With the increase in the number of vehicles on the road, construction of flyovers with many intersections, highways with service lanes, road line painting has become essential to pedestrians and motorists and cyclists to move safely.
It is not only the zebra crossings at signals that allowing people and vehicles to stop or pass safely but road line painting is much beyond that. They are integral elements to drive on the road, especially when it is dark or at night.
Read on to know further to have a better overalll understanding of how road line painting works.
The History Of Road Line Painting
If we look back to history, we see that road line painting started over 100 years ago. During the 1940s to 1990s, thermoplastic paints were used to be applied on the roads in any weather. Earlier, the line was painted by hand. Still, with technology development, painting companies and contractors started to use machines for better performance and perfection.
Although these thermoplastic paints faded quickly and needed to be remarked many times throughout the year, they were prevalent, particularly for the highways. They had very good retro-reflectivity and luminance and can be clearly visible at night. However, with time the old standards phased out, and new standards rolled out during the 1990s. Initially, engineers and contractors were confused about the new standards, but gradually they accommodated themselves with the standards. However, different countries have different standards for road line painting that you should know about.
Few Words About Line Marking Agencies
There are many line marling agencies in Australia engaged in the business. However, studies have shown that not all agencies adhere to the Australian standards for road line painting and use inferior quality paint. They do not also follow the operational guidelines.
- It is, therefore, best to take the services from the best agency and avoid any further complications. The best agencies use quality road marking paints, modern pieces of machinery to mark certain areas for roads. They also mark the car parking areas, the pavement areas, the driveways of commercial complexes and shopping malls, and many more.
- The best road marking agencies know that not all surfaces are identical, and thus they use suitable quality paints. However, they either use MMA or Methyl-Methacrylate or Water-borne Acrylic paints or a resin-based system having two components. The drying time is considerably less with these types of paints. While marking on the highways, the best agencies in Australia use high-speed applicators that are truck mounted. The productivity of using the truck-mounted applicators is five times more than the conventional straying method while using thermoplastic paints.
- The best agencies in the country are aware of various road line colour painting codes as stipulated in the Australian Standard and strictly follow the guidelines without any deviations. Not only that, but they are also experts in providing solutions for addressing anti-slip issues.
Apart from marking the lines on the road, the road line painting agencies supply and fix bollards, speed breakers or bumps, wheel stops, sign installations, and many more. Thus, it is not only the road lines that guide the driver but also various road signs that help them to gauge what is expected some mile ahead or where to control the speed.
Conclusion
Today, the use of road line painting has become an essential part of driving safely and guiding the drivers and pedestrians accordingly. However, the best paint should be used while marking the roads with lines to last long. Furthermore, the authorities should inspect the markings at regular intervals and maintain the markings on the road, giving the contract to the best agency of the area having modern machines. Prevention is always better than cure.