Assessment and Management Rules
The Final Rule issued by the Federal Highway Administration provides five “Assessment or Management Methods” for agencies to implement a retroreflectivity sign management program. Only 1 of the 5 methods must be implemented to diminish an agencies liability.
1. Visual Nighttime Inspection Method: In the visual nighttime inspection method, the inspector assesses the visibility and retroreflectivity of the traffic signs as he or she approaches the signs. Signs need to be replaced if they do not meet the comparison defined in the appropriate procedure.
2. Measured Retroreflectivity Method: In this method, the retroreflectivity of a sign is measured by a Reflectometer and directly compared to the minimum level appropriate to that sign. A sign needs to be replaced if the average retroreflectivity value is less than the appropriate minimum level.
3. Control Sign Method: In this method, a control sample of signs is used to represent the total population of an agency’s signs. The retroreflectivity of the control sign is monitored at appropriate intervals and sign replacement is based on the performance of the control signs.
4. Expected Sign Life Method: In this method, individual signs are replaced before they reach the end of their expected service life. To do this, an agency will need to know the expected service life required for the retroreflective material to degrade to the minimum retroreflective levels, and will need a method of identifying the age of individual signs.
5. Blanket Replacement Method: In this method, an agency replaces all the signs in an area/corridor, or of a given type, at specified intervals. An agency that uses this method does not need to assess the retroreflectivity of individual signs.
