Design Directional Raised Rumble Aggregates and Strips for Awakening Wrong-Way Drivers

ABSTRACTRumble Strips have been widely applied to shoulder, centerline or edgeline of roadways to warn or alarm drivers who could potentially run off the road to collide with fixed or moving objects. Wrong-way (WW) driving on freeways usually involved multi-vehicles traveling in the opposite directions and caused many severe injuries and/or fatalities. It is of practical engineering interest to stop a WW driver before the driver gets into freeways, namely, at the off-ramp exits or entries. Since the conventional rumble strips don't discriminate the driving directions, it is very desirable to design a one-way rumble device that intends for awakening the WW drivers without frustrating the drivers getting off the freeways the right direction. In this article, we propose general designs for one-way or directional rumble aggregates and directional raised rumble strips by making use of the jerking or rumbling effect induced by these devices. The physical dimensions of these devices can be tailored to fit off-ramp width and sustain anticipated vehicle loads on these devices. These directional rumble devices, which should be implemented with other passive or active WW traffic signs for enhancing the prevention of WW driving, can be easily customized to generate the desired shaking effect for stopping potential WW drivers.