One one of the roads I take on my way home from work (Yes, I drive a different route to and from work. Don’t ask why, it’ll just make you crazy.) there are rumble strips across both lanes.

I am not sure why there are rumble strips, possibly to make people more aware of their surroundings – it’s a residential street but a busy arterial – but there it is, the rumble strips are there.

Every day on my way home from work I try to aim my tires so that they go in between the rows of raised bumps. Again, I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the challenge, maybe it’s an innate need to not have any more noise than is absolutely necessary at the time, who knows?

I’ve driven this route almost exclusively for the last 8 years. And every single time I try to miss the bumps. However it’s only been in the last several months that I’ve noticed that other cars mostly do the same thing. Probably 90% of the cars I see driving in front of me adjust their tangent a little bit so they miss the bumps (or not). I have never seen anyone purposely shift so as to hit the bumps.

And on my way home the other day I got to wondering. Both why *I* do it and why everyone else does. I’m sure there’s some explanation for it….. or at least someone who could come up with a plan for a scientific study to look at the phenomenon (if anyone was interested) and I find the idea of studying it rather fascinating.
Then I remembered that I don’t like most people very much and decided that maybe sociology won’t be my next career.

(For the record I manage to not hit the bumps about 80% of the time.)