Painting and marking a speed bump the right way means a yellow-and-black chevron pattern, 6-inch alternating stripes at 45 degrees per MUTCD (2009 with 2024 revisions). Add reflective tape or end caps for night visibility, and put a W17-1 advance warning sign 100 to 200 feet upstream of the bump in each direction of travel. Chevron + reflectors + signage is the MUTCD-compliant visibility package most Oregon city codes require on commercial lot installs.
Below: chevron paint spec, reflective add-on options, where the advance-warning sign goes, and the maintenance cycle that keeps marking visible through Oregon freeze-thaw winters.
What Is the MUTCD-Compliant Chevron Paint Pattern?
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices does not formally standardize speed-bump devices but does cover the paint and signage. Standard chevron pattern:
- Color: Yellow and black, alternating
- Stripe width: 6 inches
- Stripe angle: 45 degrees from the lane centerline
- Coverage: Full top surface of the bump
- Edge orientation: Stripes point in the direction of travel (chevron tips face oncoming drivers)
The Federal Highway Administration Traffic Calming ePrimer (safety.fhwa.dot.gov) cross-references the same pattern. Most Oregon city codes — Portland PBOT, Salem PW Chapter 79, Eugene EPP — require chevron-painted bumps on public-road traffic-calming installs.
For the broader code context behind this spec, see speed bump standards MUTCD.
What Paint Type Should Be Used?
Three paint types appear in practice:
- Standard traffic paint (water-based latex). Lasts 8 to 18 months in Oregon's freeze-thaw climate. Lowest cost. Most common on residential and small-commercial bumps.
- Solvent-based traffic paint. Lasts 18 to 36 months. Better wet-weather adhesion. Requires VOC-compliant formulation in Oregon (Oregon DEQ regulations, oregon.gov/deq).
- Thermoplastic. Lasts 3 to 5 years. Highest upfront cost but lowest annualized maintenance. Most common on heavy-traffic commercial parking lots.
Oregon's I-5 corridor sees roughly 30 to 60 freeze-thaw cycles per winter per Oregon Climate Service (climate.oregonstate.edu). Latex paint typically loses 40 to 60 percent of visibility after one winter; thermoplastic loses 5 to 15 percent.
What Are the Reflective Marking Options?
Three reflective add-ons appear on commercial bumps:
- Reflective tape strips. Adhesive 4-inch tape applied along the chevron stripes. Lifespan 2 to 4 years. Cost $20 to $60 per bump.
- Reflective end caps. Plastic caps that snap onto the lane-edge ends of modular bumps, with embedded reflective elements. Lifespan 5 to 7 years. Cost $30 to $80 per bump (paired).
- Embedded reflectors. Pre-formed reflective markers embedded in the chevron-painted surface during install. Lifespan 5 to 10 years. Cost $40 to $120 per bump.
Cojo recommends reflective end caps plus reflective tape on commercial parking-lot bumps for double-redundant nighttime visibility. Single-layer tape alone fails predictably under chevron-paint repaint cycles.
Where Should the Advance Warning Sign Go?
Per MUTCD guidance and the Federal Highway Administration sign-placement standards, the W17-1 "Bump" advance warning sign should be installed:
- 100 to 200 feet upstream of the bump. The exact distance depends on approach speed; FHWA references 200 feet for 25 mph approach, 100 feet for 5 to 10 mph approach.
- In both directions of travel. Two-way drive aisles need two signs per bump.
- On a steel post. 6 to 8-foot mounting height for parking-lot installs; 7-foot minimum for street installs per MUTCD.
- With reflective face. Diamond-shaped yellow with black "BUMP" text per MUTCD section 2C.
Some Oregon jurisdictions add a supplementary distance plaque (e.g., "200 FT") below the W17-1 sign. The plaque is optional under MUTCD; some local codes make it mandatory.
What Is the Painting Procedure on a New Bump?
Step 1 — Wait for cure
Asphalt-poured bumps need 48 to 72 hours of cure before chevron paint. Concrete bumps need 14 days for full strength. Modular rubber and plastic bumps can be painted immediately after install.
Step 2 — Clean the surface
Wire-brush or air-blast the bump's top surface to remove dust, oil, and curing residue. Paint applied to dirty surfaces fails within weeks.
Step 3 — Mask the chevron pattern
Use 6-inch-wide masking tape to define the alternating stripe pattern at 45 degrees. Most painters mask one color at a time.
Step 4 — Spray or roll the first color
Apply yellow paint to the masked pattern. Allow 30 to 60 minutes cure between colors. Most water-based latex paints reach surface-cure in this window.
Step 5 — Re-mask and apply the second color
Pull the first masking, re-mask for the black stripes, and apply black paint. Pull the masking before paint fully cures to avoid lifting edges.
Step 6 — Apply reflective add-ons
Tape, end caps, or embedded reflectors per the project spec.
Step 7 — Allow full cure before opening to traffic
30 to 60 minutes for water-based latex; 24 hours for thermoplastic. Open to traffic only after full cure.
For deeper detail on the bump install before painting, see how to install speed bumps.
How Often Should the Chevron Be Repainted?
| Paint Type | Repaint Interval (Oregon I-5 Corridor) |
|---|---|
| Water-based latex | 12 to 18 months |
| Solvent-based | 24 to 36 months |
| Thermoplastic | 3 to 5 years |
For the maintenance schedule that connects repaint cycles to broader bump care, see speed bump maintenance.
How Does Cojo's Existing Marking Article Connect?
Cojo's existing /blog/ service-side article on speed bump marking requirements covers the property-manager-side restripe-cycle perspective. This product-side article covers the chevron-pattern spec on the bump itself. The two articles target different reader intents and cross-link rather than compete.
What About Bumps in Snow Country?
Bend, Eastern Oregon, and Cascade-foothills sites face additional marking constraints:
- Snowplow damage. Reflective end caps that protrude above the bump surface get clipped by plows. Recessed embedded reflectors hold up better.
- Sand and salt exposure. Latex paint degrades faster under sand-and-salt application. Thermoplastic or solvent-based paint is recommended for sub-30-degree-F winter sites.
- Removable bumps for plow season. Some Bend property managers remove rubber speed bumps for the November-to-March snow season to avoid plow damage entirely.
For Bend-area marking and bump install context, see our city service guide.
On a 14,000-square-foot Salem retail center we restriped in March 2026, the owner had inherited four speed bumps with chevron paint last applied in 2022. The latex paint had faded to roughly 25 percent visibility after three Oregon winters. We repainted with thermoplastic during the restripe; the new paint should hold visibility through 2030.
Get a Marking-Compliant Quote
Speed bump painting and marking is a per-bump line item on every quote, not an afterthought. Get a custom quote and Cojo will itemize chevron paint, reflective add-ons, advance warning signage, and the maintenance repaint cycle so you can compare bids on the same basis.
For Portland Metro property managers comparing options across multiple sites, our Speed Bumps in Portland Metro commercial guide covers regional supply and code references.