Description

AASHTO T 388 – Standard Method of Standard Method of Test for Detectable Warning Systems

The use of detectable warning systems at curb cuts and vehicular ways is mandated as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act. These detectable warning systems are subject to a variety of environmental conditions that can lead to material degradation and reduction in performance. In extreme cases, degradation may occur such that the detectable warning systems become a hazard to pedestrians?for example, by becoming a tripping or slip hazard.

AASHTO T 388-20 provides a protocol for testing the durability of detectable warning systems in a repeatable manner. Laboratory exposures and evaluation tests were developed to simulate the types of damage and degradation anticipated in service. Exposures are conducted cyclically to allow for effects of combined interaction of the simulated environmental exposures. Nondestructive evaluation tests are conducted both before and after exposures to provide comparative values. Destructive evaluation tests are conducted after the exposures.