Rumble strips go high-tech
By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2000-01-08
A high-tech version of rumble strips-those grooves in the highway that create increased tire noise, warning drivers they're about to run off the road-is slated for testing on the Virginia Department of Transportation's "Smart Road" near Blacksburg, USA.
The experimental system involves the burying of magnetic guidance strips under the road surface. If a driver veers toward the tape at the edge of the highway, a sensor in the vehicle detects the tape's magnetic field and triggers an audio alarm that increases in intensity the further the driver strays off the road.
While the alarm will awaken drowsy drivers, it should also be invaluable in heavy rain, snow, ice or fog. It will also help snowplow operators determine exactly where to drive when the road can't be seen.
The transportation department has already installed several miles of tape, donated for the research project by 3M.
Initial magnetic tape testing will be limited to specifically funded research, such as measuring a vehicle's deviations from a lane to help to determine driver performance - one of many safety and human factors studies currently under study by Virginia Tech's Center for Transportation Research (CTR).
The Smart Road is a joint project of VDOT, CTR and the federal Highway Administration. Initially a two-lane highway built on a four-lane right-of-way, the road is designed to test advanced travel technology. When opened to traffic in 2008, the road will run 5.7 miles from Blacksburg to Interstate 81 The first two miles-the "smart" part-will be completed later this year.
Research to be conducted on the Smart Road will aimed at:
- Using an all-weather test section to develop better methods of snow and ice control, and improved visibility of traffic markings and signs across Virginia.
- Testing a new ultraviolet headlamp design in combination with fluorescent pavement marking to improve night visibility.
- Improving highway lighting.
- Improving truck safety.
- Evaluating advanced snowplows and emergency vehicles.
- Reducing pavement and bridge maintenance costs.
- Evaluating and improving advanced vehicle safety systems.
Further information on Virginia's Smart Road Project.
Comments to this article have been disabled.
