Its not something we see much of on highways in northern Ontario … but the Michigan Department of Transportation has released a report extolling the benefits of middle-of-the-road rumble strips.  They’ve been installed on 5700 miles of two-lane highways across the state since 2008 … and the study shows there’s been a coinciding 47% reduction in total crashes and a 51% reduction in fatal crashes.   The rumble strips are expected to eliminate 337 crashes – saving 16 lives and preventing 62 serious injuries each year. They also found that centerline rumble strips did not contribute to short-term cracking in asphalt pavements. Further, rumble strips typically produced no more noise than that made by tractor-trailer trucks traveling on normal highways.

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