Associate Director CPATT and

Skidding contributes to a substantial portion of crashes on the roadway. The resistance to skidding is therefore an important component of highway safety. Improved and durable friction can be achieved by increasing the surface texture. These may, however, influence the tire-pavement interaction noise and may, at some point, be unacceptable to the commuters and/or residents. In fact, noise is an environmental problem and a growing concern all over the world. Alternatively, durability of the pavement itself is vital to sustainability of natural resources and economy of the country. All these factors combined result in many challenges to highway engineers/agencies as they must balance the pavement durability and users comfort (smooth and quiet) with economy but without compromising the safety. Published literature/reports indicate some advancement in surface friction and tire-pavement noise studies. However, no specific guidance is provided in current state/provincial specifications on improving the surface texture and friction to reduce the number of crashes. Furthermore, little emphasis is given on specifying the desirable noise levels which resulted in a large variation in noise levels, even among similar pavements. This paper provides an insight into the desirable surface characteristics that ensures both drivers comfort and safety. The up to date results of a study, involving the skid resistance and acoustic performance of variou