Cyclist-friendly rumble strips ahead

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/p...0335/1006/NEWS

Six months after a noted research physician was struck by a car and
killed while fixing a bicycle chain along Del. 1 in Sussex County, state
transportation crews will begin installing rumble strips along the
shoulder to improve cyclist safety.

Department of Transportation Secretary Carolann Wicks said Friday the
bicyclist-friendly rumble strips are a first for Delaware. The strips
are thinner, shallower and closer to the white line marking the edge of
the highway travel lane.

"This gives more room for cyclists while not sacrificing safety," Wicks
said.

The $50,000 project will cover 11.5 miles of the 17-mile stretch from
south of Dewey Beach to just north of Fenwick Island. Work will begin
Monday and take five days, weather permitting.

The plan was developed in cooperation with the Sussex Cyclists group and
the Delaware Bicycle Council. Mike Tyler, advocacy chairman for Sussex
Cyclists, said some cyclists have been calling for such strips for
years, but others have been opposed because traditional strips don't
leave much room for bikes.

"We looked at this at first as not a good thing to do," he said. "But if
it could save one life, it's a good compromise."

In July, John G. Griffith, 44, of Timonium, Md., was killed while
repairing his bicycle along the shoulder. Authorities say a driver fell
asleep at the wheel and struck him. Griffith, director of the Johns
Hopkins Fibroid Center, died at the scene.

In the aftermath of Griffith's death, state Sen. George Bunting,
D-Bethany Beach, and state Rep. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, requested
that DelDOT take a look at safety measures.

"Rumble strips could have saved the doctor," Tyler said, adding that
there is a heavy volume of cyclists on the road. "Many of us use Route 1
and ride this stretch."

DelDOT statistics show that from January 2004 to December 2006, 60 of
the 179 crashes along the 17-mile stretch -- including one fatality --
were run-off-the-road crashes. Nine of those involved cyclists.

The rumble strips will not be installed along the entire 17-mile
corridor, just in less developed sections. DelDOT says putting them in
developed stretches would require too many breaks for driveways and
intersections.

Donna Hardy, a DelDOT safety program manager, said distracted or drowsy
driving is as dangerous as drunken driving: "Driving after you've been
up for 24 hours is the same as driving drunk."

On Sat, 26 Jan 2008 13:47:11 -0500 in rec.bicycles.soc, vey
wrote:

Six months after a noted research physician was struck by a car and
killed while fixing a bicycle chain along Del. 1 in Sussex County, state
transportation crews will begin installing rumble strips along the
shoulder to improve cyclist safety

i have yet to see rumble strips that are safe for cyclists. it's
obvious that cager engineers are once again trying to protect
cyclists when they don't have a bleeping clue.