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

  • Successful Bio-DME field tests point to a cleaner transport system
    June 4, 2012
    Volvo Trucks has announced it is running successful field tests with vehicles powered by bio-DME, a fuel that can be produced cost- and energy-efficiently from biomass. Since last autumn, ten specially adapted Volvo trucks have been operating on Swedish roads using the fuel which reduces carbon emissions by 95 per cent compared with conventional diesel. The field tests have now reached the halfway point and the results so far have both met, and exceeded, expectations.
  • SES America 's customisable blank out message signs in any size
    January 13, 2016
    Dynamic message sign (DMS) manufacturer SES America (SESA) has developed an enhanced version of traditional LED blank out signs with a practical design for custom solutions, which is says is ideal for displaying three to four messages or symbols as an alternative to full matrix DMS messaging.
  • In-vehicle automation of safety compliance and other traffic violations
    January 24, 2012
    David Crawford explores new initiatives in enforcement. Achieving the EU’s new road safety target of reducing road traffic deaths by 50 per cent by 2020 depends on removing legal and institutional barriers to the deployment of new enforcement technologies, stresses Jan Malenstein. The senior ITS Adviser to Dutch National Police Agency the KLPD, and a European-level spokesperson on road and traffic safety, points to the importance of, among other requirements, an effective EUwide type approval process for fr
  • Reviving rural public transport
    February 4, 2015
    A recent seminar in Krakow, Poland, on proactive marketing for sustainable rural transport, delivered as part of the EC-funded project SmartMove, provided advice to local authorities and others on the use of individualised marketing to maximise patronage of rural transport systems on tight budgets. About 40 people attended the event, including several local politicians and public transport stakeholders in Poland. The SmartMove project is based on a successful pilot project carried out in 2009 in a rural