My grandma used to tell us that she would hear helicopters approaching her occasionally as she drove along the road between our two small towns. We wondered what she meant because we knew that the road wasn’t patrolled from the air, and we never would see any helicopters when we drove along the same road. I don’t know how we discovered the “truth” about those “helicopters” that were bothering her, but the sound she thought was a hovering helicopter turned out to be the combination of her car tires hitting the safety grooves in the pavement between the edge of the road and the road’s shoulder. (Sometimes those cuts are even in the center of the road.) I’m sure most of us wander into those warning zones at one point or another as we drive.

Rumble Strip

Rumble Strip

Since that time of Grandma’s discovery, I have lovingly referred to those cuts in the pavement as “helicopters.” I have never known what to call those safety features put in by the makers of the road. And I suppose the grooves remained a mystery to me because they had no real name in my world. I just reveled in the pure delight of knowing my grandma thought she was being followed by a helicopter! My grandma passed away a few years ago, yet I still think of her often and get that familiar smile any time I happen to veer off to one side of the road and hit those grooves.

So, it seemed fitting to me that I discovered the real name to those helicopters on my way to a family reunion last weekend. As we were driving with all eight of our children to meet up with the family, I noticed a sign along the side of the road that said, “Center Rumble Strips.” I had never seen a road sign like that before, and I had no clue as to what it could mean. As I repeated the sign over and over in my head, it dawned on me that I was being alerted to the placement of “Rumble Strips” in the center of the road and not just on the side as is usually the case. RUMBLE STRIPS! What a great name for Grandma’s helicopters! And here are two definitions:

Rumble strips are grooves or rows of raised pavement markers placed perpendicular to the direction of travel to alert inattentive drivers. As a vehicle passes over the rumble strips, noise and vibration are produced, alerting the driver they are approaching a hazard. Citation

Rumble strips (also known as audio tactile profiled markings) are a road safety feature that alert drivers to potential danger by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling, transmitted through the wheels into the car body. A series of rumble strips is usually either applied in the direction of travel along an edge- or centerline to alert drivers when they drift from their lane, or across the direction of travel to warn drivers of a nearby danger-spot. Research has shown that rumble strips are highly effective (and also highly cost-effective) at reducing many types of accidents. (Wikipedia)

Well, there you go. Rumble Strips are safety features, pure and simple. Apparently they are quite effective at reducing accidents. As I continued to drive with my family to the reunion, I couldn’t help but think of my family and friends who serve as Rumble Strips in my life. 

Thanks, Grandma, for alerting me to the helicopters in the first place. I otherwise may not have been taught this lesson.