The Evaluation of Skid Resistance for Road Surface: A Case Study of Landmark University Road Network

Abstract: Flexible pavements, commonly used for highways and airport runways, are prone to skidding accidents due to various factors such as surface texture, friction, and vehicle speed. Skid resistance, a critical safety parameter, is essential for ensuring the safety of road users. The increasing number of vehicular accidents attributed to inadequate skid resistance highlights the need for a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing skid resistance on flexible pavements. Using a University road network as a case study, this study evaluates the frictional characteristics of road pavements. The frictional characteristic was evaluated to measure the skid resistance of the road surfaces and to study the effects of macro-texture (Texture Depth) and temperature on Skid Resistance for wet and dry conditions. British Pendulum Test and Sand Patch Test were performed to account for micro and macrotexture of the road sections respectively while glass thermometer was used to measure the temperature of the road surfaces. The results obtained shows that all the skid resistance values for the road sections were within the accepted limit for their category according to ASTM-E303. It was also observed that an increase in macrotexture causes an increase in the skid resistance and vice versa while a decrease in the temperature at low speed causes an increase in the skid resistance and vice versa. This study further recommends that a constant measure of skid resistance and its frictional characteristics.