The number of crashes caused by driver sleepiness or driver distraction is high. Rumble strips (milled) could be an alternative countermeasure on narrow roads were fences are not possible to be used. The Swedish Road Administration is evaluating the effects of the use of milled rumble strip at road centre on narrow roads. The evaluation includes crash studies, measurements of speed and lateral position in traffic flow and the drivers' opinion about the measure this study focuses on the drivers' opinion. Discussions within focus groups with motorcyclists and commuters have been performed, but also road side interviews with 360 drivers at spots along roads where rumble strips are used. The results from the discussions within the focus groups indicate that rumble strips will not be a problem for either motorcyclists or commuters, taking into account both traffic safety aspects and accessibility. Motorcyclists do not seem to be influenced at all, in opposite to commuters that discussed about the influence on speed and lateral position. The results from the road side interviews show that the majority (85%) do not think they will reduce speed because of rumble strips. The majority of the drivers (58%) said that they will not change distance to the centre of the road because of the rumble strips. In conclusion, 90% of the drivers reported that they thought that the rumble strips will contribute to an increased traffic safety. From the drivers' point of view we recommend further use of rumble strips at the centre of the road on roads with a lane width of around 9 meters. (Author/publisher)
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