Practice of Rumble Strips and Rumble Stripes (2016)

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31 NCHRP Synthesis on Rumble Strip Practices 46-13 Dear State DOT Safety/Traffic Engineer The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is preparing a synthesis on Practice of Rumble Strips and Rumble Stripes. This is being done for NCHRP, under the sponsorship of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration. Rumble strips are a low cost safety countermeasure used to reduce roadway/lane departure crashes. When a pavement marking is applied over the rumble pattern, it is known as a rumble stripe. The practices from state to state are not uniform and there may not be one ideal design for all applications. There are advantages and disadvantages to the different rumble designs. This synthesis will identify current practices used by states installing rumble strips and rumble stripes. The scope of this synthesis study will focus on the safety benefits, rumble design, external noise considerations, durability/maintenance issues, impacts on bicyclists, and public affairs/outreach efforts. Results will benefit government agencies, researchers, and the road-building industry in providing guidance on successful practices. This questionnaire is being sent to all state DOTs. Your cooperation in completing the questionnaire will ensure the success of this effort. If you are not the appropriate person at your agency to complete this questionnaire, please forward it to the correct person. Please complete and submit this survey by April 20, 2015. We estimate that it should take approximately 12 minutes to complete. If you have any questions, please contact our principal investigator Omar Smadi. Any supporting materials can be sent directly to Omar Smadi by email at smadi@iastate.edu. Questionnaire Instructions To view and print the entire questionnaire click on the following link and print using “control p” To save your partial answers and complete the questionnaire later click on the “Save and Continue Later” link on the top of your screen. A link to the incomplete questionnaire will be emailed to you from SurveyGizmo. To return to the questionnaire later, open the email from SurveyGizmo and click on the link. We suggest using the “Save and Continue Later” feature if there will be more than 15 minutes of inactivity while the survey is opened, as some firewalls may terminate due to inactivity. To pass a partially completed questionnaire to a colleague click on the on the “Save and Continue Later” link in the upper right hand corner of your screen. A link to the incomplete questionnaire will be emailed to you from SurveyGizmo. Open the email from SurveyGizmo and forward it to a colleague. To view and print your answers before submitting the survey click forward to the page following question 70. Print using “control p.” To submit the survey click on “Submit” on the last page. Thank you very much for your time and expertise! Definitions Shoulder Rumble Strip is a longitudinal safety feature installed on a paved roadway shoulder near the outside edge of the travel lane. It is made of a series of milled or raised elements intended to alert inattentive drivers (through vibration and sound) that their vehicles have left the travel lane (FHWA definition). 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) that their vehicles have left the travel lane (FHWA definition). Bicycle Gap Pattern (gap plus cycle) consists of a gap clear of rumbles (typical between 10 to 12 feet) and then a cycle of rumbles (typical 40 to 60 feet). APPENDIX A Survey Questions

32 Intermittent Gap is a gap created between continuous application of the rumble line, for pre-determined situations such as intersections, major driveways, bridge decks, etc. Edge Line Rumble Stripe is a special type of shoulder rumble strip placed directly at the edge of the travel lane with the edge line pavement marking placed through the line of rumble strips. Centerline Rumble Stripe is when the center line pavement marking is placed over the center line rumble strip. Tactile is the vibration induced in the motor vehicle by the rumble strips which can be referred to as the “tactile warning.” Audible is the noise generated as the motor vehicle tires pass over the rumble strip thus providing an audible warning to the motorist. Contact Information Please enter your contact information: First Name: Last Name: Agency/Organization: Street Address: Suite: City: State: Zip Code: E-mail Address: Phone Number: Rumble Strip Usage 1) Does your agency use rumble strips? Yes No 2) Does your agency have a written policy/guidelines concerning the application of rumble strips? Yes No 3) If Yes, please provide a copy by e-mail to smadi@iastate.edu or link to this policy/guidance Rumble Strip Selection Criteria 4) On what types of roadways does your agency install shoulder and/or centerline rumble strips? Definitions: Shoulder Rumble Strip is a longitudinal safety feature installed on a paved roadway shoulder near the outside edge of the travel lane. It is made of a series of milled or raised elements intended to alert inattentive drivers (through vibration and sound) that their vehicles have left the travel lane. (FHWA definition). 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) that their vehicles have left the travel lane (FHWA definition).

33 5) What conditions impact your agency’s SHOULDER rumble strip policy or guidelines? Please identify and provide minimum required values. Roadway Type None Left Shoulder (median) Center Line Right Shoulder (outside) Urban multilane divided highways Urban multilane undivided highways Urban two-lane roads Rural multilane divided highways Rural multilane undivided highways Rural two-lane roads Condition Yes Minimum Required Value Comment Shoulder width: ADT: Pavement type: Pavement condition: Crash frequency/rate: Alignment: Speed Limit: Other (please specify): 6) What conditions impact your agency’s CENTER LINE rumble strip policy or guidelines? Please identify and provide minimum required values. Condition Yes Minimum Required Value Comment Lane width: ADT: Pavement type: Pavement condition: Crash frequency/rate: Alignment: Speed limit: Other (please specify):

34 Check all that apply Audible Ranges None Inside vehicle Outside vehicle Design/Installation Practices—General 7) Do you apply a sealant over rumble strips? Yes No Yes, but not standard practice 8) Please explain why. 9) Do you field check installed rumble strip dimensions? Yes No 10) Do you use a standard (fully defined) method to check dimensions? Yes No 11) What field dimensions are measured? Length Width Depth Spacing Pattern 12) Do you have an electronic database of your installed locations? Yes No 13) Are these data records tied to a location reference system? Yes No 14) Does your agency have specifications regarding the AUDIBLE ranges that a rumble strip should produce? Audible is the noise generated as the motor vehicle tires pass over the rumble strip thus providing an audible warning to the motorist.

35 15) Does your agency have specifications regarding the TACTILE ranges that a rumble strip should produce? Tactile is the vibration induced in the motor vehicle by the rumble strips which can be referred to as the “tactile warning.” Yes or No Tactile Ranges Tactile specifications? Yes or No Comments Pattern specifications? 16) Does your agency have specifications regarding the PATTERN to be used for a rumble strip? Design/Installation Practices—Shoulder Rumble Strip 17) How close to the edge line does your agency install shoulder rumble strips? Please provide value in inches. 18) Is the placement dependent on the location of the edge joint? Yes No 19) What type of shoulder rumble strips are installed by your agency? Bicycle Gap Pattern (gap plus cycle) consists of a gap clear of rumbles (typically between 10 and 12 feet) and then a cycle of rumbles (typically 40 to 60 feet). 20) Does your agency install shoulder rumble strips intermittently? Intermittent Gap is a gap created between continuous application of the rumble line, for pre-determined situations such as intersections, major driveways, bridge decks, etc. . . . Yes No 21) What factors determine where you avoid placing rumble strips? Noise Bicycles Special Users Bridge Decks Other (required answer) Type Yes Pattern (where applicable) Why Is This Pattern Used? Continuous Pattern (gap/cycle) Bicycle gap pattern

36 22) What are the typical dimensions for shoulder rumble strips? 23) Do any of the rumble strip dimensions vary by roadway type? Design/Installation Practices—Center Line Rumble Strip 24) Where does your agency place the center line rumble relative to the roadway centerline pavement marking (see photos from NCHRP Report 641)? Within pavement marking (rumble stripe) Centerline rumble stripe is when the center line pavement marking is placed over the center line rumble strip. Not within pavement marking (rumble strip) Rumble stripe Rumble strip Both Other (required answer) Check One How? Yes No Length Width Spacing Depth Dimensions (inches) Length Width Spacing Depth

37 26) Does your agency install center line rumble strips intermittently? Intermittent Gap is a gap created between continuous application of the rumble line, for pre-determined situations such as intersections, major driveways, bridge decks, etc. Yes No 27) What factors determine where you avoid placing rumble strips? Noise Bicycles Special Users Bridge Decks Other (required answer) 28) What are the typical dimensions for center line rumble strips? 25) What type of center line rumble strips are installed by your agency? Bicycle Gap Pattern (gap plus cycle) consists of a gap clear of rumbles (typically between 10 and 12 feet) and then a cycle of rumbles (typically 40 to 60 feet). Type Yes Pattern (where applicable) Why is this pattern used? Continuous Pattern (gap/cycle) Bicycle gap pattern Dimensions (inches) Length Width Spacing Depth

38 Design/Installation Practices—Rumble Stripe 30) Does your agency use edge line rumble stripes? Edge line rumble stripe is a special type of shoulder rumble strip placed directly at the edge of the travel lane with the edge line pavement marking placed through the line of rumble strips. Yes No 31) Where is the rumble stripe placed relative to the pavement edge (use inches for any dimensions)? 32) Does your agency use center line rumble stripes? Yes No 33) Does your agency measure pavement marking retroreflectivity of the rumble stripe? Retroreflectivity is a measure of the ability of a material to reflect light back to the originating source. Yes No 29) Do any of the rumble strip dimensions vary by roadway type? Check One How? Yes* No* Length Width Spacing Depth

39 34) Please identify under which conditions these measurements are made: Dry Continuous Wetting (during rain) Wet Recovery (after rain) All of the above 35) Which pavement marking products are used for rumble stripe installations? Standard Acrylic Waterborne Paint High Build Acrylic Waterborne Paint Epoxy Polyurea Urethane Sprayed Thermoplastic Other (required answer) 36) Does your agency use any wet reflective media to enhance wet night visibility of the rumble stripes? Yes No Yes, but not standard practice Maintenance Practices—Rumble Strip 37) Over time, does your agency re-apply sealant over rumble strips? Yes No 38) How often is the sealant reapplied (in months)? 39) What triggers re-application of the sealant? Visual Inspection Timed Maintenance Condition Based Assessment Other 40) Does your agency have a life expectancy for a rumble strip (in terms of tactile and audible effectiveness) or is replacement based on pavement surface rehabilitation? Check One Life Expectancy (years) Yes* No* Based on tactile and audible effectiveness Based on pavement surface rehabilitation

40 41) Do winter maintenance operations vary based on the presence of rumble strips (snow removal, sanding, salt and brine applications)? Yes No 42) Please note how your agencies winter maintenance practices vary given the presence of rumble strips? Maintenance Practices—Rumble Stripe 43) How does your agency maintain the pavement marking within the rumble strip? Remove existing markings prior to re-application Paint over existing markings 44) How many times do you re-apply over existing markings prior to impacting the rumble tactile and audible effectiveness? 45) Has your agency experienced differences in retroreflectivity by direction of travel for centerline rumble stripes? Yes No 46) How has your agency addressed this issue? For example, through varied installation methods, equipment, re-application frequencies? Benefits 47) Has your agency established crash modification factors for installing rumble strips? Yes No 48) What are crash modification factor values that your agency uses for rumble strips? 49) Has your agency establish a cost–effectiveness value for installing rumble strips based on safety benefits? Yes No 50) What are the cost-effective values your agency uses when considering the installation of rumble strips? 51) There is anecdotal evidence that installing a pavement marking over the rumble strip extends the life of the marking. What is your agency’s experience? Check One Life Expectancy (years) Yes* No* Similar performance Extended life by less than 1-year Extended life by greater than 1-year Other

41 52) Does your agency use rumble stripes as a wet night visibility solution? Yes No 53) Has this been measured? Do you have a wet condition retroreflectivity minimum or target? 54) Are there other benefits your agency considers from using rumble stripes? Issues 55) Please identify the relative importance of the following rumble strip or stripe issues faced by your agency (5 being the most important issue faced). 56) Are there any other issues not listed above? (please note) 57) Does your agency rumble strip policy/guidance address noise concerns? Yes No Not Applicable 58) Does this impact installation practices: In terms of locations selected for installation? In terms of rumble strip design? Other considerations? (please note) 59) Does your rumble strip policy/guidance address bicycle safety complaints? Yes No Not Applicable 60) Does this impact installation practices: In terms of locations selected for installation? In terms of rumble strip design? Other considerations? (please note) Relative Importance 5 (Highest) 4 3 2 1 (Lowest) Noise complaints Bicycle complaints Motorcycle complaints Pavement deterioration (center line joint) Pavement deterioration (edge line) Winter maintenance issues Pavement marking performance Rumbles on thin asphalt overlay/micro surface/chip seal

42 61) Does your rumble strip policy/guidance address Motorcycle safety complaints? Yes No Not Applicable 62) Does this impact installation practices in terms: In terms of locations selected for installation? In terms of rumble strip design? Other considerations? (please note) 63) Does your rumble strip policy/guidance address pavement deterioration issues? Yes No Not Applicable 64) Does this impact installation practices in terms: In terms of locations selected for installation? In terms of rumble strip design? Other considerations? (please note) 65) Does your rumble strip policy/guidance address winter maintenance issues? Yes No Not Applicable 66) Does this impact installation practices in terms: In terms of locations selected for installation? In terms of rumble strip design? Other considerations? (please note) 67) Please rate your agency’s experience on the level of public complaints regarding rumble strips: Frequency of Complaints Low* Medium* High* Noise complaints Bicycle complaints Motorcycle complaints Pavement deterioration (center line joint) Pavement deterioration (edge line) Winter maintenance issues Pavement marking performance Rumbles on thin asphalt overlay/micro surface/chip seal

43 68) Has your agency developed fact sheets/brochures regarding the benefits of rumble strips to communicate with the public? Yes No Other (required answer) 69) Please provide an example or link for either rumble strips or stripes. 70) Has your agency developed Public Service Announcements (web, radio, TV) to communicate the benefits of rumble strips? Yes No Other (required answer) 71) Please provide an example or link for either rumble strips or stripes. 72) Please add any general comments on the topic.