Different Types of Road Studs & Their Uses

DATE:2025-03-08

Road studs are small reflective devices that are installed on roads. In dark environments or bad weather conditions, they can significantly increase the visibility of the road and provide drivers with critical road guidance information. Road studs can be found everywhere and are used in a large number of applications on all types of roads. They play an indispensable role in ensuring road safety and greatly reduce the incidence of traffic accidents at night and in bad weather.

Types of road studs

1. According to the material of Road Studs classification

Plastic road stud
Plastic stud is the most common type. It is made of durable and impact-resistant plastic material, which is lightweight and easy to install. This allows it to be quickly laid out on large areas of road and is ideal for temporary road markings. However, the crush resistance of plastic road studs is relatively weak, and frequent vehicle crushing or the passage of heavy vehicles can easily damage them. Therefore, plastic reflective road studs are more suitable for installation on low-speed driving roads or areas with low traffic flow.

Aluminum studs
Aluminum studs are made of high-quality aluminum with excellent durability and corrosion resistance, especially suitable for use in harsh outdoor environments. Due to its high strength, durability and excellent reflective properties, the aluminum stud is one of the key safety features on traffic roads. It is especially suitable for highways, heavy vehicles driving roads and other high traffic flow and the environment is more harsh places, can significantly improve the night and complex road conditions of driving safety. However, aluminum reflective road studs usually need to be pre-slotted embedded installation, construction time is relatively long, you need to plan ahead. In addition, its cost is higher, more suitable for critical road sections or special road safety management.

Ceramic Studs
Ceramic studs are made of high-strength ceramic material, which is extremely durable and has a long service life. They can withstand extreme weather conditions and high traffic volumes. The reflective effect of ceramic road studs is also very significant, providing clear guidance for drivers and pedestrians, and playing an important role in urban roads, highways, non-motorized roads and parking lots. Despite their relatively high price, ceramic road studs offer an effective solution where safety and durability are paramount, significantly improving the safety and visibility of road traffic.

Glass road studs
Glass studs are made of tempered glass and are highly durable and impact resistant. It has a very high reflectivity and can effectively reflect the light from vehicle headlights, providing drivers with clear road guidance at night or in low visibility conditions. Although glass road studs have the problem of being fragile, it can still provide effective help to reduce traffic accidents in the right occasions.

2. Road Studs Classified by color

White Road stud
White road studs are usually installed in the middle of the road to separate two-way lanes or as lane boundary markings. Their white reflective surface has an obvious reflective effect, which can help drivers see the lane lines clearly at night.

Yellow road studs
Yellow studs are mostly used in two-way lane dividers to remind drivers to stay in the correct lane. It is often used to differentiate between two-way traffic dividers or to indicate lane changes ahead.

Red road studs
Red studs are usually installed at the edge of the road or in a no passing lane to warn drivers to avoid driving against the traffic.

Blue road studs
Blue studs are used to mark emergency lanes, fire lanes, or other special areas to make it easier to identify these areas at night.

Green road studs
Green studs are used to indicate parking lots, driveway exits or safety areas, and sometimes for the purpose of distinguishing specific lanes.

3. Road Stud Reflectors Categorized by function

Unidirectional stud
One-way studs have a reflective surface on one side only and are suitable for installation at the edge of the road or on one side of a one-way road to reflect light from vehicles on one side. One-way studs are commonly used in one-way lanes of unseparated roads, one-way roads, or off-ramps.

Bidirectional studs
Bidirectional road studs have reflective surfaces on both sides, suitable for installation in the lane divider or central barrier, can reflect the light from two directions at the same time, to improve the safety of two-way traffic.

4.Classification according to the installation method

Embedded stud
These studs are partially embedded in the road surface, only the reflective part is exposed on the road surface. Because of its installation depth is deeper, can withstand greater pressure, suitable for use in highway traffic flow and ramp.

Raised stud
Raised road studs are directly affixed or installed on the road surface. They are easy to install and are widely used on ordinary roads and low-speed sections. Their cost is usually low and easy to install, but the pressure resistance is relatively weak, suitable for urban roads or parking lots.

Working principle of road studs

1. The working principle of reflective road studs

Reflective road studs are embedded with reflective materials, such as glass beads or reflective film. When the car lights hit the surface of the stud, the light will be reflected back to the driver's vision through the reflective material, thus enhancing the visibility of the road marking. Since reflective road studs rely on an external light source, such as vehicle headlights, they usually function at night or in low light conditions.

2. The light-emitting principle of solar-powered road studs

Solar LED road studs have a solar panel mounted on top, which absorbs solar energy during the day and converts it into electricity, which is stored in an internal battery. At night or in low visibility conditions, such as rain or fog, the stud activates the LED lights through the built-in photocell or time controller, actively emitting light to form a continuous visible bright spot to provide guidance for vehicles. Some solar road studs are also equipped with a sensor function that adjusts the brightness or blinking frequency according to the ambient light or traffic conditions to improve energy efficiency and practicality.

Why Road Studs Are Used?

1. Improve visibility at night

The incidence of traffic accidents is relatively high at night due to limited visibility. One of the main functions of road studs is to improve visibility of the road at night. Passive road studs increase the visibility distance in front of the driver to 90 meters, while active road studs increase the visibility distance to 900 meters. This provides drivers with more time to react to unexpected situations on the road ahead, such as animals crossing the road or sharp turns, thus significantly improving driving safety.

2. Haptic and Auditory Feedback

When the vehicle drives over a road stud, the driver will feel a slight vibration and a “thump” sound will be transmitted through the vehicle. At higher speeds and when driving over multiple studs in a row, the vehicle will vibrate noticeably, making the driver aware of his or her driving behavior. This feature of road studs is useful for drivers who have difficulty staying in their lane and can use this tactile and auditory signal to assist them in driving, rather than relying solely on vision. These tactile and auditory signals are often enough to wake drivers up when they are drowsy or inattentive, alerting them that they have drifted out of their lane so that they can correct their driving direction in a timely manner.

The spacing between the road stud reflectors is set close together, creating a noticeable vibration when a vehicle drives over them. Some roads are equipped with multiple rows of pins, which will cause strong vibrations when vehicles drive into the area of these pins. In particularly dangerous sections of road, such as the road next to a cliff and other similar dangerous areas, will be set up, they can send a warning in advance, to avoid the driver to make serious mistakes.

Common application of road studs

1.Highways and expressways

Highway and expressway traffic flow, fast speed, the role of road studs is particularly critical. Between the lanes, white road studs clearly delineate the different lanes, guide vehicles traveling in an orderly manner, to avoid the unclear lanes caused by vehicles interspersed, collision accidents. At the edge of the road, yellow road studs to remind drivers to pay attention to keep the distance, to prevent vehicles from deviating from the lane to the shoulder or scrape. At the entrance and exit ramps, road studs help drivers to slow down and change lanes in advance to prepare for smooth entry and exit from the highway, ensuring efficient and safe high-speed traffic.

2.Pedestrian crossings

Crosswalk is an important area for pedestrians to cross the road. At both ends and in the middle of the crosswalk, eye-catching pins are usually set up. White or yellow road studs in the daytime is very conspicuous, night vehicle light irradiation, reflective effect is remarkable, timely reminder of the driver in front of a crosswalk, to slow down in advance, ready to stop and give way to ensure that pedestrians safely across the road. Especially in some of the crosswalks without signal control, road studs become a key facility to warn drivers, greatly improving the safety of pedestrians at the intersection.

3.Parking lots

Parking lots have limited space and intensive vehicle parking. Green or white studs are used to define parking spaces and travel lanes. At the edge of the parking space, the studs clearly define the boundaries of the parking space, guiding drivers to park accurately, avoiding vehicles parking across the line, and improving the utilization rate of the parking lot space. In the driving aisle of the parking lot, the road studs help drivers identify the driving direction, prevent vehicles from going against the flow or colliding in the narrow aisle, ensure the orderly flow of vehicles in the parking lot, and reduce disputes and accidents in the process of parking and driving.

4.Roundabouts

Traffic circle traffic is complex, frequent intersection of vehicles. Road studs play a clear guidance role in the traffic circle. Yellow road studs are set up along the lane dividers in the traffic circle to indicate the direction of vehicle traveling, help drivers to clarify the trajectory in the traffic circle, and avoid vehicles changing lanes and jumping the line at will in the traffic circle. At the entrances and exits of the traffic circle, the studs cooperate with the traffic signs to inform drivers in advance that they are about to enter or leave the traffic circle, and do the corresponding speed control and driving operations, effectively improving the traffic order in the traffic circle area and reducing the probability of collision accidents.

5.Sharp Turning Road

Sharp turns are high traffic accident areas. Red or yellow road studs are usually installed at the edge of the road and on the inside of the bend at sharp bends. These pins reflect strongly at night or in bad weather, warning drivers that the road ahead is a sharp turn, the need to slow down in advance and drive carefully. When the vehicle deviates from the normal driving trajectory near the edge of the curve, the wheel pressure to the road studs produced by the vibration and sound, can remind the driver to adjust the direction in a timely manner, to avoid excessive speed out of the curve, and effectively reduce the incidence of accidents on the road section of the sharp turn.

Road studs can be divided into various types according to material, color, function and installation method. Different types of road studs play unique roles in their respective scenarios, providing safety and clear guidance to road users from different perspectives.

The importance of road studs in enhancing road safety cannot be ignored. It effectively reduces traffic accidents by improving visibility and providing tactile and auditory feedback, and is an integral part of modern road infrastructure. As transportation demand continues to grow and road construction continues to develop, road studs will continue to play a key role in ensuring road safety.

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