A road’s surface texture can be lost through tire wear and by the action of abrasives, tire chains, salt, freezing and thawing. With the loss of texture comes loss of friction between the pavement and vehicle tires.
Vehicle accidents increase when there is a loss of friction between the tire and pavement surface and conditions become slippery. Highway departments have found the best way to decrease accidents during inclement weather is to remove water from the surface and increase the traction between the tire and the road. Grooving a pavement’s surface increases traction, reduces hydroplaning, minimizes splash and spray, and provides a more effective braking surface.
Municipalities and departments of transportation find grooving is an easily constructed and economical surface treatment that increases driver safety in wet conditions and saves on the costs of replacing or overlaying the pavement surface.
In Los Angeles, the California Department of Transportation conducted a study of 322 lane-miles of longitudinally grooved concrete pavement and compared it to control sections of 750 miles of ungrooved concrete pavement. The study found grooving produced an overall average 69% decrease in accident rates for the highways studied in wet and dry conditions.
Another study in California showed how roads wear over time, causing a decrease in friction and an increase in accidents. On Interstate 5 at Laguna Canyon Road near El Toro Marine Air Station in California, there were no wet weather accidents when the road was newly constructed using a burlap drag surface texture. As the road aged, eight wet weather accidents were recorded during the next year and 47 wet weather accidents in the year after. As the road was being used over time, the pavement was wearing, causing the friction values to drop.
The road was longitudinally grooved, using a specified 1/8-inch by 1/8 inch on 1/2-inch center pattern. Accidents for the following five years were reduced to a total of eight wet weather accidents. This study shows how grooving can increase wet weather traction, reduce hydroplaning potential and make the road a safer place for motorists.
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