APPLICATION AND EVALUATION OF RUMBLE STRIPS ON HIGHWAYS

The relationship between rumble strips, which serve as a safety device on highways, and travel speed is twofold: (1) In travel lanes, rumble strips caution or force drivers to reduce travel speed when they approach a particular area, such as an intersection, a crosswalk, a curve or a school zone; and (2) on highway shoulders, its roughness and noise draws drivers' attention (perhaps even waking the driver) when the vehicle is leaving the travel lane. The purposes of this paper are (1) to discuss the application of rumble strips on highway shoulders in Utah, and (2) to evaluate its effectiveness from a safety perspective.