Intersection Proven Safety Countermeasure: Technical Summary: Backplates with Retroreflective Borders

2015PDFTech ReportFHWA-SA-15-007IntersectionsCountermeasuresRetroreflectivityReflectorized materialsTraffic safetyUnited StatesUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of SafetyUnited States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of SafetyShaw, JeffreyFriedman, BruceTaylor, TimFederal Highway AdministrationIn 2012, the Federal Highway Administration, Office of Safety issued a \u201cGuidance Memorandum on Promoting the Implementation of Proven Safety Countermeasures\u201d. This guidance took into consideration the latest safety research to advance a group of countermeasures proven highly effective at improving safety. The nine Proven Safety Countermeasures chosen for targeted implementation included Backplates with Retroreflective Borders, defined as \u201cthe addition of narrow strips of retroreflective tape or sheeting around the border of the backplates.\u201d This combination of traffic signal backplates and retroreflective borders serves to improve and enhance the visibility and conspicuity of the traffic signal indications, ultimately leading to fewer red light running related incidents. As a means to further promote and advance Backplates with Retroreflective Borders, this Technical Summary and a companion Executive Summary have been prepared to assist transportation professionals with decisions pertaining to their implementation. This document provides a substantive overview of policy, procedural and construction issues.84