3M HIGH INTENSITY PRISMATIC REFLECTIVE SHEETING HELPS TO CLEAR THE WAY, SAFELY

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3M HIGH INTENSITY PRISMATIC REFLECTIVE SHEETING HELPS TO CLEAR THE WAY, SAFELY
26 August 2005 - 3M Europe

The new High Intensity Prismatic Reflective Sheeting from 3M is helping meet safety and congestion targets on major roads in the UK. Launched at the end of 2004, this new Class 1 microprismatic material has now been used on the 22 gantry signs installed on the Highway Agency's £245 million A1 Darrington to Dishforth design, build, finance and operate Project to up grade the A1 to motorway standard.

This project is the first of its kind in the UK as the operator, RMS (Darrington) Ltd, has a financial incentive to deliver a safe road that provides reliable journeys with the maximum information for travellers and payments will be based on the congestion and safety performance of the road. Ringway Signs designed, manufactured and erected the signs and Chris Smith explained, "The High Intensity Prismatic gantry signs provide that extra touch of quality and performance which should help the operators meet their targets for safety and congestion."

This high performance material uses similar technology to that employed in 3Mä Diamond Gradeä Reflective Sheeting. The result is a Class 1 sign that outperforms any standard glass-bead Class 1 material. Tests have shown HIP to offer improved legibility due to better colour contrast, enhanced brightness by day and by night and better visibility in all weathers. It also offers a greater return on investment, due to a 12 year 3M Performance Guarantee.

When first introduced last year, HIP was used on the Alfreton Tunnel scheme otherwise known as the A38 from junction 28 of the M1 into Derby. Dee-Organ made and erected the signs for this project and Kevin Smith explained, "we proposed HIP because the performance and 12 year guarantee were so much better than the beaded Class 1 sheeting, but the price was the same."

According to Liz Newell-Hart, 3M's Technical & Regulatory Affairs Manager of its Traffic Safety Systems group, "Class 1 sheeting is the main-stay for many traffic engineers. Despite the growing popularity of Diamond Grade sheeting, there are plenty of situations where its exceptional performance is not required. But of course, we still want to get the best possible performance from our Class 1 materials in order to improve sign visibility and to help local authorities achieve their targets of accident reduction, easing of congestion and better routing of traffic." With the launch of HIP 3M believes to be providing traffic engineers with the best performing Class 1 material possible and at the same time helping to improve safety for drivers.

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About: 3M Europe
3M is a $ 16 billion diversified technology company with more than 40 business units, which are organized into six markets: Transportation, Graphics and Safety, Health Care, Industrial, Consumer & Office, Electro & Communications and Specialty Material. 3M Engineered Adhesives Division provides manufacturers with a broad range of innovative bonding, sealing and fastening solutions to help improve the design, assembly and performance of their products.

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