Book Description

The ability of a driver to stop on a wet pavement surface has been shown as a relationship between a tire and the pavement surface texture. For a number of years, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communications has been classifying pavement surface textures and correlating these textures with the skid number of the surface, as measured by a brake-force trailer. The skid trailer number can be explained now in terms of the pavement surface texture. This paper contains a summary of the test procedure, a discussion of the texture classification system, and the relationship of the six texture parameters is discussed in terms of the equation used to generate a skid number at 100 km/h (62 mph). The advantages of using this system as a complement to present skid testing procedures are outlined, with particular attention to its use in those areas which cannot be tested by the brake-force trailer and in the area of mix design studies. The paper concludes with a discussion of some potential uses for the test method in future research work in Ontario, including the semiautomation of the interpretation procedure.