Originally Posted by
retswerb
Sober them up, no. But wake them up? Definitely. Why would you assume otherwise? Have you ever driven over one at speed?
Just about every roadway in my state has rumble strips. There are still no shortages of little white crosses along the roadsides here.
Most people who fall asleep at the wheel have no idea what is happening if and when ruble strips wake them up. Split seconds count and generally, depending on the road width and some luck, time has run out by the time a sleeping person regains consciousness, figures out where the Hell they are, what they are doing, and what they NEED to do.
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According to
WiKi:
"
Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. A rumble strip is applied along the direction of travel following an edgeline or centerline, to alert drivers when they drift from their lane. Rumble strips may also be installed in a series across the direction of travel, to warn drivers of a stop or slowdown ahead, or of an approaching danger spot."
"In favorable circumstances, rumble strips are effective (and cost-effective) at reducing accidents due to inattention. The effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips is largely dependent on a wide and stable road shoulder for a recovery, but there are several other less obvious factors that engineers consider during design."
(I added the
bold red underlines.)
"Largely dependent on a wide and stable shoulder for recovery". " ...effective at reducing accidents DUE TO INATTENTION.
"
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Federal Highway Administration:
"...National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 641: Guidance for the Design and Application of Shoulder and Centerline Rumble Strips documented significant crash reductions for SRS and CLRS on rural, two-lane highways. SRS were found to provide a
36-percent reduction in ROR fatal and injury crashes while CLRS were found to provide a
44-percent reduction in head-on fatal and injury crashes.
(7) However, researchers have found that rumble strips are not equally effective for all roadway geometries and traffic volumes. Additionally, rumble strips can be
used to target drowsy or distracted driving..."
36% and 44% reduction in fatal and injury crashes means that 64% and 56% (more than half) of people launched into oncoming traffic, trees, bayous, or bridge railings anyway.
Either ^^they didn't wake up or they couldn't figure out what was going on when suddenly awakened.
For those who like numbers anyway. Many do not.
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