New European Standards

In 2000 the new European standards for Road Marking Materials BSEN 1871, BSEN 1436 and BSEN 1824 came into effect and superseded the old BS3262 British standard.

The intention was to create consistency across EU member states and therefore facilitate internal trade within the EU. The kite mark remains a sign of quality, although the standards that represent quality have changed.

The previous standards scheme was based around a recipe of raw materials represented by BS3262, which defined the types of raw materials and the proportions of these materials that must be used within road marking material.

The main difference between BS3262 and the European Specification is "On Road Performance". The European Specification concentrates on the Driver’s NEEDS, the essential requirements, Day Time Visibility, Night Time Visibility, Skid Resistance all teamed with Durability.

BSEN 1871
Road Marking Materials - Physical Properties and Laboratory Tests

This element of the specification covers paints, thermoplastic and cold plastics it removes the restrictions on constituent materials and mixtures and focuses upon performance for the end-user. As long as the material performs to its specified level there is flexibility in the elements that make up the material.

BSEN 1436
Road Marking Materials - Road Performance for Users

BSEN 1436 has introduced a demanding series of performance requirements for road markings on the road.

The standard specifies the performance for the road user of white and yellow road markings by retro-reflectivity, retro-reflectivity in wet conditions, skid resistance and luminance.

The Highway Engineer can specify the level of performance of their road markings using the above criteria from the tables within BSEN1436. Specifications can be drawn up to meet the individual characteristics of different roads, this type of specifying places a higher responsibility on the contractor.

Specifying Criteria for White Road Markings ­ BSEN 1436

NOTE:
When specifying in this way, you must be careful not to over specify, classes of high performance cannot always be achieved for two or more of the road performance parameters simultaneously. For example it can be difficult to achieve high skid resistance values with top retro-reflectivity values. A gain of one of these benefits can often only be achieved at the expense of the other.

BSEN 1824
Road Marking Materials: Road Trials

BSEN 1824 provides the methodology for testing the performance of road marking products, against the categories laid down in the specification.

Performance in relation to these aspects will be tested under BSEN 1436 road trials and a road trial report produced, rather than a 'Class A' certificate as would have been issued when BS3262 was the standard.

Therefore a straightforward pass or fail will no longer exist as the performance criteria will be predominantly split into performance categories and classes where performance will either fall into one category or another; creating greater flexibility in relation to different materials for different uses and a much more comprehensive trial system.

Categories included in the Road Trials are listed below:

• Luminance factor, divided into performance classes
• Retro-reflectivity, divided into performance classes
• Skid resistance, divided into performance classes
• Erosion, within a rating system framework
• Colour co-ordinates, where colours must match those within a colour box

The road trial report will apply to a single product only and will also cover other details such as the application rate for materials and drop on materials, the type of application and the type of road surface.

Trials will last for a minimum of twelve months and thereafter determined by the number of wheel passages as opposed to the minimum two-year duration under BS3262.

This trial system, is more reflective of "on road" conditions as the performance levels are set in relation to traffic volume rather than a set time interval.

Within the report the performance level of each material will be shown so the specifier can clearly see which product is appropriate for which road conditions and have faith that the product will perform to a particular level.

Once a road marking no longer performs to the criteria set out in the initial specification the road marking will have come to the end of its functional life, as performance that falls below these preset levels could create a safety hazard.

StanSpec is a publication produced by the Road Safety Markings Association and the Road Marking Forum in consultation with client-side organisations and is a guide to performance levels. The standard specification document offers further technical guidance with regard to the road marking standards and details of what can be expected from the road marking contract.