Safety Effectiveness of Non-Freeway Sinusoidal Shoulder Corrugations

Details

• Creators:
  Gates, Timothy J. ; Bahrami, Vahid ; Keshari, Sagar ; Pahari, Sakar ; Cavka, Magdalena ; Babu, Akshay Suresh ; Dasgar, Yazmin ; Imosemi, Sunday ; Savolainen, Peter T. ; Dey, Kakan C.
• Corporate Creators:
  Michigan State University
• Corporate Contributors:
  Michigan Department of Transportation ; United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Rumble strips
  • Bicycles
  • Motorcycles
  • Noise
  • Vibration
  • Surveys
  • Highways
  • Highway safety
  • Traffic crashes
  • Cyclists
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  SPR-1772 ; OR24-006
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; Michigan
• Edition:
  Final Report, 4/24/2024 - 4/24/2026
• Corporate Publisher:
  Michigan. Department of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Sinusoidal rumble strips were designed to alleviate noise concerns by reducing roadside noise for residents, while maintaining adequate levels of in-vehicle noise and vibration. However, while research has shown that traditional rumble strip designs are effective towards reducing lane departure crashes, the safety performance of the sinusoidal rumble strip design remains unproven. Additionally, it is not well understood how the various corrugation designs impact bicyclist stability and comfort. Research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of sinusoidal shoulder corrugations as a traffic safety strategy, considering noise and vibration, stability and comfort for bicyclists, and traffic crashes. Five primary tasks were conducted, which included: (1) a field evaluation of roadside noise and in-vehicle noise and vibration produced by sinusoidal shoulder corrugations compared to traditional shoulder corrugations; (2) a field evaluation of bicyclist comfort, stability, and vibration when contacting sinusoidal vs. traditional corrugations; (3) an online nationwide survey of bicyclists' perceptions and experiences with rumble strips; (4) a survey of motorcyclists traveling in Michigan to determine their perceptions and experiences with rumble strips; (5) a safety performance analysis to develop crash modification factors for sinusoidal shoulder rumble strips. Overall, it was concluded that sinusoidal shoulder corrugations effectively reduce roadside noise compared to traditional corrugations without compromising the level of in-vehicle noise or vibration necessary to alert drivers. At 55 mph, the sinusoidal corrugations generated roadside noise levels that were 2.4 decibels lower than the traditional corrugations, regardless of vehicle type. At 65 mph, the sinusoidal corrugations generated roadside noise levels that were 4.8 dBA and 8.8 dBA lower than the traditional corrugations when contacted by a minivan and snowplow truck, respectively.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  2024-0232
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/93412/dot_93412_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 11.71 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5112bb7e89ed8adb4614904fd37e17e37c116d1c68181d930e7961bf44f07fc994c1707b948dcb5c8f562d34e7c6f8e6c461fda315407ba6cfc5403dbfc03dac