FDOT presents high-friction pavement pilot, data to Hernando-Citrus MPO

Emeth Duran, Florida Department of Transportation District 7 traffic safety program engineer, told the Hernando-Citrus Metropolitan Planning Organization Board on June 5 that a high-friction surface treatment uses a coarse aggregate and a special binder "to increase the friction of [the] pavement," and that pilot sites in District 7 have shown measurable safety benefits.

Duran said the program is intended to shorten stopping distance and reduce improper stopping behavior at intersections and curves, and he cited pilot results showing reductions in encroachment onto crosswalks and a range of 26 percent to 43 percent improvement in improper stopping behavior at treated locations. He described the treatment as "a strategy to increase the friction or almost double the friction" at targeted approaches and said the method has been added to the Federal Highway Administration's list of proven safety countermeasures.

The presentation placed the pilot in the context of District 7 crash trends. Duran said District 7 saw a decrease in fatalities from 505 to…