Curious white dots painted on the road

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Curious white dots painted on the road - what are they?

Geektastic

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#152032 13-Sep-2014 17:08

Every so often I come across a strange rectangular grid of small white dots painted on the road - usually on straight roads in quiet places.

What is it?! I never saw them in the UK so have no idea what they are.

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#1127979 13-Sep-2014 17:37

Testing the paint

Bung

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#1128044 13-Sep-2014 19:55

A dot would be a poor test as it could be missed completely. Paint tests are usually parallel strips across the entire width of a lane.

Some paint marks are intended to show up on aerial photography.

johnr

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#1128090 13-Sep-2014 21:57

I give up then maybe Aliens are into painting dots on the road

Geektastic

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#1128092 13-Sep-2014 22:05

No these are long twin lines of dots equally spaced. At least 200 metres long I'd guess.

I've seen them being painted by contractors.

Bung

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#1128098 13-Sep-2014 22:19

I've seen a reference to similar markings on areas of the road surface that are being monitored.

ubergeeknz

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Vocus

#1128100 13-Sep-2014 22:27

Got any photos?

FPR

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#1128111 13-Sep-2014 22:47

I thought it was marking's where pipe's, cables are buried. So someone can come along and dig them up for repair/replace etc?

coffeebaron

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#1128113 13-Sep-2014 22:54

It's road monitoring / testing.

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Geektastic

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#1128114 13-Sep-2014 22:55

No photos but next time I see some and it is safe, I will take some!

I think perhaps they may be put there after the road has been resurfaced in order to measure wear over a specific area of surface or something like that.

Or just to measure how many windscreens are cracked and paint finishes chipped by their quality use of stone chips instead of hot roll macadam....

solival

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#1128804 15-Sep-2014 09:26

Sometimes dots used as temporary painting before they put permanent. Not sure about NZ though.

Coil

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#1128810 15-Sep-2014 09:34

I think your talking of the ones that are 2m across and every 10m or so apart and run for 100m. I think they are marking them to dig.

Dynamike

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#1128813 15-Sep-2014 09:38

A temporary grid of dots painted on the road is used to measure ground movement.

They paint them on my road every summer, so last year I stopped and asked them why.

kiwiharry

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#1128824 15-Sep-2014 09:49

A bit hard to see, but as seen here on Google Street View.

http://bit.ly/1tSPDem

I saw them yesterday on my drive from Auckland to Hamilton as I passed near Drury.

1eStar

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#1128828 15-Sep-2014 09:57

[url]https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=BQ4WVOb4EZWF8gXVzYDIDA&url=http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/surface-friction-conference-2005/5/docs/measuring-pavement-condition-data.pdf&cd=2&ved=0CC4QFjAB&usg=AFQjCNFYLz0HNH4gNU8K1BDTVCTWz2eYJQ&sig2=Hcl7v6O2HqfLi3ZaFx_8QA[url\]

Hoofhaarted

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#1128830 15-Sep-2014 09:57

I noticed them yesterday on the drive to Whangamata, they were after the turn off at Kopu.

I also saw they a sign saying they were a trial, but did not specify if it was the paint being trialed, or the style of marking etc......

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