More Rumble Strips Being Installed

As part of the current wave of safety improvements to the roads of Spain, the DGT plans to install rumble strips along a further 3,000 kilometres of routes.

The rumble strips would be placed along the side of the road in places, so that if a vehicle begins to drift from the path, the driver would be alerted by the vibrations from the wheels.

These strips are also being installed in the centre of the carriageway in many places, so as to avoid head on collisions, similar to those already installed along the N-332 near Torrevieja.

There are a number of different ways in which these rumble strips are created. The most popular is to use a mixture of paint, plastic and glass spheres, which raises the road surface by 3 millimetres, and are highly reflective.

Other methods are cut into the tarmac or other road surface, providing a similar function to the painted strips, but easier to install in the first instance.

It is estimated that these lines would avoid more than 600 road traffic victims a year on secondary roads. In 2015, 971 people died on conventional roads and of these, 451 were on account of the vehicle straying from the lane.

However, not everybody appreciates the changes and the potential life-saving characteristics. A number of motorcycle groups have already come out in protest of the change, saying that these rumble strips pose an additional risk to motorcyclists, and, although they might save the lives of larger vehicle users, there is likely to be an increase in the number of motorbike related incidents as a result.

The plan for installing the rumble strips continues, despite the protests, with the first priority being given to roads with a higher number of incidents.