RESTRIPING, REFLECTORS, AND RUMBLE STRIPS GOAL

Restriping (repainting) lines in the roadways, adding reflectors, and adding rumble strips will help increase driver visibility and awareness of where they are within a travel lane and potentially prevent drive-offs and collisions with others.

WHAT IS IT?

Restriping (repainting) road markings, adding road surface reflectors, and adding rumble strips are all effective measures for drivers that can increase awareness of their location in the travel lane. Road markings are a continuous source of information for drivers. Without proper designation, crashes can occur because of a lack of visibility or knowledge of the edge of a road causing a drive-off or collisions with other cars from driving over the center line or when a T-intersection or cross road is not properly signified based on road markings. This is especially dangerous in the evening hours where sunlight is limited or nonexistent and on country roads or even highways.

/ Restriping lines with reflective paint will help increase both visibility and driver awareness of their location in the travel lane.

/ Adding reflectors within a center line or even to use as dividers of lanes on a multi-lane road helps the driver to be aware especially if paint has faded. They are durable and longer lasting than reflective paint. They can be used in multiple different places and even programmed for uses such as a flashing signal for pedestrian crosswalks in roadways or when approaching curves.

/ Rumble strips are particularly useful along higher speed roads with shoulders. This allows for drivers to know if they are not within the travel lane by “rumbling” their vehicle to alert them of their location.

These strategies work for all road types. Rural roads likely would see much more benefit from painting lines with reflective paint to note the edges of the roadway rather than having rumble strips implemented because they are less likely to have a paved shoulder (if any shoulder) attached to the edges). This should not discourage future development, however, of roadways and instead serve as a measure for increasing visibility along roadways that have minimal lighting and low visibility.

These all work in tandem with each other and other strategies within this section.

Additional Benefits

Benefits of restriping and adding reflectors are that they don’t prohibit or cause conflicts with emergency services. Unlike other physical barriers, these measures can be driven over and not cause delay. There are multiple types of reflectors that can be installed including reflectors that will not be damaged by a snowplow during the winter months.

They are also flexible. Lines can be repainted to change the way traffic flows. This is often how road diets are done if a median is not used. Complete streets also use this strategy when adding bike lanes to either or both sides of the street.

When rumble strips are installed along shoulders, the pavement conditions do not change. Instead, rubble strips experience degradation the same way a roadway would, or if installed on a shoulder that is already damaged and degrading, will degrade faster.

Potential Conflicts

Unfortunately, inclement weather can cause multiple problems. Rumble strips likely will loose their effectiveness on shoulders if they are covered in ice or snow. If roads are not plowed, lines will not be visible either making it even more important to be aware of your surroundings while driving. To read more about this topic, click here.

Cost

Low to high cost depending on how extensive the implementation is.