Rumble strips are grooves or indents placed in the pavement to alert drivers through noise and vibration that they are drifting outside of their lane. The strips have been on Maine roads since 2006.
They are quite effective in keeping drivers from crossing the centerline and potentially causing a head-on collision. Rumble strips are responsible for reducing fatalities in head-on collisions by nearly 90 percent.
The Maine Department of Transportation is responsible for installing rumble strips on our roadways. They have worked to identify potential corridors where head-on crashes are more frequent, or where a particular corridor might share similar characteristics of others where there is or has been a larger number of head-on collisions.
Through their research, they found that most head-on collisions occur on roadways with an average annual daily traffic of more than 6,000 cars and where speed limits were generally 45 mph or greater. Most of these identified roadways have already had rumble strips installed, and MDOT is now looking to place them on other high-speed corridors that may not have the traffic volumes but could still benefit from these safety measures.
One obstacle that MDOT has had to overcome is complaints from motorists regarding the noise rumble strips make, especially when larger vehicles (logging trucks or tractor trailers) go over them. They have studied various options to alleviate some of the noise and have come up with a new design that is sinusoidal (S-shaped). This new design isn’t as deep as previous rumble strips and will still alert a potentially distracted driver. A benefit to this new design is the reduction in noise that is made.
Rumble strips are a great safety measure to help alert distracted motorists. The continued efforts by MDOT to place rumble strips on more of our roadways is a testament to their dedication to ensuring our residents reach their destination(s) safely.
The next time you cross the centerline and feel that vibration or hear that rumble, remember why it’s there — to protect you, your loved ones and others on the roadway.
Please drive responsibly and make sure you share the road with other motorists.
If you have questions regarding rumble strips, please contact the public works office.
Nathan Bond is the public works director for the city of Presque Isle. He can be reached at 764-2560.
