Editorial: Prudent decision on rumble strips

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

Rumble strips serve an excellent purpose in alerting drivers to unsafe conditions. Most motorists know them from the distinctive vibration they produce -- and the noise they create -- when a vehicle strays out of its lane; rumble strips also get drivers to slow down when a highway ends and turns into a local street.

At first glance, it might have seemed sensible for the Nevada Department of Transportation to consider rumble strips on the shoulders of state routes in outlying areas that are near the Red Rock National Conservation Area. But an unintended consequence would have endangered cyclists if rumble strips were installed.

Fortunately, however, the Nevada Department of Transportation announced Thursday that it would reject this option after all. Cyclists noted that it would be impractical for them to ride over rumble strips. Avoiding them would have put the cyclists in harm's way of cars and trucks if they ventured out into the vehicle lanes. Not only could this have been dangerous since these routes are the most popular for area cyclists, but it also didn't help that speed limits recently have been hiked from 45-50 mph to 60 mph on the road past the Red Rock National Conservation Area.

In the future, the Nevada Department of Transportation should at the outset take into account the safety of cyclists before considering the installation of rumble strips. For that matter, with the dearth of bike paths in the region, rumble strips on some routes could effectively wipe out what few remaining places are left for cyclists to make extended trips.