What are Life-Lites?
Most of us know them as "...those bumps in the road that tell you where you are.." We may not know what to call them, but we certainly know that feeling of night driving where these markers disappear. When that happens, most of us are thinking, "Hey, who put out the lights?."
But, highly trained traffic engineers call them snowplowable raised reflective pavement
markers. These engineers understand the physics which allow the markers to capture the
most light from oncoming headlights and reflect this light back to drivers for guidance in night conditions and rainy weather. They also know the engineering feat accomplished by transforming markers used in southern states to those which can withstand and function well in the rough winter conditions of snow states.
Why are they called Life-Lites?
Actually, it was the Ohio Department of Transportation which first coined the term Life-Lites in anticipation of the thousands of lives saved when these snowplowable raised reflective pavement markers were installed throughout Ohio's roads. Nearly two decades later, that expectation has reportedly been met in Ohio, and from coast to coast in many states where snow falls. A handful of northern states have been slow to implement Life-Lites, largely due to lack of public awareness of the life-saving benefits of year-round advanced guidance systems for night drivers.
Who invented Life-Lites?
Life-Lites' true origins can be traced to the ingenuity of British civilians trying to cope with the onslaught of bombers during World War II. To keep bombers from sighting targets, blackouts were imposed throughout much of the country. Night drivers were also required to shield the top of their headlights with blinders. This drastically cut down on night drivers' vision on the roadways. Someone came up with the idea of placing reflective markers on the roadways which would only be visible to drivers. These were soon nicknamed cats' eyes because of how they looked to drivers on the darkened roadways. It was the cost of paint in the United States which put our country on the road which led to Life-Lites. Keeping lane lines on California's ribboning highways was proving quite costly. They found they had to send painting crews out as much as three times a year. Above and beyond the cost of hiring painting crews, there was the constant aggravation to drivers who had to maneuver around road shutoffs throughout the year. Bott's Dots were the first solution to this problem. Bott, a traffic engineer, realized that a series of white dots spaced up to five inches apart on fast moving roadways would appear to drivers as skip lines. These Bott's Dots were made of ceramic and glued onto roadways with epoxy. This made them more permanent than the painted lines, without any compromises in safety for the driving public. Night time drivers couldn't see Bott's Dots as easily however. In 1960, California's Department of Transportation came to Stimsonite asking for help in solving this problem. Stimsonite was known as an innovator in reflective products used in other highway safety applications. In late 1963, after almost four years of research and development, the first versions of raised reflective pavement markers were installed on the Golden Gate Bridge. Use of the raised reflective pavement markers spread quickly from California to Florida and Texas, and then throughout the country. Today, there are over 100 million of these markers installed in southern states. But wherever there was snow, there still was a problem. The sun country markers weren't designed to withstand the extra harsh effects of snowplows. Stimsonite, which was headquartered in New Jersey at that time, worked closely with both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey highway departments to develop a successful snowplowable raised reflective marker. It was not until 1977 that "those bumps in the road that tell you where you are going at night" were made durable enough to put in northern roadways. In 1977, Governor Rhodes of Ohio made it one of the key missions of his office to stop highways accidents and deaths. Within one year, Ohio had installed more than 200,000 Life-Lites as part of their safety campaign. Ohio now uses Life-Lites on nearly every urban and rural roadway.
How do Life-Lites work?
The reflective material in Life-Lites brings headlight reflections back to us as we drive in night or rainy weather conditions. Life-Lite reflective material is comparable to that used in top quality sun country markers. They are designed to capture the maximum of ambient light on the roadway as a reflector guide to oncoming drivers. Like their Botts' Dots progenitor, Life-Lites are spaced regularly down a road to give the effect of lane demarcations. Unlike markers used in southern states, Life-Lites house the reflective material in durable iron casings able to endure snow plows and harsh winter conditions. Pavement cuts are made to accomodate the Life-Lites, which are then sealed into place with epoxy. Installed Life-Lites protrude from the level surface approximately 1/4 inch. Life-Lites have the unique ability to give drivers reflective guides as far away as 1000 feet down the road, in all weather conditions, 365 days a year. This visual information sent to us while driving at night is augmented by the slight bump which alerts us if we are moving out of the lane. The visual and bump information from Life-Lites combine to become a virtual talking road. This helps us drive at night, in all weather conditions, with greater comfort and safety. From a traffic engineer's standpoint, Life-Lites have been shown to minimize the number of vehicles which stray past lane markings in night or rainy weather conditions. This is true on all roadways, and is especially signficant in typically hazardous zones.
Does driving speed affect Life-Lite function?
Increasing speed limits across the country has renewed interest in Life-Lites. Many state officials are eager to add safety features to roadways before raising the speed limit. This is because the accidents at faster speeds tend to have more dire consequences than the same accidents at slower speeds. Life-Lites are a logical choice for several reasons. First, their unique ability to provide long range (1000+ feet) lane delineation for night drivers helps us navigate highways as we drive faster. Second, Life-Lites help us in all weather conditions -- rain, snow, sleet, or shine. Finally, in all studies to date, Life-Lites rank very high amongst drivers' choices for road improvement. Presumably, it is Life-Lites' ability to boost our driving comfort which makes them so popular. Because they help us know where we are in a lane, we donšt have to work as hard at getting oriented. This is especially helpful when we drive faster, because we have less time to integrate safety data into our driving. Life-Lites keep us posted on what is happening more than 1000 feet down the road, including advance warning of potential road hazards ahead. How does the speed limit affect Life-Lite function? It doesn't. It does make the job which Life-Lites do for us all the more important!
Which types of roads have Life-Lites?
Life-Lites have been used with success on every type of road in northern states. Bare bones programs begin with placing markers in areas especially known for high hazards, including: exit ramps; bridge approaches; lane transitions; horizontal curves; and construction zones. States such as Ohio and Illinois then moved to put Life-Lites on all roads with high traffic volumes, such as interstates, urban expressways, and multilane highways. These roads are priority because traffic volume and accident rates are highly correlated. Major secondary roads, usually the main urban and rural routes in cities and counties, are usually the final roads targeted Life-Lites installation. White and yellow markers are generally used in the same way painted lines are in the daytime. Red reflective markers are used as WRONG WAY indicators. These conventions are cited in the 1983 "Traffic Control Devices Handbook" from the Federal Highway Administration. Ultimately, EVERY paved road in a city, county, or rural route would be safer with Life-Lites.
Why aren't there more Life-Lites on our roadways?
Driver safety initiatives such as Life-Lites require public support. State Traffic Engineers are dedicated guardians of public safety and are responsive to the needs and desires of the citizenry. Historically, many roads have had Life-Lites installed after drivers wrote to their State Department of Transportation (DOT) to make such requests. Most DOTs are eager for input and support from road patrons. If you would like your voice to be heard, check out the links on the State D.O.T. or the Home Pages of the 50 States pages at this site.