Many families have experienced long car trips whether it is to visit family or go on a vacation. The monotony of the car ride can quickly trigger your children to get antsy and test your patience. Luckily, innovations like the rear entertainment system in vehicles have become lifesavers for parents. However, you may not want so much screen time for your kids. So what else can you do? If you are out west, you may be lucky enough to be driving on a musical road that could provide a unique experience.
So what is a musical road? A musical road is a road where rumble strips are specially cut into the middle of the road to produce music when cars drive over it. Once such road exists in Tijeras, New Mexico. A length of the famous Route 66 has this special rumble strip and when you drive exactly 45 MPH over the strip, your vibrating tires will play “America the Beautiful”.
These special rumble strips were a project that the National Geographic Society and the New Mexico Department of Transportation collaborated on. The project was developed to encourage drivers to slow down. We are not sure if the project has been a success but we could definitely see the potential. In this Share Saturday video, one couple drives over the rumble strips to hear the tune of “America the Beautiful”. The only other musical road in the U.S. can be found in Lancaster, California. The tune is a part of the “William Tell Overture”.
