In the endless flow of the road, there is such a small group of ‘guardians’, they quietly hold their positions, although not conspicuous, but on the road safety plays a vital role, they are road studs. Whether it is a dark night, or bad weather, road nails can guide the direction for the driver, to protect the safety of driving.
Road studs, simply put, is a small reflective device installed on the road. Its main mission is to enhance the visibility of the road when darkness falls or bad weather strikes. Imagine a night on the road without potholes, the driver’s field of vision will be greatly restricted, and potholes are like a bright little eyes, for drivers to light up the road ahead.
（1）Passive Road Studs: passive road studs are called ‘reflective hand’, it does not light itself, completely dependent on the vehicle headlights to play a role in the reflection of light. When the vehicle is driving, the headlight light shines on the road studs, after a specially designed reflective surface treatment, the road studs will reflect the light back to the driver’s eyes, so that the driver can clearly identify the contours of the road and direction. It also has an interesting alias – ‘cat’s eye pins’. This is because its inventor, Percy Shaw, was inspired by the light reflecting off a cat’s eyes in the dark.
（2）Active Road Studs: Active Road Studs are more ‘intelligent’ and are equipped with LED lights that act like small glowing beacons. The energy for these LEDs comes from a built-in battery, which is recharged daily by a solar panel. As night falls and the sky darkens, the light sensor inside the spike catches the change in light and automatically triggers the LEDs to come on, illuminating the road around it. It not only reflects the light, but also actively illuminates it, providing drivers with a longer-range warning.
（1）.White road studs: White road studs are mainly used to indicate traffic lanes and the centre of the road. Drivers can clearly judge their own lanes and the centre line of the road by observing the white road studs during the driving process, so as to maintain the correct driving trajectory and avoid deviating from the lanes and colliding with other vehicles.
（2）.Red road studs: red road studs shoulder the important task of warning of danger, it marks the area is usually prohibited to cross the dangerous zone. For example, in some complex road conditions, accident-prone road, red pins will appear prominently on the left side of the road, reminding drivers of the danger ahead, do not cross.
（3）.Yellow road studs: Yellow road studs are usually set on the right side of the carriageway, and they serve two purposes. On the one hand, it marks the right edge of the lane; on the other hand, it also reminds drivers that this is an area that should not be crossed. In some special road sections, such as curves, intersections, etc., the yellow road studs can effectively guide the driver’s line of sight to ensure driving safety.
（4）.Green road studs: Green road studs are relatively friendly, it means that the line here is allowed to cross, usually used to mark the left edge of the lane, or the boundary of the acceleration zone. In some sections of the road where vehicles are allowed to change lanes or accelerate, green road studs can provide drivers with clear instructions.
（1）.Dimensions: In order to ensure that the studs perform their function without causing obstruction to vehicular traffic, the dimensions of the road studs are strictly regulated by the relevant legislation. The height of the stud must not exceed 20.3 mm and its width must not exceed 130 mm. These dimensions ensure that the road studs are visible on the road and avoid excessive bumps when vehicles pass by.
（2）.Other requirements: The road studs needs to have a strong consistency and be able to withstand repeated crushing by vehicles without damage. At the same time, it also has to have good resistance to sunlight and water performance, whether it is hot sun or torrential rain, can not affect its normal work. The base of the road stud should be kept flat so that it can be firmly installed on the road surface, and it should have enough adhesion to ensure that it will not easily fall off.
（3）. Durability: since the road studs is constantly exposed to the crushing of vehicles, it must be strong and flexible enough. Strong material to ensure that it is not crushed under heavy pressure, and flexible characteristics so that it can produce a certain amount of deformation when the vehicle passes, and then quickly return to its original shape, not to be damaged by the impact of the vehicle. In addition, the road studs also needs to have the ability to resist extreme temperatures. In the hot summer, the road surface temperature may rise sharply, and in the cold winter, the road surface will become unusually cold, road studs are to be able to work stably in such an environment.
Construction: ceramic road studs can be said to be the ‘traditionalist’ in the road stud family. Its shell is made of ceramic or glass, and the interior is filled with reflective material. When the light shines on the ceramic road stud, the internal reflective material will reflect the light out, thus attracting the attention of the driver.
Advantages and disadvantages: ceramic road studs have a long history of use, its reflective performance is better, can to a certain extent to meet the needs of road lighting. However, it also has some shortcomings, such as relative to some new road nails, its durability is poor, in the long run by the vehicle crushing and natural environment erosion, easy to appear broken.
Material and characteristics: plastic road stud is with its unique material advantages, in the road stud market to occupy a place. It is made of high-quality plastic, and added a special reflective material in the plastic, so that it has a good reflective properties.
Advantage: the durability of plastic road studs should not be underestimated, it can withstand a certain degree of external impact without damage. At the same time, it also has the characteristics of cost-effective, compared with some expensive spike materials, plastic cost is lower, which makes it in the large-scale road construction and maintenance has a great advantage. In addition, plastic road studs are very easy to install, do not require complex construction processes and have low maintenance costs in the later stages.
Innovation and design: solar road stud is the ‘innovation bearer’ in the road spike family, its design combines advanced solar technology and LED lighting technology. On the top of the dowel, small solar panels are installed, these solar panels are like an energy collector, converting solar energy into electricity in the daytime when the sun is sufficient.
Environmental protection and energy saving advantages: the emergence of solar road studs not only provides a new solution for road lighting, but also has significant environmental protection and energy saving advantages. It uses solar energy, a clean energy source, to reduce the dependence on traditional electricity and reduce carbon emissions. Moreover, because solar energy is inexhaustible, the energy supply of solar road studs is more stable and reliable.
Material strength: aluminium road studs are favoured for their robustness and durability. Aluminium material has high strength and hardness, which can withstand frequent crushing by a large number of vehicles and is not easy to be deformed or damaged.
Application areas: due to its excellent durability and good reflective properties, aluminium road studs are commonly used in areas with high traffic flow, such as city main roads and highways. In these places, it can provide drivers with clear and long-lasting road guidance and guarantee traffic safety.
Night is the high incidence of traffic accidents, according to statistics, a large number of traffic accidents occur at night, one of the important reasons is low visibility. The appearance of road studs effectively improves this situation. Passive road studs are able to reflect the light from the vehicle’s headlights back to the driver in the dark can also see the outline of the road, the visibility of the range of up to 90 metres or so. Active spikes, with their powerful LED illumination, have a visibility range of up to 900 metres. This greatly increases the driver’s reaction time, enabling him to react in advance to obstacles, pedestrians or bends in the road ahead and avoid accidents.
1.Tactile and audio signals: When a driver accidentally drives over a road stud, a distinct tactile and audio signal will be generated. There will be a slight vibration and a ‘da-da’ sound coming from the vehicle. These signals are like a silent reminder to the driver that the vehicle has deviated from the normal driving track. This warning effect of the road studs is particularly important for drivers who tend to lose concentration, doze off or have difficulty staying in their lanes while driving. It can wake up the driver’s attention in time, so that they can quickly adjust the direction of the vehicle and return to the correct lane.
2.Hazard warning: Road studs are also cleverly placed in some dangerous areas, such as near cliffs, rivers, sharp turns and other road sections. In these places, the road studs are like a danger warning label, when the driver is close, the vibration and sound of the road studs will warn the driver in advance, reminding them of the dangerous road conditions ahead, to be careful driving. For example, in some mountainous roads, one side of the road is a steep cliff, road studs will be densely arranged on the side near the cliff, once the driver’s vehicle deviates from the lane, pressed to the road studs, can immediately realise the danger, so as to avoid the tragedy of falling into the cliff.
The working principle of the solar road stud is full of technology. In the daytime, when the sun is shining, the photovoltaic panel on the top of the spike starts to get busy. The photovoltaic panels are made of special semiconductor materials. When sunlight hits the panels, photons interact with electrons in the semiconductor material to produce electron-hole pairs, and these electrons and holes move directionally under the action of an electric field, resulting in the generation of direct current electricity. This is the magical photovoltaic power generation effect. In this way, solar road studs convert solar energy into electrical energy and reserve energy for subsequent work.
The DC power generated is not used immediately, but is stored in built-in rechargeable batteries. These batteries act as a small energy storehouse, storing power efficiently and ensuring that the studs are supplied with sufficient energy at night or in low light conditions. The performance of the batteries has a direct impact on the efficiency and stability of the solar road studs, therefore, solar road studs usually use high performance rechargeable batteries to ensure stable power output.
As the night falls, the sky gradually becomes darker, and the intensity of the ambient light is also decreasing. At this point, the light sensor inside the solar road stud comes into play. The light sensor is like a keen little guardian, always monitoring the changes in the surrounding light. When it detects that the ambient light intensity has decreased to a certain level, it automatically triggers a signal to activate the LED lights. The entire process is fully automated and requires no human intervention, ensuring that the solar road studs are illuminated in a timely manner when needed.
The solar energy stored in the batteries is finally put to good use, providing power for the high-intensity LEDs inside the road studs, which, when lit, emit a bright, eye-catching light. The light is not scattered randomly, but is carefully designed to be highly directional. They are focused on key locations such as lane demarcation and hazardous area markings, providing drivers with clear and accurate road guidance and greatly improving night-time driving safety.
Road studs, despite their small size, play an irreplaceable and important role in the field of road safety. From its definition, type and colour coding, to its construction requirements, working principle and significant role in improving road safety, every detail implies mankind’s relentless pursuit of traffic safety. Different types of road studs, such as ceramic road studs, plastic road studs, solar road studs and aluminium road studs, each play a role in different road scenarios with their unique advantages. With the continuous progress of science and technology, we have reason to believe that road studs will become smarter and more efficient, and make a greater contribution to the cause of road safety. Let’s look forward to the road studs in the future development, continue to guard our travelling safety, and become a never-extinguishable ‘light of safety’ on the road.
