Rumble strips to be placed on roads

COLUMBIA -- South Carolina will spend $5 million in the next year to install rumble strips along state roads, an effort to prevent accidents that happen when drivers run off the pavement.

The Roadway Safety Foundation, in conjunction with the state Department of Transportation, announced Wednesday the investment as well as a new education campaign.

Fifty-four percent of fatalities on South Carolina roads between 2004 and 2008 resulted from an accident when a motorist ran off the road, officials said. That accounts for the deaths of 2,794 people.

"In lean economic times, you don't have to give up; you can do little things that mean a lot," state Transportation Secretary Buck Limehouse said.

Rumble strips will be added to about 2,800 miles of state roads by mid-2010. Federal money, some of it from the stimulus package, will be used to pay for 90 percent of the improvements.

The Roadway Safety Foundation launched its statewide campaign, "Recognize, React, Recover," to highlight how rumble strips can prevent run-off-the-road crashes and give drivers tips on how to react.

A driver should remain calm, not overreact and stay off the gas and the brake as he tries to regain control, officials said.

The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization will air public service announcements on television and radio stations. It received a three-year grant from the Federal Highway Administration to offer the education campaign.

Cindy Sease of Rock Hill shared the story about her 16-year-old daughter Kelsey, who was killed in a car accident about four years ago when her friend ran off the road.

Sease said the girls had been taking pictures of each other before the crash, and the last picture was of Kelsey, happy. It was likely taken by the teen driver, Sease said. Kelsey was not wearing a seat belt.

Limehouse said the installation of rumble strips, which have been on some highways and interstates for the last 20 or more years, is an addition to other safety precautions the state has provided.

Reflectors were added to rural, secondary roads to help drivers stay in their lane, and cable barriers have been added to highways to stop vehicles from crossing into oncoming traffic.

Rumble strips can either be cut grooves in the roadway or strips adhered to the surface. The noise from tires driving over rumble strips alerts drivers who have crossed onto the shoulder, Limehouse said.

"Everyone knows when that noise comes to straighten up," he said.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.