Slipperiness is when a surface has a low
coefficient of friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. Types of friction include dry, fluid, lubricated, skin, and internal -- an incomplete list. The study of t ...
, allowing objects to glide across the surface. People walking on slippery surfaces are likely to
slip or
fall. A surface can for example be slippery due to it being wet, or due to it being icy. There are several competing theories about why
ice is slippery.
Road slipperiness
Road slipperiness is a condition of low Skid (automobile), skid resistance due to insufficient road friction. It is a result of snow, ice, water, road debris, loose material and the Texture (roads), texture of the Pavement (material), road surface ...
is a major area of
road safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...
, but various means have also been developed to measure walkway and deck slipperiness in order to develop
health and safety standards.
[Wen-Ruey Chang, Theodore K. Courtney, Raoul Grongvist ''Measuring Slipperiness: Human Locomotion and Surface Factors'' 2002 0415298288 "A number of 'purely' subjective approaches (e.g. paired comparisons) have been applied to measure slipperiness. Human subjects seem to be capable of differentiating the slipperiness of floors (Yoshioka et al. 1978, 1979, Swensen et al."]
See also
*
Floor slip resistance testing
*
Ice cleats, used to prevent slipping when walking on icy roads
References
Safety
Friction
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