U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000


Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram

Safety

FHWA Home / Safety / Roadway Departure / Figure 1 - Long Description

Rumble Strips and Rumble Stripes

Technical Advisories

Center Line Rumble Strips (T 5040.40)

Figure 1 – Long Description

This image is comprised of two diagrams depicting the positioning for center line rumble stripes and center line rumble strips. Note that the diagrams are not to scale. The legend is as follows: an arrow indicates the direction of travel, a series of parallel rectangles represent rumble strips or stripes, A equals offset, B equals length, C equals width, D equals depth, E equals spacing, and F equals bicycle gap.

Center Line Rumble Stripes

Note: there is no "A" distance in this diagram.

On the right of this diagram is the image of a two-lane roadway with each lane divided by a double yellow line and having white edge lines along the right side of each lane, dividing the travel lanes from shoulder areas. The rumble strips are depicted by a series of squares running parallel over top of the double yellow center line. A vehicle in the northbound travel lane is positioned horizontally, with the front left edge of the vehicle crossing the double yellow line and running over the rumble stripes.

In the upper left of the diagram, a circular segment of the shoulder, rumble strips, and edge line is blown up to highlight several aspects of the configuration. Within this circular blowup is the double yellow center line and five rectangles representing individual rumble stripes. The distance from one edge of a single rumble strip to the other as it runs north to south along the vertical double yellow line is labeled segment C and is defined as the rumble stripe's width. The distance from the center point of one rumble stripe to the center point of the next as they run overtop of the double yellow center lines is labeled segment E and is defined as the rumble stripe's spacing.

Within the blowup, the center three rectangles are bisected vertically by segment a-a. An inset at the lower left of the diagram shows segment a-a as a ground-level or horizontal view of the rumble stripes. It shows that segment D, depth, is the distance from the lowest point at the center of the cut in the pavement to the highest point (i.e., the road surface) of each rumple strip. Segment C, width, is the distance from one edge of the rumble stripe to the other as it runs north to south over top of the double yellow line.

Center Line Rumble Strips

Similar to the center line rumble stripe diagram, on the right of this diagram is the image of a two-lane roadway with each lane divided by a double yellow line with a series of rumble strips cut into the pavement between the two yellow lines. A vehicle in the northbound travel lane is positioned horizontally, with the front left edge of the vehicle crossing the double yellow line and running over the rumble strips.

In the upper left of the diagram, a segment of the shoulder, rumble strips, and edge line is blown up to highlight several aspects of the configuration. Within this circular blowup is the double yellow center line with five rectangles representing individual rumble strips running between the two yellow lines. The distance from the center of the leftmost yellow line to the edge of the rumble strip groove is labeled segment A, offset. The distance from the left side of the rumble strip to the right side of the rumble strip is labeled segment B, length. The distance from the top edge of one rumble strip groove to the bottom edge of the groove is labeled segment C and is defined as width. The distance from the center point of one rumble strip groove to the center point of the next as they run between the double yellow center line is labeled segment E and defined as the spacing.

The center three rectangles are bisected vertically, in parallel to the center lines, by segment a-a. An inset at the lower left of the diagram shows segment a-a as a ground-level or horizontal view of the rumble strips. It shows that segment D, depth, is the distance from the lowest point at the center of the cut in the pavement to the highest point (the road surface) of each rumple strip. Segment C, width, is the distance from one edge of the rumble strip groove (as it runs parallel to the edge line) to the other.

Return to Figure 1.

Page last modified on January 16, 2011
Safe Roads for a Safer Future - Investment in roadway safety saves lives
Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000