Back to Resources

Research Report 141 Selection of cost-effective skid resistance restoration treatments

Published: | Category: Safety, security and public health , Research programme , Research & reports | Audience: General

This report presents a suggested procedure for selecting the economically optimum treatment for restoring the skid resistance of an existing road surface when it is found to be deficient.

A table of attributes for 15 skid resistance restoration treatments identified as being suitable for application to New Zealand road surfaces.

The economic appraisal procedure showed that application of skid resistance restoration treatments can substantially reduce crashes yielding benefit-cost ratios in the thousands. In general, applying a new surface was found to be more cost effective than treatments involving the modification of an existing surface such as grooving, bush hammering and waterblasting. However, high pressure (>1000 psi) waterblasting appears to hold considerable promise for temporarily increasing skid resistance by 0.05 to 0.1 MSSC units.

Keywords: crash rate, economic assessment, restoration techniques, skid resistance

Publication details

  • Author:
  • Published: 1998
  • Reference: 141