NordicCert is a certification system for road marking materials that includes the countries of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. In these countries, a documented product approval is required in order to use a road marking material on roads managed by the national road authorities. Product approval is based on monitored and documented performance measurements of material samples applied on test fields on public roads. The certification system includes test sites in Denmark (for product approval in Denmark) and in Norway/Sweden (for product approval in Iceland, Norway and Sweden). The certification system includes road marking materials for road markings in categories with respect to colour (white, yellow), type (type I, type II, antiskid, inlaid, temporary, and materials for hand application and with enhanced durability) and thickness (0.4, 0.6, 1.5, 3 and 5 mm).
The first test fields were established in 2015. New rounds of material application on the test fields have been carried out yearly since then. At present (January 2023), about 560 material from 25 manufacturers have been applied at the Nordic test sites.
The materials are followed-up for two years, with performance measurements of the coefficient of retroreflected luminance RL under dry and wet conditions, the luminance coefficient under diffuse illumination Qd, the friction, the chromaticity in daylight, and the chromaticity of retroreflected light (yellow materials, only). Materials are certified in relation to the number of wheel passages they will stand, with preserved functionality. Depending on the traffic flow, the position in the lane and the exposure time, different roll-over classes (P0–P6, corresponding to ≤50 000–2 000 000 wheel passages, defined by EN 1824) will be reached. At the Danish test site, P-class P6 is typically reached after two years, while at the Norwegian-Swedish test site P-class P5 is reached after two years.
The results of the follow-up performance measurements are published in public reports, which can be found here.
Certificates are distributed to the respective manufacturer. Lists of certified materials can be found here (Denmark) and here (Iceland/Norway/Sweden).
For more information about the certification procedure, please see the instruction here. The requirements for the use of certified materials are implemented in national regulations gradually. Denmark implemented its first requirements for certified materials in 2017, Norway in 2018, Sweden in 2019 and Iceland in 2020. Over time, the requirements may expand, e.g. to include more road marking types.
To ensure that road marking materials used in contracts are certified and in accordance with the specification in the contract, a system for control and assessment is being established. More information can be found here.
If you are interested in participating in the Nordic road trials, please sign up for our email list by sending an email to carina.fors@vti.se. An invitation for participation is usually sent out in May every year.