Pavement friction and its contribution to driver safety is complex. Vehicle collisions on a roadway are typically the result of many contributing factors including roadway design details, pavement surface characteristics, traffic levels, vehicle operating parameters, tire properties, environmental conditions, e.g. rain/snow and driver experience and visual distractions. Contributions of the pavement surface to accidents may or may not be “real” due to the inaccuracy of post-accident assessments. The development of a rational and consistent friction management plan can assist in identifying friction related contributions to accidents and reduce owner liability through accurate tracking and assessment of pavement surface condition, collision reporting and annual statistics.
This paper presents the critical components of pavement friction, overall friction management plan, methods to monitor the surface friction for both flexible and rigid pavements for highway and municipal infrastructure and the correlation between different equipment’s and methods.
