Yeah, veer back onto road!

Interestingly the lane departure system on Mercedes almost perfectly replicates this. Drift over to a white line and it vibrates at same frequency and I swear it feels directional as well. I know some hate these systems but this is very well engineered.

quote:

New highway pavings include the center rumble strip.

Same in NH.

I don’t think so, myself, but then the highway is crowned anyway

In my experience, any drag to the singing tire is completely overwhelmed by your wife yelling at you from the passenger seat to get back on the damn road.

Years ago when I was young and dumb (okay younger and dumber) back before rumble strips I was driving in the middle of the night when I should have been sleeping. I was in a pickup towing a pickup full of stuff and I didn’t want to park just anywhere. I knew if I could just make it to the upcoming grade it would keep me busy enough to stay awake and just beyond the grade was a well lighted shopping center where I could park and get some sleep. Being the only car on the road, I rolled my own rumble strip by straddling the two lanes. Drifting either way would run over the Botts dots and wake me up. It was only fifteen minutes, but it worked.

I think architect wins the Internet today.

I would say yes it does affect the steering but not enough unless you are using both hands to hold your meatball sandwich.

I say not really, no. I think it may be mostly physiological, when hearing the rumble unexpectedly you can be startled. As someone else said, you are already veering when you hit them. Plus, most roads are crowned toward the side as well.

I have two trucks and two cars, one car is a 2.200# compact and one an almost 5,000# SUV. I feel virtually nothing in any of them except the roughness of the bumps a bit, no real pulling.

I love the center divider ones... great idea do it everywhere I say, but haven't seen any in TN yet.

IMO...If that little bit causes your car to noticeably pull to one side there is something wrong with your car. Worn parts, mis-alignment, bad/improperly inflated tires, or etc. You should not have to struggle ~at all~ with it, unless maybe on ice or perhaps the tire is actually beginning to run off the pavement edge by the time you react.

They just repaved my road and added the rumple strips on the fog line. Finally! If it had had them a couple years ago that car full of Mexican day workers on the way home after work might not have taken out my mail box!

They used to cut them continuously here but then started leaving sections several feet long of alternating cut and smooth, and now do a short pattern, of maybe 4 or 6 feet alternating. I guess that is to save time and money but seem to work just as well.

At what speed?
With what diameter tire?
With what type of tire?
With what weight vehicle ?
While coasting or under acceleration?
Flat road or crowned?
Asphalt or concrete?

quote:

IMO...If that little bit causes your car to noticeably pull to one side there is something wrong with your car.

That would be an incorrect assumption. They do pull, and there is nothing wrong with my car.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: houndawg,

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
At what speed?
With what diameter tire?
With what type of tire?
With what weight vehicle ?
While coasting or under acceleration?
Flat road or crowned?
Asphalt or concrete?

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Is the above an ACT test question??

quote:

Originally posted by houndawg:

quote:

IMO...If that little bit causes your car to noticeably pull to one side there is something wrong with your car.

That would be an incorrect assumption. They do pull, and there is nothing wrong with my car.

There would be variables to consider...
All my vehicles have tires that are wider then the cut outs so that would reduce the effect...
AND...
Not all rumble strips are created equal. They put them on one road near me that are so shallow that you hardly even notice them at all.
I'm sure that some areas may use much more aggressive versions than others, so that may be one reason for different experiences with them.

There are three precarious intersections in our area that are so dangerous
That
They place six foot sections of the rumble strips right in the lane,
to call your attention to the up coming stop sign.

They are very aggressive and really wake up your napping dog.

quote:

Originally posted by houndawg:

quote:

Originally posted by pbslinger:
Rumble strips on road sides is an amazing and ingenious invention. An idea that wasn't technology limited and could have been implemented long ago. But it seems to have a niggling down side, doesn't it cause drag to the steering tire on the side nearing the road edge, causing impetus further steering off the road?

Yes it does. On the few occasions I've accidentally veered onto a rumble strip shoulder, I've had to fight the car to get it back on the road.

We have a couple of those here. I have run over one a couple times, did not notice any "pulling". I suspect it would depend on the actual size of those divots that cause the rumbling. And, IMO, any such divots large enough to cause the car to veer in that direction should be either re-done or outlawed.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
There are three precarious intersections in our area that are so dangerous
That
They place six foot sections of the rumble strips right in the lane,
to call your attention to the up coming stop sign.

They are very aggressive and really wake up your napping dog.

AZ is using those on approaches to roundabouts, but they are applied to the surface and stick up rather than being gouged into the surface. They seem to have finally found a material that does not wear away to nothing in less than a year.
 
The first set of strips is widely spaced, the next set not so much, and the third set of strips are quite close together, sort of a progressive warning system. Which NV and CA drivers still ignore.

Road camber will do that. Rumble strips are great.

If you're running off the edge of the road already, it would kind of defeat the purpose to have a rumble strip make your car veer more in that direction.

I say, put up giant pinball bumpers...

It depends on the tires.

Some will ride over the rumbles with little resistance,

and some will exhibit an unusual amount of drag, almost like trying to drive that side of the vehicle through mud or slush.

Probably the tire belt construction, spacing of the rumbles, alignment, amount of wear and play in the steering and suspension, quality of the shocks and how tight the nut is behind the wheel factor in a bit too.

There has to be some drag induced to the tire on rumble strips. If noise is created, I would think you are converting momentum or rotational energy into noise. This implies drag is being induced. Also tires are being flexed by the bumps, and this flexing requires energy. I think you don't compress tire or create noise without some input of energy, which induces drag.

Certainly how the vehicle reacts to drag on one steering tire is dependent on many factors.

My initial post doesn't suggest the drag from hitting rumble strip is causing me to leave the road or having any loss of control. I just made an observation that rumble strips in my observation, appear to cause some steering force in the direction that the rumble strips are warning me not to go.