Citation

Sun C, Edaram P, Ervin K. J. Transp. Saf. Secur. 2011; 3(3): 157-173.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Southeastern Transportation Center, and Beijing Jiaotong University, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/19439962.2011.594934

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A field study was conducted on a Missouri low-volume road to examine if temporary rumble strips could improve safety in elevated-risk work zones. This study complements previous studies by addressing several new issues: vehicles that cross over a lane to bypass strips, physical displacement of strips, and deployment of strips at an angle. An objective was to measure performance in a challenging and nonidealized site, thus the site contained geometric challenges such as curves, a bridge approach, and a pavement transition. The study found an increase of more than 10% in the number of vehicles that braked due to rumble strips, an average speed decrease of up to 6 kilometers per hour (3.7 miles per hour), and an increase in speed compliance of 2.9% for the braking vehicles. But the number of lane crossovers increased by 8.79%. The study also compared rumble strips deployed perpendicularly and at an angle and found no significant differences in braking and speed reductions but found an increase in lane crossovers. In terms of vertical movement, perpendicular strips did not move whereas angled strips moved up to 3.73 cm per 100 wheel impacts. Taking into account all study measures, the rumble strips provided a net improvement in safety.