Rumble Strip Design Based on Jerk Intensity

Rumble strips have been applied on highways to reduce vehicle collisions involving vehicles either running off road or crossing over the centerline. The rumbling effect may be understood as tactile and/or audible inputs to inattentive or fatigue drivers. In this paper, by adopting a quarter vehicle model, we analyzed the tactile effect for milled-in rumble strips with different geometric parameters in terms of jerk intensity experienced by drivers. It can be inferred from this study that for higher jerk intensity ratios the optimal spacing between individual grooves lies somewhere around 180 mm. The spacing between individual grooves should not exceed 30 cm, and the depth of grooves between 5 to 15 mm is sufficient to cause an intense jerk ratio for practical purposes. These conclusions match the current field practice very closely. It is believed that the methodology may help develop new rumble strips design, or improve the existing design.