Rumble strip
road safety feature
Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a traffic calming feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through a vehicle's wheels into its interior. A rumble strip is applied along the direction of travel following an edgeline or centerline, to alert drivers when they drift from their lane. Rumble strips may also be installed in a series across the direction of travel, to warn drivers of a stop or slowdown ahead, or of an approaching danger spot.
In favorable circumstances, rumble strips are effective (and cost-effective) at reducing accidents due to inattention. The effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips is largely dependent on a wide and stable road shoulder for a recovery, but there are several other less obvious factors that engineers consider during design.
Other names
Rumble strips are also known as audible lines, sleepy bumps, wake up calls, ruffles strips (named after the potato chips), speed regulating strips (in Singapore) growlers, drift lines, waker-uppers, and drunk bumps.
Placement
Rumble strips are divided into transverse rumble strips, shoulder rumble strips, and centerline rumble strips, depending on how they are used.
Transverse rumble strips are placed in the travel lanes where most if not all vehicles will cross them. They are used to alert the driver of an upcoming intersection, toll booth or similar hazard. They may cross the entire road from shoulder to shoulder, or they may only be in the wheel paths.
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