If you've travelled down the PM HWY you may have noticed that they have installed rumble strips along the sides and center line of that road.  Particularly, if you've travelled by bicycle, motorcycle or horse-and-buggy. 

 

I think such rumble strips are excellent ideas for limited access highways/freeways and prevent a lot of ROR (run off the road) accidents most often occurring by drowsy/intoxicated drivers falling asleep at the wheel and distracted drivers, texting or fiddling with other gadgets, maps, or children. 

 

But has there been any such accidents happening on the PM HWY in recent years to warrant such an expense to the already overburdened taxpayer, who are already travelling over rutted roads in many areas of the county?  If not, why install these potentially dangerous features, when studies have shown that they generally only encourage distracted driving in such areas, which may lead to an increase of ROR incidents?

 

Here's what wikipedia acknowledges about these strips, and the safety of some road users:

 

Cycling standards

The Transportation Association of Canada and US FHWA guidelines basically require that a width of 1.5m (5ft) of clear paved shoulder between the outside of the rumble strip and the edge of pavement is adequate to provide cyclists with a clear travel path.

 

However, in situations of parked vehicle on the shoulder, debris on the shoulder, or downhill sections even the 1.5m (5ft) clear path requirement rumble strips presents a significant hazard particularly if the pavement is wet. The argument that rumble strip help protect cyclists is puzzling as inattentive drivers' vehicles generally pass entirely over the rumble strip before recovery.

Other related FHWA guidelines are: "Rumble strips should not normally be used in urban or suburban areas or along roadways where prevailing speeds are less than 80 km/h (50 mph)." and "All responsible agencies should work in cooperation with bicycle groups, enforcement agencies, emergency groups and other roadway users, to develop policies, design standards and implementation techniques that address the safety and operational needs of all roadway users." and "To provide a clear area beyond the rumble strip for bicycle travel, highway maintenance agencies should periodically sweep shoulders along identified bicycle routes of high bicycle usage."

In the United States, the 1999 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities recommends minimum standards for road shoulders receiving rumble strips to accommodate all users of the roadway and make best use of funds.

 Cycling complaints

Numerous U.S. and Canadian cycling associations have complained about encroachment of rumble strips and one club even launched a lawsuit to have them paved over and an online petition to halt the practice.

 

A 2005 Quebec study concluded: "Based on the results of the analyses, it was not possible to recommend a type of rumble strip that would provide sufficient warning to drivers who encroach on the shoulder while remaining safe for cyclists who ride over it."

 

A 2003 Montana study suggested: "It was also recognized that bicyclists cannot operate on shoulders with rumble strips and it was indicated that shoulders would be swept as needed."

 

Once a section of highway with very narrow paved shoulders is rumble stripped cyclist tend to avoid them, however, sometimes unsuspecting cyclists do have serious accidents.

 

Much bicyclist opposition to rumble strips stems from situations in which no quantitative data is used to justify their installation and installation is not in accordance with the standard. Rumble strips on narrow shoulders force bicyclists into the roadway, where it is less safe to ride.

 

Furthermore, this scenario will force vehicles to make an otherwise unnecessary lane change to go around cyclists and there is a correlation with frequency of lane changes and accidents. "According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 9 percent (533,000) of all accidents occurred when vehicles were changing lanes or merging."   In certain incidents, a vehicle attempting to avoid cyclists (without striking the cyclists) may go off the road or even sideswipe a passing or an oncoming vehicle.

CLRS are a concern for cyclist as well as motorist do not move over towards or cross the centerline to provide sufficient space when passing bicyclist.

 

Rumble strips are very inexpensive to install, so there is concern that some installations are frirvolous. The 2009 economic stimulus infrastructure spending in the U.S. and Canada has raised concerns that many new shoulder rumble strips will be frirvolous as well.

 The Amish

In 2009 in St. Joseph County Michigan, after a lobby by the local Amish community a new $20,000 rumble strip installation was removed at a cost of $275,000 to the taxpayer. "M-DOT says they are not removing the strips just to appease the Amish. They say it is far more dangerous to have horses jumping out into the road that (sic) it is to not have the rumble strips on the road."

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All the bicycle tours that come through Ludington go through the section of PM HWY between Sixth Street and Iris Road.  These have now been made inhospitable to cyclists: for now they have to ride exclusively to either side of the strips.  If they ride on the road, it is much more dangerous to the bikes and the vehicles that will need to pass them by going to the left lane.  If they stay to the outside, parked cars near the bridges and other debris will force them over the strips and into the road. 

 

Motorcyclists will have increased dangers when they pass or travel too close to the road edge, and the Amish are going to be greatly endangered and inconvenienced when they come to town. 

 

I don't see the justification for these rumble strips along the PM HWY or any other local road, but does anyone else see any benefit from them?   

 

 

 

 

 

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On my aluminum-carbon fibre road bike I've cracked 44 mph down the Iris Road hill, 42 down the section of PM HWY shown. My speed is considerably less going up. Once I get in seasonal form I generally average between 18-20 mph average on my usual 32 mile route.

I was out there earlier today. Last nights heavy rains made the shoulder congested with sand and gravel up on the west side of the road near Conrad. Passing traffic generally pushes the sand back a few feet-- unfortunately, now thats where bicycle traffic travels thanks to the rumble strips.
Ro had a nice rockhopper by specialized, just sold it. I LOVED that bike. I really didn't want him to sell it. it had off road tires, a Y frame with front and rear shocks, awesome bike. Coasted so well and was so easy to ride. But way to big for him or me. I still road it anyway.

Now I am stuck riding my Giant, it's heavier than the specialized has a girls frame, has multi purpose tires and doesn't coast worth a sh1t, and is still a bit big for my 5' height. I think I am going to get one of those teen type bikes down at tailhead, well, not rly, I want a lightweight bike that is small enough for me.

DH says I should get a BMX. he says when he was young he had a really nice mongoose(before they sold out to wally world) with areia rims and that they were really badazz bikes. he says I could get a nice bike in a bmx.
Mountain bikes are cool, but I don't ride mine as much as I used too, since I can go most places quicker with my delicate road bike. Rockhoppers are good off-road bikes from what I've seen and heard, and Specialized has a good reputation-- sorry about your loss. It might be difficult to get a perfect bike at Trailhead that fits your size.
If you ask me, MDOT makes quite a few bone-headed decisions on their own, w/o the MCRC. Either way, I would also like to see studies that unequivocally show evidence of success, not in metro areas, rural like us. What's the wear and tear stats. on drivers tires too? And on suspensions? The times I've passed on these it was quite a jolt and felt like my tires were getting a real beating. It was also a very distracting and aggravating noisy affair now just to drive over them. My other thought is if you have a sleepy or drunk driver that hits these, my reaction would be to over-correct in fright and cause even more damage than previous. Anyhow, I think Lansing has been hiring some real idiots when it comes to safety advancements on our highways in recent years.
Elected officials should be picked the way ppl are for a jury, some sort of random drawing out of a hat where a 3rd grader gets to reach in and pick or a powerball with everyones drivers license number.lol. That way we get a better variety of ppl and only allow one term.

That way peoples personal agenda's would be nearly impossible to forward. Altruism might prevail.
Not bad ideas, Sheila. I am a proponent of what I call the "Grover Rule", named after Grover Cleveland who served two non-consecutive terms as POTUS. A politician would serve an elected term and then be replaced, unable to serve in elected/appointed capacity for a year.

This gets rid of career politicians, the notion of the incumbent, corrupt 'machines', personal agendas, and political cliques-- none of which serves the public positively in any way. Altruism, innovation, and actual democracy would flourish.
Today in the paper they had Hoekstra and a political contingent bicycling up the PM HWY, as he has in the past when he was campaigning for his US House seat. I'll bet he knows what a pain these strips are.

Shortly after I started this thread, a strong rain fell and left the west side of PM HWY near the top of the hill coming into Ludington a mess on the shoulder. The sand and gravel on the shoulder remained there for two weeks making a perilous trip for bicycles on the shoulder going south down the hill.

These rumble strips will cause a bunch of undocumented minor accidents to bicyclists, and their effectiveness on this 1.2 mile strip of highway to vehicles must come into question. The wide motor homes that generally travel a little over the road edge will now move more towards the middle, creating a new danger of median crossovers. Even if they had the median and side strips up where this type of accident killed the young lady last year (about 3 mi. further south), the collision would have likely been more head-on and severe. More data on this to come.

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