Roadway champion: A new standard for precision

Road accidents are one of the leading causes of death worldwide – and driver error plays a huge part in their number. Anything that can be done to make driving safer will save human lives.

Traffic rules, junctions and road sharing can be complicated. While cutting-edge research is striving to make vehicles smarter, it is also essential to look at what can be done on the roads themselves.

Drivers rely on surface features to tell them where the edge of the road is, whether they are approaching a sharp corner, when they can overtake, and a wealth of other information. These features include reflectors, markings and rumble strips, and the information they provide is vital to keep road users moving safely.

Better, clearer and more durable road markings can make life easier for drivers and go a long way to preventing accidents. A 2020 study by Babic et al, published in the Journal of Advanced Transportation, states that accidents involving injuries or fatalities decreased by up to 16% after road markings were enhanced.

Specialist equipment can produce highly effective, high-quality roadway features.

For example, road grooving allows markings to be inlaid in the surface. In cold-weather environments, this means vehicles like snow ploughs can do their job without damaging the markings or reflectors.

Rumble strips can also be cut into the surface of the road to alert drivers if they veer to the edge of the road or lane. The rumble surface provides a warning that the driver can hear and feel – enough to get their attention or wake them up if they are drowsy behind the wheel.

The equipment used for creating these vital features should be powerful enough to work quickly, without causing traffic congestion, and smart enough to produce the best result without damaging the road surface.

Introducing the Grinder Hog

The incumbent equipment used for creating and maintaining road surface features falls short in several respects. The available tools tend to lack precision, speed and safety features.

“We set out to create a product that would address each of those deficiencies,” says Vince Giordano, vice president of sales at equipment specialist Hog Technologies.

The Grinder Hog is the most recent innovation for roadways by Hog Technologies. It is designed to grind pavement markings, groove pavements for inlaid markings and cut rumble strips, using advanced computer control and Sonic Vibrating Technology to clean the filters – and it can do all this on concrete as well as asphalt.

“The Grinder Hog is a state-of-the-art innovation that brings extreme precision to everything from marking removal to grooving to various cuts,” says Giordano. This precision enables the Grinder Hog to create cuts as exact as sinusoidal waves, which are designed to boost the reflective value of a marking by providing a surface which has more angles.

A cut above the rest

The most precise cutter on the market, the Grinder Hog sets a new standard for grinding and grooving equipment globally.

Unlike other equipment, the Grinder Hog also has a unique simultaneous vacuum recovery capability, meaning that grinding debris is cleaned up as the equipment goes along. This removes the need for multiple pieces of equipment and more personnel, increasing safety, reducing congestion and minimising the operating window – a win for roadway operators and users alike.

This vacuum recovery capability is designed to provide operators with unprecedented ease of use, Giordano explains: “The Grinder Hog can achieve high rates of speed and production while still providing 100% vacuum recovery.”

Like all Hog equipment, the Grinder Hog is designed to maximise productivity, minimise costs and optimise results – and it promises to continue to lead the market.

“We look forward to continued growth and strong acceptance in the global marketplace,” says Giordano.

This is good news for roadway operators and their users, who will experience optimised results and, ultimately, better standards of safety.