State installs devices to help sleepy motorists

Monday, June 8, 1998 | 9:06 a.m.

Nevada Department of Transportation officials are installing so-called super rumble strips on shoulders of Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 93 to shake drowsy motorists awake. The rumble strips feature half-inch deep grooves that shake a car when it leaves the roadway.

One of every four fatal accidents in Nevada in 1997 involved a vehicle that drifted off a roadway and overturned. Such single-vehicle rollovers claimed 106 lives last year.

"It's seldom the vehicle" that causes the accidents, said Paul Corbin, state highway safety coordinator. "It's usually inattention, sleep or under the influence."

Corbin said the 410-mile stretch of Interstate 80 across northern Nevada is notorious for motorists dozing off, and California and Utah have the same problem.

He said transportation officials decided to spend several million dollars installing the rumble strips after learning they have proven effective in Washington state.

"They're big enough so they really get your attention before you drive off the road," he said.

Some rumble strips have been installed on a 137-mile stretch of U.S. 93 between Ely and Wells, and many more will be installed on I-80 this summer, said Kelly Anrig, the transportation department's assistant safety engineer.

Just drifting a little off the pavement on one of Nevada's highways might not sound that dangerous, but motorists aggravate the situation by overreacting, said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Tony Almaraz.

"The first reaction is to turn (sharply) to the left," but that causes a fast vehicle to go out of control, he said.

"(If you leave the road), take your foot off the gas and begin steering back to the left gradually ... (and) never jam on the brakes because on dirt and in a skid, you can't steer."