New Traffic Stripe 968 Times Brighter than Current U.S. Federal Highway Administration Standard

Abstract

The purpose of developing the new ultra-bright traffic stripe has been to save lives by minimizing lane-departure crashes on dark highways at night. The new stripe has been developed, and early prototypes have been tested for retroreflectivity in a certified laboratory. The measured retroreflectivity of the best new stripe prototype was 968 times higher than the 2023 U.S. Federal Highway Administration minimum standard of 50 mcd/m2-lux. The reduction in crashes due to brighter road stripes has been empirically quantified by previous researchers. Using published statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation, a benefit-cost analysis has been conducted for the impact of the new stripes if implemented on all U.S. interstate highways as the white edge stripe to minimize run-off-road fatalities. The results predict very large benefit-to-cost ratios, rapid payback times, and over 1,000 prevented fatalities per year. The new traffic stripe offers substantial retroreflective brightness even when fully submerged underwater, unlike all previous traffic stripes. The new stripe is not only more visible for human drivers, but also for the cameras and sensors used in connected and automated vehicles. The principal conclusion of work to date is that the new traffic stripe should be fully developed and commercialized to save lives and provide substantial economic benefits by reducing the financial impact of vehicle crashes and fatalities.