Musical roads to reduce speeding

Most of us will be familiar with rumble strips, which vibrate as cars drive over them. Musical or 'melody roads' take this idea one step further by creating a series of grooves, cut at very specific intervals in the surface of the asphalt to produce different notes. These create tunes that can be heard in the car, but for optimum effect the tune is best heard when the car is travelling at a certain speed.

Japan and the US have built 'musical roads' mainly for fun or to promote tourism, but the South Koreans have used this idea to encourage adherence to the speed limit. Around 68% of highway accidents in South Korea are caused by inattentive, sleeping or speeding drivers, so the Korean Highway Corporation and the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute in Japan have developed musical road surfaces to the tune of "Mary had a Little Lamb" to help motorists stay alert and keep to the speed limit.

Seung-Hwan Shin, manager of the Korean Highway Corp, noted the high frequency of accidents due to dozing and speeding on one highway where there is a notorious downhill, S-bend. The optimal speed for listening to these songs from the road is a safe 62 mph. At faster speeds, motorists still hear the music but it is an annoying double-time, high-pitch version. They hope to break people out of their autopilot and make them more aware of the speed they are driving. I think 'Mary had a little lamb' might drive me insane though...