Characteristics of Skid Resistance for Pavements with Black Ice

Abstract

Korea experiences a four-season climate, leading to significant fluctuations in seasonal road surface conditions and contributing to numerous traffic accidents. Over the period of five years since 2016, approximately 4,800 traffic accidents have been attributed to icy and frosty road conditions, with a fatality rate 1.5 times higher than that of general traffic accidents. This study aims to analyze the skid resistance properties of domestic asphalt pavements as an initial step toward establishing indicators to mitigate and manage traffic accidents caused by black ice. In this study, the BPN was measured using BPT equipment specified in the ASTM and KS standards. The road pavement surface conditions were assessed under three categories: dry, wet, and frozen (black ice). The recorded BPN values decreased in the following order: dry, wet, and frozen conditions. Under wet conditions, a comparative analysis was performed between dense asphalt pavements and drainable pavements. Furthermore, the evaluation under frozen conditions revealed no significant disparity between the types of road pavement. Notably, the exposure of the road pavement aggregate owing to freezing and the resultant surface roughness had a minimal impact on the skid resistance.