JELSUM, NETHERLANDS — A great soundtrack is a must for any road trip, but in the Dutch village of Jelsum, the sweet sound of silence is much preferred.

A ‘singing road’ was put in place next to the village by the provincial government of Friesland as a way to liven up car rides and deter drivers from speeding. The road used a series of rumble strips, each designed to play a note when a vehicle drove over it. When taken together across the 300-metre stretch of road, the strips magically played the Friesland provincial anthem.

Pretty cool, right?

Not so fast. The anthem only played correctly if drivers maintained the 60 km/h speed limit. If they went over, notes were played off-key to punish the motorist for speeding.

Problem is, government authorities failed to take into account that villagers were also within listening distance, and were forced to play audience to butchered anthems at all hours of the day.

One resident called the noise “psychological torture”, reports BBC News. After being waken throughout the night, villages started complaining almost immediately after the strips were installed.

To their credit, the provincial government reacted swiftly and effectively, removing the rumble strips just six days after first installing them.

So farewell ‘Singing Road’ – it was fun while it lasted.