What is the purpose of "grooved pavement"?

Question

Like on the highway there's a sign that says "caution grooved pavement" and then the road has a million grooves in it. There is no construction going on there, its permanently like that. Its very rough to drive on. What is the purpose of this besides making me ask this question & making me mad when i drive over it?

Answer 1

As someone else obnoxiously said in all caps for some reason, sometimes grooved strips are used to wake you up if you're falling asleep and drifting, or if you're just drifting and don't realize it. But the whole road being grooved could be just to carry water away.

Answer 2

they say it is quieter in residential areas, where houses are close to the highway

also they are to disapate the water between the tire and roadway

Answer 3

Don't you see that there is no option but to SLOW DOWN?

These are meant to force motorists to slow don and get back to their senses in case they do not realize that they are already driving beyond speed limits.

Also, this makes sure the driver is fully awake.

Answer 4

To carry away water. Be glad the grooves are there. You're safer.

Answer 5

Same as why your tires have grooves. Better traction and less hydroplaning.

Answer 6

The prupose of grooves is to make the roadway safer under certain conditions, especially heavy rain.  When I lived in RI and was commuting to Worcester, MA, there was one overpass on Rte 146 that was scary as h**l it was wet.  It was old, smooth concrete that got incredibly slick during rain, even light rain, which lifted the oily residue off the surface.  The state finally grooved the overpass and it became much easier to drive, since the water safely channeled away from your tires.

The reason for the warning is that grooved road surfaces can cause tires to channel on them if the tires have lots of longitudinal treads, instead of lateral ones that go from side to side.  This will cause the vehicle to follow the grooves and can pull it in a different direction than the driver intended.

Answer 7

IT MAY BE THAT THEY'VE REMOVED THE TOP LAYER OF ASPHALT IN PREPARATION FOR RESURFACING. IF YOUR TALKING ABOUT THE GROOVES OR "RUMBLE STRIPS" ON THE SHOULDER, THEY'RE THERE TO WAKE PEOPLE UP IF THEY FALL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL.