“Every day while taking Liam to school, we see multiple people who cross the center line. It scares us,” said Wilson. “We’ve seen people on their phones, we’ve seen a girl putting on makeup, and people just simply not paying attention. I hate seeing my son be worried that we may get hit and feeling so helpless about it.”
Wilson said she was driving on a different road one day and noticed rumble strips on the center line.
Rumble strips are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior.
“I thought, ‘That’s such a great idea,’” she said.
Wilson reached out to German Twp. Trustee Rodney Kaffenbarger with her idea for the rumble strips. Kaffenbarger informed her that Troy Road is a state route, thus the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) would be the agency to install the rumble strips.
“Mrs. Wilson emailed me with some questions and explained what she had seen going on,” said Kaffenbarger. “Distracted driving is a serious situation.”
Kaffenbarger reached out to ODOT District 7.
“I am just trying to do what I can with this request … and guide (Wilson) in the right direction to see what we can get done,” said Kaffenbarger. “(I am) Just trying to make things better.”
Wilson said rumble strips won’t prevent everything, but even if it stops one person from going left of center, that’s one less chance of a tragedy happening again.
“The more people who call to request a center rumble strip on Troy Road for a safety precaution, the better,” she said. “It’s important to me because it’s something I hope will help ease my son’s mind on his way to and from school. It’s also important to me because if I can do anything to help prevent another tragedy like this from happening, then I’ll do whatever it takes.”
She said the community has been amazing through this difficult time and the support will always be something they are thankful for.
Wilson hopes people who have noticed the same concerns daily or people who also believe the rumble strips would be a worthwhile safety precaution will call ODOT.
“I want to do everything I can to prevent another tragedy from happening,” she said.
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