Rumble strips are a major issue for cyclists in Georgia. Back in November, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released new guidelines for state DOTs to follow regarding rumble strips:

Recent history: In the 1990s, several state transportation agencies and toll road authorities installed the milled-in shoulder rumble design pioneered in Pennsylvania, mostly on rural freeways and expressways. In recent years, many agencies have extended the use of rumble strips to two-lane roads because a significant portion of run-off-road crashes occur on these roads. Some agencies have also designed and installed narrower rumble strips where roadway widths limited the use of standard designs. The wider use of rumble strips has also led to a great number of design modification choices to accommodate bicyclists, who are also legal road users.

DEFINITIONS: A shoulder rumble strip is a longitudinal safety feature installed on a paved roadway shoulder near the outside edge of the travel lane. It is made of a series of milled or raised elements intended to alert inattentive drivers (through vibration and sound) that their vehicles have left the travel lane. An edge line rumble strip is a special type of shoulder rumble strip placed directly at the edge of the travel lane with the edge line pavement marking placed through the line of rumble strips. It is sometimes referred to as an edge line rumble stripe.

 Urban vs. rural: While rumble strips have been extensively used in rural areas where run-off-road crash problems exist, use on urban freeways or other roadways functionally classified as urban is also effective. Whether the roadway is classified as rural or urban, the use of rumbles should be determined on the merit of the cross-section and appropriate to the context. Characteristics and concerns that often limit the usefulness or application include low speeds, noise for adjacent residences, pavement width, presence of curb and gutter, and significant turning movements or other conflicts of both motorists and other road users.

Continuous vs. intermittent application: In the early days of rumble strip design, rumbles were formed intermittently onto freshly poured concrete shoulders. Since that time, the benefits of continuous rumble presence have been acknowledged and most rumble applications today provide for continuous application of the rumble line, which includes breaks only for pre-determined situations such as intersections, major driveways and recurring bicycle gaps.

GDOT will accommodate bicycling improvements into all widening and reconstruction projects on state roads when there is an existing bikeway or if the project is on an approved Bike Route.