Let's get ready to Rumble

Centre line rumble strips where evidence of head on and sideswipe collisions occurred.

In the early 2000's, the Trans Canada Highway from Chilliwack to Abbotsford had an increasing number of crashes related to fatigue.

One likely cause: The lower mainland is the end of the 10-12 hour drive from Calgary or Edmonton. Drivers are continuing to push their boundaries on distance driving and no matter what, fatigue sets in.

At this time BC did not have a rumble strip program and were hesitant to grind into the pavement for fear of damage and premature breakdown of the road surface. In my presentations, I related the success of the rumble strips on the TCH near Canmore Alberta -- rumble strips I was intimately familiar with because of their success in rattling a sometimes overconfident off-duty member back into his lane.

After significant lobbying the area manager for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) convinced his superiors to move ahead with a pilot program.

Research indicated that fatigued drivers usually exit the highway at a 15 degree angle while nodding off. With this knowledge, the width, depth, and length of each rumble strip was strategically placed for maximum impact on a wayward driver. (At 15 degrees the more you hit, the better chance of recovery back onto the driving lane)

Shoulder rumble strips where the crash data indicated an over represented off road right collisions were occurring.

As expected the results were immediate and fatigue related fatal crashes were drastically reduced in this section of highway.

This program quickly became an industry standard with MoTI and was installed in ALL new pavement where off road collisions were a factor. The project was co-funded with ICBC's Road Improvement Program.

Another success story with reducing collisions and making BC roads safer.

As the program progressed, new ideas were implemented.