AND VALIDATION

Traffic accidents are one of the major causes of death in the United States. In 2008 alone, more than 37,000 fatalities occurred, accounting for one fatality every thirteen minutes. More than one tenth of fatal accidents occur when pavements are wet and slippery. In wet conditions, a water film is created between the pavement surface and the tire, thereby reducing the amount of available friction. There are several factors that affect the level and type of friction between tires and a wet pavement surface. Some of these factors are microtexture and macrotexture, age of pavement, seasonal and environmental factors, traffic level and composition, individual and blend aggregate properties, binder used in mix, and road location/geometry. The research presented in this dissertation explores the impact of aggregate and mixture properties as well as the role of route characteristics, such as traffic intensity and composition, on the friction performance of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) pavements. In the research, various databases for construction, material, pavement management and traffic condition were examined. The data included 5 years of pavement friction readings, construction and material data, and traffic monitoring data. The research include