The defects of asphalt pavements and their impact to driving quality in Vilnius city streets

The defects, emerging during exploitation of streets with asphalt pavements, influence the character of traffic. The speed of traffic, comfort, safety and exploitation expenses of vehicles strongly depend on the quantity and size of defects - cracks, rats, potholes, etc. This article summarizes the kinds of asphalt pavement's defects, the reasons of their emergence and their impact to vehicle traffic. Methods of defect detection are analyzed too. At the same time, this article presents the data of research on condition of Vilnius city streets with asphalt pavement and analysis of traffic volumes, carried out by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University Department of Roads Road Research Laboratory.