This story reminds me of J.G.Ballard's sci-fi short-story, The Subliminal Man. If I remember correctly, in that, there were roads that played music so long as you travelled at the posted speed. If, however, you went too fast, or two slow, the tuned harmonics of the road and the car interacted disastrously, and shook the car to pieces. This was, of course, a ploy to stimulate the auto industry, by making "planned obsolescence" all too real.
Well it was a lot of years ago, 1960s, I think, when he wrote that, but it's still worth reading today, maybe even more so, when everywhere we look are advertisements designed with the aid of psychologists to trick us into thinking we need to buy all manner of things we do not really want or need.
"All around him cars bulleted along, streaming toward the suburbs. Relaxed by the smooth motion of the car, Franklin edged outward into the next speed lane. As he accelerated from 40 to 50 mph a strident, ear-jarring noise drummed out from his tires, shaking the chassis of the car. Ostensibly as an aid to lane discipline, the surface of the road was covered with a mesh of smaller rubber studs, spaced progressively farther apart in each of the lanes so that the tire hum resonated exactly on 40, 50, 60 and 70 mph. Driving at an intermediate speed for more than a few seconds became physiologically painful, and soon resulted in damage to the car and tires.
When the studs wore out they were replaced by slightly different patterns, matching those on the latest tires, so that regular tire changes were necessary, increasing the safety and efficiency of the expressway. It also increased the revenues of the car and tire manufacturers, for most cars over six months old soon fell to pieces under the steady battering, but this was regarded as a desirable end, the greater turnover"From The Subliminal man, here: http://www.searchlores.org/opr0207B.htm
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