Speed Bumps /Traffic calming and safety

[carbore]

Right, now I know speed bumps are not a huge concern for owners of 4x4 unless you own a series with rusty springs, however....


Do speed bumps have to be built to any specific standard? is this tested? do they know the affect this has on a vehicle if it hits is at any specific speed? e.g. if a speed bump is in a 30mph limit should it be safe to hit at 30 mph? if not why is the safe speed not signed? Do they have to be visible, what happens if you hit one during an emergency stop? etc etc etc

I know that the speed safe campaigners think thats all irrelevant but, Someone had a motorbike accident near me once when a badly built one collapsed in the sun. When I looked for my last house I could not live in some areas due to the huge speed bumps that me Elise (then only car) could not get over.

I have a sneaky feeling that they dont  8l**7y know so why are these things stuck in the middle of the road?

[Disco-Ron]

not exactly what you're after, but an interesting read...
http://www.abd.org.uk/speed_humps.htm

There are speed humps in the village where i do a lot of work, i quite often see the rear wheels of lorries leave the ground..... and they reckon they're safe... yeh right...!!
I've just tonight driven through 'Poundbury',...... Prince charles's 'model' village...... there are humps everywhere, and NO signs..... OR markings on them at-all....... only a royal could allow such things.... :roll:

[Range Rover Blues]

They destroy the foundations of old buildings because of the vibrations they cause and in some areas the ambulances have refused to go down some roads because the nbumps lead to injuries.  The fire brigade will tell you how much it extends their response tiime to slow down for speed humps and some taxi firms no longer cover villages with them in.

Stupidly Rotherham now buys those large square ready made ones, theones that buses and white vans don't have to slow down for because they fit either side of them......

[discowoman]

I remember watching a police programme on TV where the copper said that the 'joyriders' now find all the speed bumps out - so they basically cause the coppers more grief and hope they will slow down due to govern ment rules on pursuits over speed bumps..anyone else remember this???

[V8MoneyPit]

My colleague at work was asking the same question about height specifications of speed bumps. They have them in their town and the road is lower at each side of a couple of them. This effictively makes the bump bigger.

My concern with speed bumps or any other 'traffic calming' measure is that many people accelerate between them. We've all seen Saxo's (sorry to stereotype, but you know what I mean!) accelerating flat out between bumps and then braking hard for the next one. Surely it takes longer to stop an accelerating vehicle than one travelling at a constant speed?

Edit:
Just found this....
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roads/tpm/tal/trafficmanagement/highwaysroadhumpsregulations1996?page=3

[mudmuncher]

Very interesting link Steve.

We dont have any speed humps on our part of the A47 -  Just potholes !!!

[baz2236]

There was someone in Ely a few years back who went over a speed bump in his Audi TT and it caused loads of damge ripped the sump off broke the bumper etc, He got loads of money from the council because it turn out that the speed bump was too big, So they had to go round trimming the speed bumps down.

[Landyman]

We had some that Jeremy Clarkson wrote about saying how huge they were and the council checked them and said theywere too high.
They spent thousands digging them up and now we have those funny square one you can straddle with a larger car.
The fact that they checked them must mean that there is some sort of agreed standard. :-k

[Llanigraham]

Yes there are maximum sizes for these things, as our town council are trying to get a set removed.
Try the Dept of Transport.

[V8MoneyPit]

Yes there are maximum sizes for these things, as our town council are trying to get a set removed.
Try the Dept of Transport.

I provided a link to the regulations above  ;)

[muddyjames]

funnily enough I drovea bin wagon down to a police head quarter type place the other week and thier only speed hump along the drive is lethal. In a lorry crawling over it, it was still uncomfy. I am sure they just placed kerb stones in the ground as a speed hump. worst I have ever seen.

I did once see a double height hump. Yes, a speed hump built on a speed hump!!! Also 2 speed bumps built half a foot from the other one. That seemed to work well!

[SteveGoodz]

Very interesting link Steve.

We dont have any speed humps on our part of the A47 -  Just potholes !!!

Inverse humps?