Citation

Zilioniene D, Laurinavicius A. Balt. J. Road Bridge Eng. 2007; 2(2): 73-79.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Publisher Technika)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

With respect to traffic safety Lithuania is a country of increased risk. Thus, in order to ensure traffic safety, it is necessary to maximally reduce the number of accidents. The climate in Lithuania is much warmer than the climate of continental regions of the same latitudes. It could be characterized as of average cold, with much snow in winter. In winter traffic conditions are more complicated. When the road pavement is slippery or covered with snow the accident risk increases. These tasks are solved by winter road maintenance. One of the main aims of winter maintenance -- removing snow and ice from road pavement and increasing the coefficient of grip between road pavement and tires -- is to reduce accident risk on roads. On slippery roads, as soon as unfavorable atmospheric and driving conditions appear, the number of accidents increase. At present, to protect roads from climatic factors or to eliminate the ice layer from the road surface in a short time, the use of wet salts is employed. Effectiveness of the deicing salts reveals itself even at -15degC and the effect could continue up to 12 hrs after it is spread. However, this is very dependant on weather conditions, change in temperatures, intensity and duration of precipitation, and traffic volume.

On Lithuanian highway Vilnius-Panevezys, analysis of the change in seasonal traffic volume was carried out. To improve winter maintenance of this highway the change in the number of accidents was analyzed, depending on the season of the year; also the increase in the number of accidents in winter season was analyzed. Investigations of salt, used to minimize road slipperiness, were also conducted. Moisture content %; chlorides content, calculated as natrium chloride %; and amount of sulphates % of sodium chloride were investigated. Results of investigations of sodium chloride salt, used to reduce road slipperiness, showed that by its chemical composition sodium chloride salt meets the requirements for quality of salts used to spread on Lithuanian roads, while deviations in grading of samples taken are not significant.