Hydroplaning
on Pavements
If you have increased accident rates or vehicles have experienced hydroplaning on either concrete or asphalt pavements, you need to perform:
Longitudinal Grooving
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Automobile accidents tend to increase when there is a loss of friction between the tire and pavement surface due to slippery
conditions. Highway departments have found that the best way to decrease accidents during inclement weather is to remove water from the surface and increase the traction between the tire and the road.
Experience has shown that grooving a pavement’s surface is a very effective method to increase traction, reduce hydroplaning and minimize splash and spray as well as provide a more effective braking surface. This easily constructed and economical surface treatment provides the superior traction needed for vehicles to maintain control while driving in wet, dangerous conditions.
Municipalities and departments of transportation world wide are finding that grooving has a two-fold benefit: it increases a driver’s safety while driving in wet conditions and at the same time, saves on the costs of replacing or overlaying the pavement surface.
Resources
Effects of Pavement Texture on Wet Runway Braking Performance
An extensive test program was conducted at the Langley landing-loads track to investigate the effect on braking of tire tread pattern and tread materials for a variety of runway surfaces. Some of the tire test results were excerpted from this program and are presented to show the importance of runway surface texture in determining braking friction coefficient levels on wet runways.
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Technical Info
Airport/Airfield
Diamond Grooving
Friction/Safety
Evaluation of Minor Improvements - Grooved Pavement (Supplemental Report)
The California Department of Transportation prepared this report to check the validity of the findings of an earlier report. A "before and after" technique was used to evaluate 322 land-miles of grooved portland cement concrete pavement on state freeways in Los Angeles. Diamond grooving produced an average 69% reduction in wet pavement accident rates on the 23 projects studied.
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Technical Info
Highway
Diamond Grooving
Friction/Safety
Quick Facts: Safety Grooving: Grooving runways reduces hydroplaning
Water, slush or wet snow on a runway surface can cause aircraft to skid upon landing. Runway diamond grooving is a time-and cost-effective way to rehabilitate older runways that are showing loss of friction. Diamond saw blades can be used to create grooves in both portland cement concrete (PCC) pavement and hot mix asphalt pavement.
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Fact Sheet
Airport/Airfield, Bridge, City/Municipal, Highway, Industrial, Race Track
Diamond Grooving
Friction/Safety
Quick Facts: Safety Grooving: Grooving roadways decreases accidents and saves lives
Diamond grooving machines with circular diamond-tipped saw blades are used to saw grooves into the pavement surface. The advantages of grooving are: reduced accidents, reduced hydroplaning, reduced splash and spray, faster braking, safer driving, easy to construct, economical and no adverse effect on pavement fatigue life.
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Fact Sheet
Bridge, City/Municipal, Highway
Diamond Grooving
Friction/Safety
Surface Grooved Bridges: Make Your Bridge a Safer Place to Drive
Surface diamond grooved bridge decks can reduce accident rates and hydroplaning risks. The best solution is bridge deck grooving for weather hazards. Advantages of diamond-sawed surface grooves are to help prevent hydroplaning, enhance braking action, often last as long as the deck does, are uniform and do not distort the surface, help facilitate ice breakup, can be sawed in any concrete including high performance and latex mix designs, can be sawed to different groove configurations and mechanical grooving lasts longer than conventional tines.
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Fact Sheet
Bridge
Diamond Grooving
Friction/Safety
Longitudinal vs. Transverse Grooving: Grooving is Great No Matter What Your Angle
Safe and sure handling of a vehicle depends on how well the tires grip the road. Experience has shown that diamond grooving a pavement’s surface is a very effective method to increase traction, reduce hydroplaning and minimize splash and spray as well as provide a more effective braking surface.
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Fact Sheet
Bridge, City/Municipal, Highway
Diamond Grooving
Friction/Safety