Evaluation of Aviation Rumble Strips to Reduce Runway Incursions
Safety is a top priority of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and runway safety is an important focus area. One significant threat to runway safety is runway incursions. In 2013, there were 1,241 runway incursions reported to FAA, a 30% increase since 2009. While the majority of these incursions did not result in a collision, reducing runway incursions is important to increase runway safety. This paper provides information about one potential strategy to mitigate the risk of incursions: aviation rumble strips. Rumble strips may be appropriate to provide advance warning of active runway intersections and published “hot spots”. Rumble strips have been successfully applied on roadways to reduce targeted crashes by as much as 45 percent. On roadways, rumble strips provide an audible and tactile warning when crossing the centerline (centerline rumble stripes), crossing onto the shoulder (edgeline rumble stripes), or approaching a work zone, railroad crossing, or intersection (transverse rumble strips). Given these benefits and the low cost of rumble strips, the focus of this research was to provide a preliminary assessment of rumble strips for general aviation (GA) aircraft in a controlled field study. A test bed of raised and sawcut rumble strips was installed and quantitative and qualitative assessments were performed with a Cirrus SR-20, Cessna 152, Cessna 172, Piper Warrior and Piper Seneca at varying taxiing speeds. This test fleet represents approximately 66 percent of aircraft at GA airports. This paper provides tables and graphics that summarize both qualitative and quantitative data. The sawcut and raised rumble strips were clearly discernible in the 3-axis acceleration data for all aircraft at all speeds. The work is ongoing, but discussion of these intermediate results by the aviation community will be valuable to shape further research and testing.
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Supplemental Notes:
- This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AV000 Aviation Group.
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Corporate Authors:
500 Fifth Street, NW
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Authors:
- Hubbard, Sarah M L
- Bullock, Darcy M
- Furr, Colin
- Gillum, Brock
- DiPilato, Mike
- Gallagher, Donald
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Conference:
- Transportation Research Board 94th Annual Meeting
- Location: Washington DC, United States
- Date: 2015-1-11 to 2015-1-15
- Date: 2015
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Digital/other
- Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
- Pagination: 20p
- Monograph Title: TRB 94th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Airport runways; Aviation safety; Field studies; General aviation airports; Rumble strips; Runway incursions; Speed; Taxiing
- Subject Areas: Aviation; Safety and Human Factors; Terminals and Facilities; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01550087
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: 15-1654
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: Jan 16 2015 8:28AM