Chemicals company Dow hosted a live application of road-marking paint, using waterborne paint Fastrack technology, at its offices in Johannesburg last month to draw the attention of road traffic authorities to road safety in South Africa.
Fastrack waterborne binders combine a durable acrylic backbone with a patented quick-dry mechanism that resists wheel tracking and water washouts, protecting the integrity of the road stripe. Further, the product contains a quick-dry technology, which retains glass beads and retroreflectance longer than solventborne traffic markings.
“In simple terms, it’s durable, dries faster and is less toxic than other products. This is of great benefit for the workers and road users who inhale the fumes. The quick-set technology accelerates the drying time of waterborne traffic paint, offering faster drying and faster return to service even under adverse conditions, such as low temperature, high humidity and low air movement,” says Fastrack senior chemist in research and development and technical support for road markings Bruno Pollet.
Dow Southern Africa MD Carsten Larsen states that the company developed the technology to facilitate the conversion from solventborne to waterborne traffic paint to help road authorities around the world improve worker safety and dramatically reduce volatile organic compound emissions.
“Fastrack is the preferred technology at the intersection of traffic safety and more sustainable road striping. Our company philosophy is to find solutions that fit every individual market well. We use proven technologies, but every market is unique. We believe that Africa is ready for new sustainable solutions, and Fastrack is a prime example of this,” he says.
According to the Transport Department’s strategic and annual performance plan tabled in Parliament in early July, more than 173 000 km of municipal roads across South Africa are in poor to very poor condition. The cost of repairing them is about R149-billion.
“We believe in providing innovative, sustainable and cost-effective solutions for our customers. Our Fastrack technology may go some way to alleviating some of these costs and make the time we all spend on the road more enjoyable,” concludes Larsen.