Blanket replacement of all signs in an area or corridor at specified intervals (This provides the fastest change-over to yield the earliest safety benefit.)
- Enforcement (products that help law enforcement and traffic engineering analyze speed and time of day)
- Control sign method that monitors selected signs to determine the end of retroreflective life for a group of signs
Activate Plan
Three different approaches help you reach sign enhancement standards. Select what best fits your agency's capabilities, resources and timetable.
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Traditional DYI
- Agency's in-house crews inventory and upgrade signs. This approach generally takes 5 – 10 years depending on an agency's size and work schedule.
Traditional Progressive
- Consultants take inventory and provide database and contract documents to agency
- Consultants or agency manage multi-year contract to install and upgrade sub-standard signs
- Warning, Regulatory, Guidance
3M™ Roadway Maintenance Services
Design/build from a single, trusted source known for both superior products and installation expertise
Conduct a needs assessment
Upgrade signs to MUTCD standards using 3M™ High Intensity Prismatic Sheeting for parking signs and 3M™ Diamond Grade3M™ DG3 Reflective Sheeting for warning, regulatory and guidance signs
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