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

  • Rethink required to reduce road transport’s environmental impact
    March 15, 2016
    Against a background of a renewed focus on limiting the rise in average temperatures, Colin Sowman looks at a project that is taking a holistic approach to the environmental impact and safety of road transport. At the COP21 meeting in Paris last December, almost 200 nations agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to keep the rise in global temperatures to 2°C) compared with pre-industrial levels. The transportation sector is a major contributor to the production of CO2, one of the main green
  • Asecap prepares for ‘interoperability on steroids’
    March 31, 2023
    The gathering of Europe’s toll professionals offers a chance for views to be exchanged by senior people on a number of big issues: and there’s currently an awful lot to think about, reports Geoff Hadwick
  • Road user charging comes a step closer in Oregon
    December 19, 2017
    Having been the first US state to introduce the gas tax a century ago, Oregon is now blazing the road user charging trail. Colin Sowman looks at progress to date. For more than a decade, authorities in Oregon have known of the impending decline in fuels tax income and while revenue increased by more than 5% in 2016, that growth will slow considerably this year and income is projected to start declining in 2020.
  • Machine vision offers new solutions to old problems
    October 28, 2014
    The transportation sector is set to benefit from a far wider range of machine vision technology. While machine vision techniques have been applied to traffic management applications for some years, in some areas there can still be a shortage of knowledge about what the technology can offer transportation professionals. The image processing and interpretation functions of machine vision enables control room staff to be immediately alerted to occurrences requiring attention which, in turn, enables each person