Musical Roads

Some interesting information about musical roads and how they work

birds eye view of an intricate highway
Road markings for musicl roads
Musical road sign in Lancaster
Musical road rumble strips

What exactly are musical roads?

A musical road is a road, or section of a road, which when driven over causes a tactile vibration and audible rumbling that can be felt through the wheels and body of the vehicle. This rumbling is heard within the car as well as the surrounding area, in the form of a musical tune.

Musical roads are known to currently exist in Denmark, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, the United States, China, Iran, Taiwan, and Indonesia. In the past, they could be found in France and the Netherlands as well.

Each note is produced by varying the spacing of strips in, or on, the road. For example, an E note requires a frequency of around 330 vibrations a second. Therefore strips 2.4 in (61 mm) apart will produce an E note in a vehicle travelling at 45 mph (72 km/h). To read more visit Atlas Obsura

Why could we use musical roads?

Musical roads are designed to keep drivers alert on treacherous turns and stretches of highway where accidents commonly occur, similar to the rumble strips that give a “tactile vibration” to warn fatigued motorists who are veering off the road or coming up to a hazardous area.

All of them require driving at the speed limit to hear the music.In that way is adheres motorists to keep to the speed limit and enjoy doing it.

The distance between the grooves, which has to be between 5.3 and 10.6 centimeters, creates the melody, and the rhythm is made by the length of those grooves, which resonates within in the car.

Click here to watch a video if a user's experience of a Musical road in Fuji Japan