This synthesis documents current practices used by states installing rumble strips and explores variations in practice in terms of design, criteria, and locations for installation, maintenance, perceived benefits, communication of benefits, and important issues. Information was acquired through a literature review, survey on current practice, and case examples. The survey also included questions specific to the state of practice for rumble stripes, which is the term used when the pavement marking lines are painted on the rumble strip in an effort to increase visibility during inclement weather conditions. The findings indicate that two-thirds of the state agencies rely on traditional methods to address the noise issue: skipping rumbles in residential areas, adjusting their depth, or not installing rumbles at all. The overwhelming majority of responding states, 83%, have developed policies or guidance to modify their rumble design practices to be sensitive to cyclists. Fewer than half the respondents have developed policies/guidance to address pavement deterioration; several agencies indicated that pavement condition is a factor on whether to install a rumble or not. The survey also showed that very few state DOTs have created public campaigns to explain that the use of rumbles improves safety so that complaints regarding noise, bicycle issues, and other are minimized.

Also available online via the Web pages of the TRB Cooperative Research Programs (www4.trb.org/trb/crp.nsf).

This report provides guidance for the design and application of shoulder and centerline rumble strips as an effective crash reduction measure, while minimizing adverse effects for motorcyclists, bicyclists, and nearby residents. Using the results of previous studies and the research conducted under this project, safety effectiveness estimates were developed for shoulder rumble strips on rural freeways and rural two-lane roads and for centerline rumble strips on rural and urban two-lane roads.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A candid and moving memoir of how one woman’s pregnancy forced her to confront her definition of how to live a successful life “Slyly ironic, frequently hilarious, [Martha] Beck’s memoir charts the journey from being smart to becoming wise.”—Time This edition includes a new afterword about Adam. From the moment Martha and her husband, John, accidentally conceived their second child, all hell broke loose. They were a couple obsessed with success. After years of matching IQs and test scores with less driven peers, they had two Harvard degrees apiece and were gunning for more. They’d plotted out a future in the most vaunted ivory tower of academe. But when their unborn son, Adam, was diagnosed with Down syndrome, doctors, advisers, and friends in the Harvard community warned them that if they decided to keep the baby, they would lose all hope of achieving their carefully crafted goals. Fortunately, that’s exactly what happened. By the time Adam was born, Martha and John were propelled into a world in which they were forced to redefine everything of value to them, put all their faith in miracles, and trust that they could fly without a net. And it worked. Expecting Adam captures the abject terror and exhilarating freedom of facing impending parenthood, being forced to question one’s deepest beliefs, and rewriting life’s rules.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 306: Long-Term Pavement Marking Practices documents the current and best practices for managing pavement marking systems, identifies future needs, and addresses driver needs and methods of communicating information to drivers, selection criteria (e.g., reflectivity, pavement service life, wet weather performance), materials (e.g., color, durability, cost), specifications, construction practices, inventory management systems, and more.