Skip to main content

Solar studs receive DfT approval

Rennicks UK has achieved full Department for Transport (DfT) Type Approval for their SR-15 active road studs, which use LED and solar technology to create highly effective highway delineation said to be far more effective than traditional retro-reflective studs. The DfT authorisation, which follows a year-long trial, is likely to have far-reaching implications in both Britain and further afield, opening the door for local authorities and management contractors searching for cost-effective and sustainable
March 31, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Rennicks UK has achieved full 1837 Department for Transport (DfT) Type Approval for their SR-15 active road studs, which use LED and solar technology to create highly effective highway delineation said to be far more effective than traditional retro-reflective studs.

The DfT authorisation, which follows a year-long trial, is likely to have far-reaching implications in both Britain and further afield, opening the door for local authorities and management contractors searching for cost-effective and sustainable ways to improve current delineation methods.

LED active road studs have been shown to enhance safety and be a more sustainable and economical method of delineation during night-time hours or inclement weather conditions.  The self-contained solar cells are charged by sunlight, require no maintenance at all and are made from 100 per cent polycarbonate, which stood up to 33,000 vehicles per day during the trial. The company says they provide the ideal solution as they are proven to be visible at a distance of 1 kilometre, roughly ten times that of a traditional retroreflective stud.

John Swift, of Rennicks UK, hailed news of the approval as ‘hugely significant’ for the industry, saying that it gives authorities and contractors the assurance that the studs will meet all of the requirements laid down by the DfT.

“We are the first company in Europe to have a product tested to the new draft standard and it’s a massive achievement,” he said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Growth of smart parking initiatives
    April 25, 2013
    New initiatives in smart parking have been announced in the US and Europe in recent months. Is the age of smarter parking finally with us? Jon Masters investigates. Smart parking comes to Manchester, reads the headline to a story posted on the UK city’s website towards the end of March this year. Sensors will be fixed to parking spaces to give drivers and authorities information on parking availability via mobile phone apps and other software, the story goes on to explain. Lower down the page, Manchester Ci
  • Long range radar aids wide area traffic monitoring
    March 16, 2012
    Applications of long range radar technology are demonstrating its effectiveness as a first line of defence for highway managers – adding greater resilience and capability to existing systems. Development efforts are bringing long range millimetric wave radar to the fore as a very useful tool for managers of highway networks. Application of radar for wide area monitoring in traffic management remains in its infancy. But recent projects are demonstrating how it can now serve to enhance detection of incidents
  • Camera technology a flexible and cost-effective option
    June 7, 2012
    Perceptions of machine vision being an expensive solution are being challenged by developments in both core technologies and ancillaries. Here, Jason Barnes and David Crawford look at the latest developments in the sector. A notable aspect of machine vision is the flexibility it offers in terms of how and how much data is passed around a network. With smart cameras, processing capabilities at the front end mean that only that which is valid need be communicated back to a central processor of any descripti
  • Idris paves the way for loop based speed enforcement
    February 1, 2012
    With the Idris system now validated as a speed verification tool, the way is open for loops to be used in more complex enforcement applications. Diamond Consulting Services (DCS), developer of the Idris inductive loop-based vehicle detection and classification system, has recently successfully conducted validation trials which, the company says, open the way for Idris to be used for speed verification and loop-based sensors to be used for more complex applications such as speed-on-green and differential spe