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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

General

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Legacy ID
21

Frequently Asked Questions

Definitions:

A center line rumble strip is a longitudinal safety feature installed at or near the center line of a paved roadway. It is made of a series of milled or raised elements intended to alert inattentive drivers (through vibration and sound...

PAVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE

Keeping the Rumble in the Strips

Rumble strips are effective because the noise and vibration produced alerts drivers that they have left the traveled way. As a result, it is important to keep rumble strips operating properly. While milled rumble strips typically do not require...

Mitigating Noise

The unusual noise tires make as they cross over rumble strips keeps drivers alive–but it may also keep neighbors awake. To fulfill their purpose, rumble strips must make enough noise inside the vehicle and tires must drop into the rumble to cause enough vibration to get the driver's attention....

Accommodating All Users

Safe accommodation of all road users can be considered when designing and applying rumble strips. Rumble strips are primarily a safety device for passenger vehicles. For other road users, particularly bicyclists, they may cause concerns. A part of the success in accommodating the variety of road...

BICYCLES

RUMBLE STRIPS AND BICYCLE ACCOMMODATION

Center and edge line or shoulder rumble strips are extremely effective in reducing severe roadway departure crashes at a low cost. Rumble strips use both noise and vibration to alert the driver that he or she is leaving the appropriate travel...

General Information

Overview

Rumble strips are an effective countermeasure for reducing roadway departure crashes. The noise and vibration produced by rumble strips alert drivers when they leave the traveled way. Rumble stripes is the term used for rumble strips painted with a retroreflective coating to...

Design & Construction

This section highlights the following items that are important elements of rumble strip design.

  • Crash types to mitigate
  • Facility type (freeway, multi-lane, two-lane)
  • Dimensions of rumble strips
  • Types of rumble strips (shoulder, edge, center line)...

Safety

More than half (57 percent) of U.S. traffic fatalities occur after a driver crosses the edge or center line of a roadway. Two-thirds (65 percent) of these fatal crashes occur in rural areas.

WHAT CAUSES ROADWAY DEPARTURES?

Many factors contribute to drivers leaving the roadway...