A regular white cat's eye of the kind invented by Shaw, marking the middle of the road.

The cat's eye is a safety device used in road construction and was the first of a range of raised pavement markers. It originated from the UK in 1933 and is used all over the world. Image File history File links Catseye_closeup. ... Image File history File links Catseye_closeup. ... The field of road safety is concerned with reducing the numbers or the consequences of vehicle crashes, by developing and implementing management systems ideally based in a multidisciplinary and holistic approach, with interrelated activities in a number of fields. ... This page is related to transport; you may be looking for the 2002 Bollywood movie Road. ... The orange markers separate opposing traffic lanes. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

It consists (in its original form) of two pairs of reflective glass spheres set into a white rubber dome, mounted in a cast iron housing. This is the kind that marks the centre of the road, with one pair of cat's eye showing in each direction. A single-ended form has become widely used in other colours at road margins and as lane dividers. Cat's eyes are particularly valuable in fog and are remarkably resistant to snow plough damage. Retroreflectors are clearly visible in a pair of bicycle shoes. ...

A key feature of the cat's eye is the flexible rubber dome which is occasionally deformed by the passage of traffic. A fixed rubber wiper cleans the surface of the reflectors as they sink below the surface of the road (the base tends to hold water after a shower of rain, making this process even more efficient). The rubber dome is protected from impact damage by metal 'kerbs' - which also give tactile and audible feedback for wandering drivers.

The inventor of cat's eyes was Percy Shaw of Halifax, Yorkshire in England. When the tram-lines were removed in the nearby town of Bradford he realised that he'd been using the polished strips of steel to navigate.^[1] The name "cat's eye" comes from Shaw's inspiration for the device: the light reflecting from the eyes of a cat. In 1934, he patented his invention (patent No. 436,290 and 457,536), and on March 15, 1935, founded Reflecting Roadstuds Limited in Halifax to manufacture the items.^[2][3] The name Catseye was their trademark.^[4] Percy Shaw was born in Halifax in West Yorkshire in 1890, the son of Jimmy Shaw, a dyer’s labourer, who worked at a local mill. ... Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England, with a population of about 82,000. ... Look up Yorkshire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... The larger City of Bradford Metropolitan District includes other settlements in the surrounding area. ... A human eye Eyes are organs of vision that detect light. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ...

Development and value

The blackouts of World War II (1939-1945) and the shuttered car head-lights then in use demonstrated the value of Shaw's invention and helped popularise their mass use in the UK. After the war, they received firm backing from a Ministry of Transport committee led by James Callaghan and Sir Arthur Young. Eventually, their use spread all over the world. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the transport network. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... Colonel Sir Arthur Edwin Young, KBE, CMG, CVO, KPM (born 1907) was the Commissioner of the City of London Police from 1950 to 1971. ...

James May, co-presenter of the UK automobile TV show Top Gear said this of this device: "The Catseye is what great design is all about. Simple, functional, and beautiful. And on top of that, this little block of iron and rubber has probably done more to save lives on the road than anything since." James Daniel May (born January 16th 1963 in Bristol, England) is a television presenter and award-winning journalist. ... The current format of Top Gear is a BAFTA[1] and Emmy Award-winning BBC television series about motor vehicles, mainly cars. ...

Local practice

United Kingdom

White cat's eyes are used for the centre of a road on many roads which lack street lighting but are subject to high speeds or high volumes of traffic. They are also used for lane markings, soft traffic islands and on "double-white lines" where no overtaking is permitted. Red cat's eyes are placed along the hard shoulder of a motorway or sometimes dual carriageways, and orange cat's eyes are placed along the edge of the central reservation (median). Green cat's eyes denote joining or leaving slip roads at junctions, and blue cat's eyes are used for police slip roads. A traffic island is a stretch of raised concrete in the middle of some roads so people dont drive into oncoming traffic or private roads. ... Motorway symbol in UK, France and Ireland. ... This early German Autobahn uses a dual carriageway design. ...

These units are not very visible in daylight and are generally used in conjunction with traditionally painted lines. Temporary cat's eyes with just a reflective strip are often used during motorway repair work and as these are easily visible in daylight as well as in darkness they can be used on their own for lane division.

Also seen during motorway repair work are traffic cones that are inserted into the socket of a retractable cat's eye rather than being free-standing. These are often used in conjunction with two rows of the temporary cat's eyes to divide traffic moving in opposite directions during motorway roadworks.

Flashing blue LED cat's eyes were demonstrated on the TV show Accident Black Spot (presented by Penny Mallory), which alert the driver to potential ice on the road when a low enough temperature is reached. The BBC recently reported that cat's eyes utilising LEDs ( known as intelligent road studs ) could possibly set off epileptic fits: the Highways Agency is currently investigating.^[5] Penny Mallory was the first woman in the world to qualify to drive a World Rally car. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... Epilepsy (often referred to as a seizure disorder) is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. ... The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom. ...

The cat's eye reached the top ten in the Great British design quest run by the BBC television programme The Culture Show. The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... The Culture Show is a weekly 50 minute long topical arts program broadcast on BBC Two. ...

Ireland

In (the Republic of) Ireland, usage is similar, but yellow cat's eyes are used on all hard shoulders, including motorways (red cat's eyes are not used, neither are blue). In addition, standalone retroreflector batons are often used on the verge of Irish roads. Green cat's eyes are used to alert motorists to upcoming junctions.

United States

Botts' dots (research started 1953, compulsory in California from 1966) and other raised pavement markers perform a somewhat similar function in the U.S. Although they seem to be less durable than Cat's eyes, since they do not sink into the road when driven over. Botts dots on Interstate 280 (California), near the Sand Hill Road exit Botts dots are a form of reflective raised pavement marker used on roads. ... The orange markers separate opposing traffic lanes. ...

Notes

1. ^ Halifax Today online news archive accessed 29 November 2006
2. ^ Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd: official company history
3. ^ Reyburn, Ross. "Inventions that prove size doesn't matter." The Birmingham Post, 26 June 1999, p. 50.
4. ^ The History of British Roadsigns, Dept. for Transport, 2nd Edition, 1999
5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/6226285.stm

External links

• Reflecting Roadstuds (Shaw's company)
• Shaw's patent
• BBC TV programme Great British Design Quest
• Cat's Eyes at the Design Museum, London