GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF RAISED PAVEMENT MARKERS

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD, 1988) provides a general outline for how Raised Pavement Markers (RPMs) should be used, but more specific information is required in order to produce a set of guidelines that are usable by a field traffic engineer. The Roadway Delineation Practices Handbook, produced by the Federal Highway Administration in 1994, gives more detailed instruction for some areas of RPM use (e.g., spacing and placement) but it is incomplete and is not presented in a clear, unambiguous manner. The present document is based on an extensive survey of the literature. Guidelines are presented for the use of RPMs on U.S. highways, with the core recommendations being extracted from the Roadway Delineation Practices Handbook (1994) and the MUTCD (1988). The guidelines also include a number of additional recommendations based on the work of other researchers. Several future research issues are also suggested.