Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Introduction

The principal objective so far has been to evaluate Dynamic Road Marking technologies suitable for the replication of white lanes. These technologies can be used to actively adapt the road layout in response to varying traffic conditions and therefore have the potential to increase road capacity, thus reducing congestion.

What are the potential applications?

Hard shoulder running

Involves the extension and utilisation of the hard shoulder as a running lane in times of peak hour.

Through Junction Running

Refers to the application of hard shoulder running through junctions on the motorway.

Dynamic Junctions

Dynamic Road Markings could be used to create dynamic junctions, adapting the layout of the junction to complement the message given by the signalling or highlight a path through a roundabout to increase the throughput of the junction.

Tidal Flow

Tidal flow situations occur when the majority of traffic flows in one direction in the morning and in the opposite direction in the evening. By using Dynamic Road Marking on a three lane bidirectional carriageway, two lanes could be dedicated to the traffic travelling to work in the morning, leaving one lane for traffic in the opposite direction, and vice versa for the evening scenario.

How is it being evaluated?

Working in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT), DRM manufacturers and their agents, the Highways Agency are carrying out a controlled evaluation (both test track and laboratory) of three DRM technologies in order to establish clear performance, application and implementation guidance.

The evaluation of the DRM technologies is being assessed under the following performance criteria:

• Optical
• Environmental
• Installation and Maintenance
• User Acceptance/Perception
• Control