jputnam

With a big national push to reduce motorist accidents, and little national attention to cyclists, the past few years have seen many states install rumble strips on shoulders and center lines that pose serious threats to cyclists -- many accidents have been documented.

It's possible to make safe rumble strips, but motor-minded DOTs often don't understand the hazards they're creating for cyclists, or see the need to provide safe passage for cyclists.

Fortunately, many of these projects use Federal grant funding, and the big Federal safety programs, like HSIP, allow funding for

"Installation of rumble strips or another warning device, if the rumble strips or other warning devices do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists and pedestrians, including persons with disabilities."

That's a big "if", and many transportation agencies are ignoring it.

If you see hazardous new rumble strips going in where you ride, don't just figure you have to live with them. Take the time to read FHWA's technical advisories on rumble strip safety and cyclists,

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_d...trips/t504039/

Then look over the new installations and find the defects. Raise them with the transportation agency, with your state DOT, with your state Bike-Ped Coordinator, and with your State and Federal elected officials. Squeaky wheels *can* stop these projects.

Last year, King County, Washington, with the blessing of the Washington State DOT, was installing miles of hazardous, non-compliant rumble strips on prime cycling routes. It took an uproar, with cyclists contacting elected officials, blocking rumble strip grinding crews, and organizing to sustain opposition, but the County stopped, and even repaired some of the worst of the damage they'd done to local roads.

One community even developed a new cycling advocacy group out of this, https://www.bikevashon.org/ They're active in Safe Routes to School and keep an eye on the County for future ill-planned work.

howsteepisit

Thanks for the info on the legality of rumble strips. I hate those things.

Myosmith

I have to commend the MNDOT and state and county highway departments in this area. Two of the larger highways in my area have been repaved in the last few years and the rumble strips have been installed rather intelligently. The shoulders have been widened to almost a full car width with intermittent rumble strips about a foot wide right on the fog line. It's like having a bike lane with built in warning system of anyone crossing the white line behind you. The strips are intermittent with wide openings to the lane every 50 feet or so making it fairly easy to take the lane to avoid obstacles.

Cross the state line into eastern ND and its a different story. They have gone nuts with rumble strips and the shoulders on many rural highways are steep, rough, or non-existant. On sections of US 29 between Grand Forks and Fargo (legal for bicycle travel) have six-foot wide well paved shoulders but they cut rumble strips all the way from the fog line to the ditch. WTF

rydabent

I have always wondered if any of the national cycling organization have any effort in trying to educate highway people about rumble strips and bikes, and especially trikes. It seems to me that in a lot of cases rumble strips are far wider than needed, and interfer with bikes and trike trying to ride on the shoulders.

jputnam

Yes, there has been work at the national level by the League of American Bicyclists, see, e.g., their position paper at https://www.bikeleague.org/resources/...ble_strips.pdf

Their work played a big part in getting FHWA to issue its Technical Advisories on rumble strips and cyclists.

Unfortunately, much of that has yet to filter down to the average practicing engineer or road crew lead, so what the standards call for and what's actually installed are often quite different.