Skip to main content

Wet road surveys an ‘effective safety strategy’

A specially adapted Sideway-force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine (SCRIM) manufactured by UK company WDM and used by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to survey the country’s road network has been, says NZTA ‘a very efficient and effective safety strategy’. SCRIM measures wet road resistance and uses lasers to scan the road surface. Video technology helps delivers a complete set of highway asset data. WDM has also helped NZTA develop the first state highway skid resistance policy. As a r
January 30, 2014 Read time: 1 min
A specially adapted Sideway-force Coefficient Routine Investigation Machine (SCRIM) manufactured by UK company WDM and used by the 6296 New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to survey the country’s road network has been, says NZTA ‘a very efficient and effective safety strategy’.

SCRIM measures wet road resistance and uses lasers to scan the road surface.  Video technology helps delivers a complete set of highway asset data. WDM has also helped NZTA develop the first state highway skid resistance policy. As a result, up to 250 crashes are estimated to have been prevented, saving the economy around US$132 million.

NZTA says the return on investment is between 13 and 35 times and the two organisations have renewed their partnership, enabling WDM to continue to develop SCRIM technology.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • As US edges to four million road deaths, 'something must change' says GHSA
    February 21, 2024
    'Grim and tragic milestone' requires renewed sense of urgency for road safety action
  • Digital Transformation is the way to comprehensive transportation 
    March 31, 2021
    Transportation worldwide needs to keep up with a variety of challenges: Frederic Giron of Forrester Consulting explains how digital technologies will be the key to making the necessary changes...
  • Cold efficiency
    July 24, 2012
    Tools to support operational decisions in winter maintenance can remove subjectivity and increase efficiency; Vaisala's Danny Johns talks about latest developments Even the presence of trees at the roadside can have an effect on temperature An effective Road Weather Information System (RWIS) network can save a local road authority or jurisdiction tens of thousands of dollars or Euros'-worth of labour and consumables in a single night. Get those winter maintenance operations right over just three or four nig
  • Avoiding the call of the wild
    June 29, 2018
    Hitting an animal on a rural road can be fatal for all parties involved – but detecting and avoiding them requires clever technology. Andrew Williams carefully scans the horizon for details. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an ever-present threat in rural areas around the world, and there is certainly nothing funny about suddenly finding an angry moose in your headlights on a sharp bend. A variety of detection and avoidance systems are currently in use or under development to help prevent your vehicle being