Whats the point of rumble strips?
Whats the point of rumble strips?
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Discussion

hedders

Original Poster:

24,460 posts

277 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
I can see the point of the ones down the sides of motorways and the ones that warn that the motorway / fast road is coming to an end.

On my way home (country road) there is a sign that says "CAUTION! RUMBLE STRIPS! and sure enough there are then a few sets of rumble strips which appear to have no function apart from apparently creating a need for caution?

Whats that all about then?

paulhol

482 posts

271 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it

egomeister

7,603 posts

293 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


Or they could cause the driver to lock up when someone walks out on the crossing in front of him

[/devilsadvocatemode]

eccles

14,390 posts

252 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
round this part of the world they are there to scare the dear away.

deltafox

3,839 posts

262 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
They do a good job of rendering your abs useless, that much i do know.

paulhol

482 posts

271 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
egomeister said:
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


Or they could cause the driver to lock up when someone walks out on the crossing in front of him

[/devilsadvocatemode]


if you have to lock the wheels you were going too fast anyway

[devilhimselfmode /]

deltafox

3,839 posts

262 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
paulhol said:
egomeister said:
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


Or they could cause the driver to lock up when someone walks out on the crossing in front of him

[/devilsadvocatemode]


if you have to lock the wheels you were going too fast anyway

[devilhimselfmode /]


Wrong.

hedders

Original Poster:

24,460 posts

277 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


There is a side road, but my road has priority so it is not necessary to slow down unless someone is pulling out, I would have thought a sign warning about vehicles pulling out would be more appropriate than a sign warning of rumble strips, but no indication of a road coming up!





hedders

Original Poster:

24,460 posts

277 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
deltafox said:
paulhol said:
egomeister said:
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


Or they could cause the driver to lock up when someone walks out on the crossing in front of him

[/devilsadvocatemode]


if you have to lock the wheels you were going too fast anyway

[devilhimselfmode /]


Wrong.


Yup, completely wrong.

My last lock up was at less than thirty on a newly surfaced road.

paulhol

482 posts

271 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
deltafox said:
paulhol said:
egomeister said:
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


Or they could cause the driver to lock up when someone walks out on the crossing in front of him

[/devilsadvocatemode]


if you have to lock the wheels you were going too fast anyway

[devilhimselfmode /]


Wrong.


the indicates i was taking the p!ss

dirkgently

2,160 posts

261 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
hedders said:
I can see the point of the ones down the sides of motorways and the ones that warn that the motorway / fast road is coming to an end.

On my way home (country road) there is a sign that says "CAUTION! RUMBLE STRIPS! and sure enough there are then a few sets of rumble strips which appear to have no function apart from apparently creating a need for caution?

Whats that all about then?


I never understand the signs warning you of other signs, if you are awake enough to read them you are awake enough to see the bloody hazard. Rumble strips shake the shit out of you on a motorcycle especially when they are thoughtfully placed on a bend.

hedders

Original Poster:

24,460 posts

277 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
If you were on a bike i think you would still be leaning when you hit these ones funnily enough!

deltafox

3,839 posts

262 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
paulhol said:
deltafox said:
paulhol said:
egomeister said:
paulhol said:
is there a crossing/hazardous bit of road ahead? might be there to wake up any sleeping drivers so they pay attention to it


Or they could cause the driver to lock up when someone walks out on the crossing in front of him

[/devilsadvocatemode]


if you have to lock the wheels you were going too fast anyway

[devilhimselfmode /]


Wrong.


the indicates i was taking the p!ss


Yup of that i am aware.

TripleS

4,294 posts

272 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
hedders said:
I can see the point of the ones down the sides of motorways and the ones that warn that the motorway / fast road is coming to an end.

On my way home (country road) there is a sign that says "CAUTION! RUMBLE STRIPS! and sure enough there are then a few sets of rumble strips which appear to have no function apart from apparently creating a need for caution?

Whats that all about then?


Search me. Anything that disturbs my peace and quiet while driving is a confounded nuisance. I must say I find rumble strips extremely irritating, and I wonder if other drivers are in any way upset by them, even if it is only at the subconscious level. As for braking, I can not honestly say they cause me any concern in that respect.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

Parrot of Doom

23,075 posts

264 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
Don't have a problem with them. Not all junctions are well lit and visible. If they're there to indicate a possible hazard (say a hidden junction in a dip) then thats good news.

You can be a very careful driver, and still miss visual cues.

markmullen

15,877 posts

264 months

Wednesday 18th January 2006
quotequote all
Around here they are on the approach to a new speed limit, eg NSL into a 30. Thats great news as just as you're hard on the brakes the car is unsettled by stupid rumble strips

Parrot of Doom

23,075 posts

264 months

Thursday 19th January 2006
quotequote all
Sorry but thats silly. You shouldn't be hard on the brakes. If you are, you're not paying attention.

catso

16,491 posts

297 months

Thursday 19th January 2006
quotequote all
I think they're designed to unsettle Motorbike suspension, whilst braking and therefore possibly causing the rider to crash, they're especially effective on slight curves on Dual Carriageways with those cheese-wire central barriers, in the wet....

>> Edited by catso on Thursday 19th January 00:09

deeps

5,432 posts

271 months

Thursday 19th January 2006
quotequote all
Parrot of Doom said:
Sorry but thats silly. You shouldn't be hard on the brakes. If you are, you're not paying attention.


To say that you must be assuming that we all drive like robots, slowing down in plenty of time to enter the 30 limit. In my experience some people drive a little more lively and are deliberately hard on the brakes. So what?

In real life, if there's an event and you have to hit the brakes on rumble strips they've just made your braking capacity worse. Yes you can say you shouldn't have to brake hard if you're concentrating and reading the road, but it happens and rumble strips can only make the situation worse.

IMO they're just another piece of do-gooder nonsense. Like we'd all over-shoot a roundabout without them!! Bollox

Pigeon

18,535 posts

276 months

Thursday 19th January 2006
quotequote all
I suspect that part of the reasoning behind having them on approaches to roundabouts is to get people to show brake lights early, thus alerting following numpties that slowing down is taking place and reducing the likelihood of rear-end shunts. But it is quite obvious that whoever came up with the idea doesn't ride a bike. How about a revised design with a clear gap down the middle... no, that's no good as it'd be guiding the bikes onto the bit where everyone else drips oil. A clear gap offset to the outside?