Traffic calming

Originally Posted by ianathuth

I have never seen a car doing wheelies past a speed camera whilst doing over the limit but have seen many bikers doing this.

Possibly because it's very difficult to do a wheelie in a car without some expensive modifications...!

[Stuartbe]

Originally Posted by Graham

Possibly because it's very difficult to do a wheelie in a car without some expensive modifications...!

LOL..... You have a point there m8

[Keytops]

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

..but personally I do think these speed bumps are dangerous - since a lot of drives slow down for the humps and then speed up drastically - to make up for the 'lost time' inbetween the bumps.

And because your looking out for the next speed bump (normally just around a blind corner or hidden behind the lorry parked half on it) your not concentrating on the kids playing football who run out in front of you.....

[Steve H]

About a month or so ago, My exhaust was banged on the bottom of a speedbump around my area.. Must of been loose or something, because it was hanging off, and had to have it re-welded on.. Was gonna contact council or whoever, as I wasnt go fast (About 10mph), but had a full car (5 people in a fiesta ).. But ended up never bothering as my cousin thought it was no use.

As someone said above, im the type of driver that'l slow down for the Speedbump, then Speed up inbetween.. which I guess is more dangerous than having them therein the first place!

[Matuka]

I have a speed table right outside my house & its really annoying the number of cars & wagons that speed up to go over it, I am often finding the odd bolt, nut, car/wagon bit because of this.

Every time I hear a "crash" I have to get up & peer outside in case ite either an accident & I can do the local hero bit or they have hit my car...lol

[carlingman]

Originally Posted by Steve H

About a month or so ago, My exhaust was banged on the bottom of a speedbump around my area.. Must of been loose or something, because it was hanging off, and had to have it re-welded on.. Was gonna contact council or whoever, as I wasnt go fast (About 10mph), but had a full car (5 people in a fiesta ).. But ended up never bothering as my cousin thought it was no use.

As someone said above, im the type of driver that'l slow down for the Speedbump, then Speed up inbetween.. which I guess is more dangerous than having them therein the first place!

I hope you mean an exhaust bracket was welded back on not the exhaust itself

Now got a mental picture of you taking the car into Kwikfit for an exhaust change and them yanking it off and the whole underside of the car falling on them.

[Nor]

Not read all the replies yet. But traffic calming does not work. Humps just cause hassle to cars and all you see is folk hitting the gas then the brakes, not driving at a safe constant speed.

[Flubflow]

What a lot of people do not realise is that these speed humps also cause a lot of misery for those that live next to them. It is not just the noise of rattly wagons going over them but also the noise of all vehicles accelerating away after having to slow down to go over them.
For some people it is simply too much to bear........
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/o...re/3161840.stm

Not so long ago there was talk of many speed humps having to be ripped up because of new laws about lowering the step height of buses (which would make it impossible for the new buses to go over them). I've not heard any more about that.

The current trend now is to introduce bollards. These can be lit ones on a raised on a kerbed platform centrally in the road or unlit ones (often black!)jutting out from the side of the road on a kerb. Also they narrow the road with painted markings (rather than the more expensive and much more useful idea of widening the pavement and/or providing decicated kerbside parking)
These bollards solve the usual hump damage problems etc but vehicles still make more noise by accelerating away after negotiating the obsticle (assuming the light on the centrally placed bollard has not gone out or been vandalised and you have not wrecked your expensive wheel rims on the bollard's kerb)

Originally Posted by ianathuth

When I take my grandson to nursery school we have to drive over half a mile down a road with a 30 mph speed limit which has traffic calming humps at very frequent intervals. Thes humps are square, one on each side of the road. If you try to drive over them at under 30 mph in a car you get jolted very badly no matter how slow you go. This is very painful for someone with back problems.

Do these humps slow down traffic? No, they do quite the opposite. Motorbikes just drive at ridiculous speeds in the centre of the road in the gap between the humps. Large lorries have a wheelbase wide enough to avoid them having to put a wheel on the humps. Most car drivers, particularly the locals, drive like a bat out of hell over the humps saying the faster you go, the less you feel them.

I wonder what the legal position is if you claim compensation for injury to your back or damage to your vehicle as a result of having to drive over these humps?

Ah the dreaded Carsic estate in Sutton In Ashfield, it's the scurge of Taxi Drivers in that area. It's true what they say, drive over them fast and you feel them less. I do it.

[altis]

All types of speed bump irritate but those square ones infuriate me.

I drive a very narrow van with small wheels. Sometimes, if the road is wide enough, I can drive down the middle and feel only a little bump. But most of the time have to take them full on with no benefit from the ramps either side. Now, with small wheels and a stiff suspension I can't do anything more than 10mph without everything in the back taking off. Rarely will a driver stay behind me for more than a couple of bumps before overtaking - usually with an irritated harrumph expression.

Okay, they will not impede the flow of emergency vehicles but only because the tend to be large and have large wheels. These square bumps simply discriminate in favour of wide-wheelbased and large-wheeled vehicles. Why do aggresively driven 4x4s immediately spring to mind?. IMHO, square speed bumps simpy do not work.

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by Nidge

Ah the dreaded Carsic estate in Sutton In Ashfield, it's the scurge of Taxi Drivers in that area. It's true what they say, drive over them fast and you feel them less. I do it.

That's the place. I always have to laugh at the name.

[mart44]

I find the best way to handle speed bumps is to drive at a constant 25 -30 mph along the road but agree they are a nuisance.

The thing is though, how do you make people drive slowly in built up areas? If the bumps are removed some drivers are sure to speed. If speed cameras are put up instead of bumps then the authorities are accused of putting them there to raise revenue. Can anyone make suggestions for effective speed control that everyone would be happy with? It's very often no good leaving it up the sensibility of the motorist.

Originally Posted by mart44

I find the best way to handle speed bumps is to drive at a constant 25 -30 mph along the road but agree they are a nuisance.

The thing is though, how do you make people drive slowly in built up areas? If the bumps are removed some drivers are sure to speed. If speed cameras are put up instead of bumps then the authorities are accused of putting them there to raise revenue. Can anyone make suggestions for effective speed control that everyone would be happy with? It's very often no good leaving it up the sensibility of the motorist.

Block off the 'rat runs'.Most of them are residential streets that if one end is blocked off it makes the drivers who are using it for access(and driving too fast) just go find another access route.Won't be possible for every 'rat run' but it will work for the majority.Otherwise humps and chicanes are all that I can think of.