USE OF THE PCA ROAD METER IN THE WASHINGTON PAVEMENT CONDITION SURVEY SYSTEM

THE WASHINGTON HIGHWAY COMMISSION IN AUGUST 1970 RECEIVED FROM A CALIFORNIA MANUFACTURER A CUSTOMIZED ROAD METER THAT ADDRESSED CERTAIN DEFICIENCIES IN THE ORIGINAL PCA ROAD METER BY INCORPORATING THE FOLLOWING MODIFICATIONS: DUAL SETS OF COUNTERS, ACCURATE ODOMETERS COUPLED TO THE COUNTERS, AUTOMATIC REMOTE ZEROING, AND MULTIPLE READOUT CAPABILITY. TESTS WITH THE NEW METER INDICATED THAT ONLY THREE VARIABLES HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON TEST RESULTS; THE FOLLOWING CONCLUSIONS WERE REACHED ABOUT THEIR EFFECT: (1) A CHANGE IN THE SUSPENSION OF THE TEST VEHICLE CAN HAVE A LARGE EFFECT ON COUNT RATE; (2) THE COUNTS PER MILE OF ANY PARTICULAR SECTION OF ROADWAY DECREASE IN A LINEAR FUNCTION AS THE SPEED OF THE TEST VEHICLE DECREASES; AND (3) THE COUNTS PER MILE OF A PARTICULAR SECTION OF ROADWAY WILL BE INFLUENCED BY WIND GUSTS THAT STRIKE THE VEHICLE DURING THE TEST, AND TESTING SHOULD NOT BE ATTEMPTED UNDER CONDITIONS OF GUSTY OR STRONG WINDS. EXTENSIVE COMPARISON OF ROAD METER RESULTS WITH EVALUATIONS MADE BY RATING PANELS FOR VARIOUS CLASSES OF HIGHWAYS INDICATED THAT SUBJECTIVE RIDE RATINGS SHOULD BE REPLACED BY THE ROAD METER. THIS COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WAS USED TO DEVELOP FORMULAS THAT COULD BE USED FOR INTEGRATING ROAD METER RESULTS INTO THE SYSTEM FOR RATING PAVEMENT CONDITION. THESE FORMULAS WILL ALSO EXPAND THE RIDE-RATING PORTION OF THE SYSTEM TO INCLUDE A WIDER RANGE OF VALUES (0--10 INSTEAD OF 0--5) THAN PREVIOUSLY USED WITH SUBJECTIVE RIDE RATINGS.

• Record URL:
  https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr133/133-019.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • LeClerc, R V
  • Marshall, T R
  • Anderson, K W
• Conference:
  • Workshop on Pavement Evaluation Using Road Meters
  • Location: West Lafayette Indiana, United States
  • Date: 1972-4-18 to 1972-4-20
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 114-1121
• Monograph Title: PAVEMENT EVALUATION USING ROAD METERS
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Special Report
  • Issue Number: 133
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Dynamic loads; Gusts; Panel studies; Ratings; Road meters; Speed; Suspensions
• Uncontrolled Terms: Gust loads
• Geographic Terms: Washington (State)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pavements;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00207543
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: May 21 1973 12:00AM