Roadway Shoulder Treatments – Rumble Strips - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Architects and Surveyors

Roadway Shoulder Treatments – Rumble Strips

Course Outline

This three-hour online course discusses the design and practices used for roadway shoulder rumble strips (SRS). Course topics include the research, past and ongoing, effectiveness, advantages, disadvantages, and benefits for various types of pavement and roadways. The types, designs and dimensions, guidelines for best applications and installation in new and existing roadways are also covered. State policies and practices are reviewed.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will have covered these topics on SRS:

History and development of shoulder rumble strips;
Past and ongoing research;
Areas of concern, which require further research;
Effects on bicyclists and measures taken for safety;
Types of rumble strips, and improvements in roadway safety;
Designs and dimensions;
Construction in pavements and/or shoulders;
How SRS alert drivers for roadway changes;
Benefits and disadvantages;
.Common road vehicle auditory levels; and
Survey of State policies and practices.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for civil engineers and transportation design engineers.

Benefit to Attendees

The student will become familiar with the design and practices used for roadway shoulder rumble strips (SRS).

Course Introduction

One-third of all traffic fatalities is caused by run-off-road (ROR) crashes and two-thirds of these crashes occur in rural areas. Many drivers are falling asleep because of fatigue or alcohol or inattention. Shoulder rumble strips (SRS) effectively alert drivers who are running off the roadway by causing a sudden rumbling sound and vibration of the vehicle. Rumble strips are also used to warn drivers of road changes in order to slow for toll plazas, to change lanes for work zones around a curve or to slow for a curve or traffic signals.

Course Content

The course is based on Parts 1 and 2 of the US DOT Federal Highway Administration publication, “Shoulder Treatments - Rumble Strips (Milled SRS, Rolled SRS)”, (2000 Edition, 66 pages), PDF file.

“Shoulder Treatments - Rumble Strips (Milled SRS, Rolled SRS)”

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

This course should serve as a guide to assist engineers in understanding the effectiveness, benefits, placement and types of SRS. Best applications and installation in new and existing roadways are discussed. This course should serve as a guide for designing and selecting appropriate SRS for type of roadway pavement and usage.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please refer to:

http://www.safety.fhwa.dot. ogv/roadway_dept/rumble/
Information and applications describing rumble strips, usage, and construction methods.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/desi.cfm
FHWA site for design, construction, and maintenance of pavement and the design status of pavements in the US.

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/techadvs/t504035.htm
FHWA consideration of bicyclists and effects of rumble strips in pave shoulders.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.