subject: Marking Tape: A Roll Of Safety In Your Hands [print this page] Anyone who has ever traveled down a road may have, at one point or another noticed the lines that are on them. It is also most likely that most people put very little thought on how these lines ended up there in the first place. But thanks to drivers education, everyone knows the difference between a broken line on the road and an unbroken line, or what a double broken line signifies.
The truth is, these pavement markings are a very important tool in road safety. In fact, as different driving conditions became apparent, so have these markings gone through a number of changes.
One of the first changes was a change in color. Originally, all pavement markings were colored white. Beginning in 1971, yellow was introduced as the color for a lot of the pavement markings you see on the road. Center lines are now predominantly yellow; arrows, words and other symbols are white. These changes were mandated by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
Another change was in the materials that were used to make these markings. Obviously, paint was used when the first pavement markings were made. The first of these pavement markings was simply a white center line painted on the road. When yellow was mandated as the color of choice for center lines, road workers had to resort to using lead chromate paint because of the materials insolubility in water and its bright yellow color. Because of the toxicity of lead chromate, workers had to take extra precautions when having to remove road markings which used these materials.
Nowadays, there are a lot of other materials that can be used for marking roads and pavements. One of the newer and better materials is self-adhesive aluminum tapes. Unlike paint, these pavement marking tapes have glass beads and other retro reflective materials built into them, making them quite visible at night. In fact, there are a lot of marking tapes that meet MUTCD standards for visibility.
The main reason for choosing marking tapes over paint is their relative ease of use. Used in conjunction with a special primer, simply paint a layer of primer on the area youre going to mark and lay down the tape. And since there are both temporary and permanent pavement marking tapes on the market, you have the choice of using the right marking tape for the right situation. This flexibility is something paint does not have.
One may think: are road markings really effective in decreasing the incidences of traffic accidents and increasing overall road safety? The truth is, since the implementation of road markings, head on collisions have dropped considerably. So as a safety device, road markings really have been successful.
Road marking tapes represent an evolution from the humble yet effective road marking paint. Their ease of use, non-toxic properties and flexibility make road marking tapes an ideal choice for all pavement marking needs. And considering the importance of the job they perform, i.e. road safety, you could truly say you have a roll of safety when you have a roll of pavement marking tape on your hands.
