Do rumble strips cause noise problems for nearby residents?
Tests have been performed in other states to measure the noise at the roadside when a passenger car drives on milled-in rumble strips. Passenger car noise levels at the roadside were 70 decibels, only 1 decibel higher than that measured for a vehicle driving on a regular road surface. The sound of 70 decibels is comparable to that of an electric sewing machine or mixer. In Alaska, many common machines generate noise this loud or louder, depending on proximity, including airplanes, motorcycles, trains, jets, ATV’s, and snowmachines. A noise study conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute concluded the overall exterior noise was increased by road vehicles driving over rumble strips, but that the increase in noise was not significant. The noise of a road vehicle traveling at 55 miles per hour while driving over rumble strips was measured to be less than the noise of a commercial vehicle traveling on the same road without driving over the rumble strips. Source: “Exterior Noise Create
