Standard Practice for

Determining Rut Depth in Pavements

AASHTO Designation: R 48-10

1. SCOPE
1.1. This practice describes a method for determining rut depth in pavement surfaces from transverse
profile measurements. Five transverse profile points are the minimum number of points required
to determine rut depth. While this practice is based on a five-measurement transverse profile, more
than five measurements greatly improve the accuracy and enhance the likelihood of identifying the
maximum and average rut depth given survey vehicle wander and various rut configurations.

1.2. Procedures are defined for measuring a transverse profile and deriving a rut depth, but detailed
specifications are not included for equipment, instruments, or software used to make the
measurements. Any equipment and/or procedure that can measure as specified, with the accuracy
stipulated herein, and that can be adequately calibrated is acceptable for this method.

1.3. This practice does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use.
It is the responsibility of the user of this protocol to establish appropriate safety and health
practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations related to and prior to its use.

2. REFERENCED DOCUMENT
2.1. FHWA Document:
 FHWA-RD-01-024, Characterization of Transverse Profiles, Federal Highway
Administration, 2001

3. TERMINOLOGY
3.1. rut—a longitudinal depression in a wheel path consisting of consecutive rut depth determinations
that measure a depression and extend for more than 50 m (150 ft).

3.2. summary interval—a longitudinal portion of a pavement lane over which the data are summarized
as defined by the agency. This distance is generally 0.1 km (0.1 mile).

4. SIGNIFICANCE AND USE

4.1. This practice outlines standard procedures for measuring a transverse profile of the pavement from
which a rut depth may be derived and summarizing the rut depth over a designated interval. Its
purpose is to produce consistent estimations of rut depth for network-level pavement management.
The intention is to measure rut depth in a vehicle traveling in the designated lane at highway
speeds.

TS 5a R 48-1 AASHTO
© 2013 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
5. RUT MEASUREMENT
5.1. Each agency designates the lane(s) and direction(s) of travel to be surveyed based on sound
engineering principles and management needs within the agency.

5.2. Transverse profiles should be measured at a maximum spacing of 10 m (33 ft) in the longitudinal
direction for the purpose of determining rut depth.

5.3. Transverse profiles are measured across both wheel paths of the survey lane. The goal of this
practice is to obtain a transverse profile from which the depth of both ruts in a traffic lane can be
derived. The reported summary statistics are the deepest rut found in each wheel path and the
average rut depth within the longitudinal summary interval.

5.3.1. The transverse locations for the five-measurement procedure are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1—Rut Depth Measurements

[Link]. Spacing between measurement points depends on pavement geometry and typically is not even.

[Link]. For best rut values, the span between D1 and D5 measurements should be no less than 500 mm
(20 in.) smaller than the lane width. Depending on equipment, safe operation often dictates a
shorter span, which compromises the rut value.

5.3.2. Each height measurement, Di, shall be made in a manner to minimize variability of measurement
due to the pavement surface not being a true planar surface.

5.3.3. The depth measurements shall be made to a resolution of 3 mm (0.12 in.) and an accuracy of
±3 mm (±0.12 in.) with a 95 percent confidence.

5.3.4. The Basic Five-Point Rut Depth Calculations:

D1 + M
R=
o D2 − (1)
2
M + D5
R=
i D4 − (2)
2
where:

TS 5a R 48-2 AASHTO
© 2013 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
 D1 + D5
M= or D3, whichever is less; (3)
2
Ro = rut depth outside wheel path estimate, mm;
Ri = rut depth inside wheel path estimate, mm; and
D1, D2 ... D5 = height measured as shown in Figure 1 (mm).
Note 1—This calculation allows for a negative rut depth. The negative rut can come from unusual
cross sections, lateral offset of the measurement location, or atypical rut configurations.

5.3.5. The transverse profile is determined on the basis of the vertical distance between an imaginary
string line run across the traffic lane from the shoulder to the lane line. The string line may bend at
the hump between the wheel paths where the hump is higher than the outside and inside edges of
the lane. For manual measurements, the use of a string line will require D1 and D5 to be zero.
Note 2—This procedure is defined with knowledge of FHWA-RD-01-024 Characterization of
Transverse Profiles, which compared ruts calculated from three- and five-point measurements to
significantly denser systems. Users of this standard are advised to review this reference when
making transverse measurement collection system decisions.

5.3.6. The five-point system has limited accuracy due to variances in rut configuration and vehicle
wander during the collection process. These limitations are further complicated by keeping the
sensor systems within a safe envelope while traveling the road.
Note 3—The addition of two sensors at each primary measurement location (D1, D2, D3, D4, D5)
spaced 150 mm (6 in.) apart and the application of appropriate algorithms dramatically improve
the reliability of the derived rut values. For maximum effectiveness, both of the outside sensors
need to target beyond the 2300-mm (90-in.) dimension at each end to extend the simulated string
to within 250 mm (10 in.) of the lane width.

5.3.7. Technology is available to provide more than 1000 data points across the entire lane width. With
such a transverse profile measurement, algorithms can be applied that remove texture effects,
compensate for vehicle wander, and resolve a string-line rut value for each wheel path. This is the
preferred methodology for rut data collection.

6. OBTAINING THE DATA

6.1. Obtain and store the maximum and average rut depth determined from each wheel path within the
selected data summary interval.

7. REPORT
7.1. At a minimum, record the following data:

7.1.1. Section Identification—Record information that the agency has available to locate the section
using its current referencing system;

7.1.2. Date of collection;

7.1.3. Length of data collection section (km (miles));

7.1.4. Maximum rut depth in each wheel path for each summary interval;

7.1.5. Average rut depth in each wheel path for each summary interval;

7.1.6. Sampling interval (m (ft));

TS 5a R 48-3 AASHTO
© 2013 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
7.1.7. Summary interval (km (mi)); and

7.1.8. Method agency utilizes to calculate maximum rut depth and average rut depth when negative rut
depths are measured.

8. KEYWORDS
8.1. Pavement; pavement distortion; pavement distress; pavement evaluation; pavement management;
pavement monitoring; rut; transverse profile; wheel path; five-point rut estimate.

9. REFERENCES
9.1. AASHTO. Guide for Design of Pavement Structures. American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials, Washington, DC, 1993.

9.2. ASTM Standard E 1703/E 1703M, 1995 (2005). “Standard Test Method for Measuring Rut-Depth
of Pavement Surfaces Using a Straightedge.” ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.

9.3. SHRP. Distress Identification Manual for the Long-Term Pavement Performance Project.
Strategic Highway Research Program, SHRP-P-338, Washington, DC, 1993.

APPENDIX
(Nonmandatory Information)

X1. GUIDELINES—QUALITY ASSURANCE PLAN

X1.1. Quality Assurance Plan—Each agency shall develop a quality assurance plan. The plan shall
include survey personnel certification training records, accuracy of the equipment, daily quality
control procedures, and periodic and ongoing quality control. The following guidelines can be
used for developing such a plan.

X1.2. Certification and Training—Agencies are individually responsible for training and/or certifying
their data collection personnel and contractors for proficiency in using the profile measuring
equipment according to this practice and other applicable agency procedures.

X1.3. Equipment Calibration—Equipment calibration (accelerometers and noncontact sensors) is done

in accordance with specific manufacturer recommendations. The equipment must operate within
the manufacturer’s specifications. A regular maintenance and testing program is established for
the equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

X1.4. Verification Sections—Verification sections are selected with known rut depths. These sections
are measured by equipment operators on a regular basis. Evaluations of these measurements can
provide information about the accuracy of field measurements and give insight into needed
equipment calibration. Verification sections are rotated on a regular basis in order to assure that
the operators are not repeating previously known rut depth values during the verification. An
alternate to verification sections is to re-measure and compare up to 5 percent of the data as a daily
or weekly quality check.

TS 5a R 48-4 AASHTO
© 2013 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.
X1.5. Quality Checks—Additional quality checks can be made by comparing the most recent rut depth
statistics with current measurements. At locations where large changes occur, the pavement
manager may require additional checks of the data.

TS 5a R 48-5 AASHTO
© 2013 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
All rights reserved. Duplication is a violation of applicable law.