Road markings that don't last

Some letters have already been published in this newspaper about this subject: About seven years ago it was reported in this newspaper that the roads department was introducing the application of a high quality road marking paint. The article went into detail about the subject and showed a photo of the road marking team operating a new application machine for the said product.

The article also stated that this high quality product had glass beads of certain dimensions blended into it to give the paint film more durability. Samples of road marking paint stripes were applied on the road by the airport leading to Hal Far.

Years have gone by and road markings still disappear after a few months of their application. We are still looking for a solution to this problem. So the question remains: why does road marking paint not last on our roads? What's contributing to this failure?

The roads department had the services of two German experts. These had the responsibility to advise the department about the building of roads and all the other requirements involved.

So how come such a small issue like this - but of paramount importance for road safety - has not been resolved?

The annual usage of this product must be of over one million litres. The cost is substantial but the results speak for themselves.