Humps blacked
I understand from a number of people that you do not like road humps and have written extensively on the subject. I am currently, along with other residents, trying to stop the local council from instating yet another set of traffic calming measures - the dreaded road humps. There is already in existence, at a cost to the taxpayer, a traffic calming scheme instated fairly recently. Since you are an expert on the subject of road humps, I wondered if you would be kind enough to reply with some information that would help support my case for road humps to be abolished.
Asked on 17 January 2009 by
Answered by
Honest John
We ran a partial reply in November. But it crops up so much that now I’ve done a FAQ answer. Here is the content:-
Metre-wide speed cushions cause the following damage:
They break car road springs.
They damage the inside shoulders of car tyres, where the damage cannot easily be seen, sometimes leading to blowouts on high speed roads and multiple death crashes later in the vehicle's journey.
They damage car suspension and steering, sometimes leading to high speed crashes later in the vehicle's journey.
They cause 50% more pollution and fuel consumed due to vehicles slowing down for them then re-accelerating.
They destabilise motorcycles and bicycles, sometimes throwing the rider into the path of another vehicle.
They are particularly lethal to motorcyclists and cyclists when covered
with leaves, and in adverse weather conditions such as snow, ice and heavy rain.
They increase noise levels from vehicles slowing down then re-accelerating.
They damage vehicle sumps, wrecking engines and causing dangerous oil spillages.
They prevent the passage of long vehicles such as hearses.
They have caused elderly pedestrians to trip and break bones.
They are concealed by snow.
Full-width speed humps and speed platforms cause the following damage:
They break car road springs.
They destabilise cars on corners, particularly in adverse weather conditions.
They destabilise motorcycles and bicycles, sometimes throwing the rider into the path of another vehicle.
They cause 50% more pollution and fuel consumed due to vehicles slowing down for them then re-accelerating.
They cause tremors from heavy vehicles passing over them that damage adjacent buildings.
They increase noise levels from vehicles slowing down then re-accelerating.
They damage vehicle sumps, wrecking engines and casing dangerous oil spillages.
They prevent the passage of long vehicles such as hearses.
They hinder the passage of emergency vehicles such as fire engines.
Metre-wide speed cushions cause the following damage:
They break car road springs.
They damage the inside shoulders of car tyres, where the damage cannot easily be seen, sometimes leading to blowouts on high speed roads and multiple death crashes later in the vehicle's journey.
They damage car suspension and steering, sometimes leading to high speed crashes later in the vehicle's journey.
They cause 50% more pollution and fuel consumed due to vehicles slowing down for them then re-accelerating.
They destabilise motorcycles and bicycles, sometimes throwing the rider into the path of another vehicle.
They are particularly lethal to motorcyclists and cyclists when covered
with leaves, and in adverse weather conditions such as snow, ice and heavy rain.
They increase noise levels from vehicles slowing down then re-accelerating.
They damage vehicle sumps, wrecking engines and causing dangerous oil spillages.
They prevent the passage of long vehicles such as hearses.
They have caused elderly pedestrians to trip and break bones.
They are concealed by snow.
Full-width speed humps and speed platforms cause the following damage:
They break car road springs.
They destabilise cars on corners, particularly in adverse weather conditions.
They destabilise motorcycles and bicycles, sometimes throwing the rider into the path of another vehicle.
They cause 50% more pollution and fuel consumed due to vehicles slowing down for them then re-accelerating.
They cause tremors from heavy vehicles passing over them that damage adjacent buildings.
They increase noise levels from vehicles slowing down then re-accelerating.
They damage vehicle sumps, wrecking engines and casing dangerous oil spillages.
They prevent the passage of long vehicles such as hearses.
They hinder the passage of emergency vehicles such as fire engines.
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