The current Highways England skid resistance policy uses accurate measurements of road surface properties (e.g. skid resistance and texture depth) and identifies sites where a surface treatment may reduce the risk of skidding, based on these characteristics. The aim of the current policy is to broadly equalise the risk of skidding accidents across the network, and to identify sites where maintenance to improve skid resistance would be beneficial.
The current skid resistance standard, CS228(Highways England, Transport Scotland, Welsh Government, Department for Infrastructure, 2019), defines the approach to managing appropriate levels of skid resistance using routine (typically annual) measurements of the road network.An alternative approachis a system whereby vehicles directly report the risks on the network.
Data on the location of skidding events (e.g. anti-lock braking system (ABS) activations, and the precursors to these activations) can be used to build up a picture of areas where the friction demanded by vehicles exceeding (or nearly exceeding) the friction supplied by the road.
This report presents a studyin which vehicle sensor data were used to identify areas on the road network representing a skidding risk.The effectiveness of the technique used was shown to be greater than that of the current skid resistance management policy detailed in CS228.
