RE: Worst Speed Bumps Name And Shamed
Friday 2nd November 2007
The worst offending bump in Tower View RoadAt PH we are big fans of driving quickly, but we are also well aware that as drivers we are responsible should we make a mistake.
Worst Speed Bumps Name And Shamed
Continental tyres has got the hump
The worst offending bump in Tower View Road
For this reason, we have never been particularly big fans of speed bumps. While we don’t have a problem with their intention, to slow drivers down, invariably they just cause erratic driving and remove a layer of responsibility from the person behind the wheel.
We are also not very surprised to learn that as many as 1 in 8 cars show signs of damage which is directly attributable to this odd piece of road furniture. In 2005, these repairs averaged £319 too.
Continental has gone one step further, and published a top ten worst speed hump offenders list, with those on Tower View Road, Great Wyrely in Staffordshire topping the table.
One bump in particular is so hated, that a local action group - the Wyrley Residents Against the Hump – has been set up to campaign for its removal. Apparently, the reason for the bump’s infamy is that the road tends to flood around it, obscuring it from view.
Rounding out the top three is Hurdis Road in Solihull – which PH can vouch for being like driving over a mountain, and not an inconsiderable one at that – and Victoria Road in Cirencester.
Discussion
with your suspension. Hateful, hateful things.What's the law on speed bumps in terms of size and placement?
I'm sure I read some extract of the highways act ages ago that states they can't be more than a certain height (12cm rings a bell for some reason).
Also, where would the council / whoever is responsible (highways agency?) stand in terms of damage caused by them?
I've had a few cases where I've smacked my cars carbon fibre chin spoiler against one, to the point where they're so rediculous in my sisters estate I can't physically get the car in without causing damage. The guy at the top of her street used to have a paradise purple cerbie, and had much the same trouble looking at the effort taken to get his car in and out.
Surely if the car is standard in terms of ride height, the road furniture should be able to accomodate these cars, and by damaging the car they're leaving themselves well open to claims from drivers whose cars have been damaged?
Suspension wear I can live with, but when someone puts mountainous speed bumps in where they're not required that are so big I damn near tear my cars front end off every time I try to navigate them it gets tedious.
I'm sure I read some extract of the highways act ages ago that states they can't be more than a certain height (12cm rings a bell for some reason).
Also, where would the council / whoever is responsible (highways agency?) stand in terms of damage caused by them?
I've had a few cases where I've smacked my cars carbon fibre chin spoiler against one, to the point where they're so rediculous in my sisters estate I can't physically get the car in without causing damage. The guy at the top of her street used to have a paradise purple cerbie, and had much the same trouble looking at the effort taken to get his car in and out.
Surely if the car is standard in terms of ride height, the road furniture should be able to accomodate these cars, and by damaging the car they're leaving themselves well open to claims from drivers whose cars have been damaged?
Suspension wear I can live with, but when someone puts mountainous speed bumps in where they're not required that are so big I damn near tear my cars front end off every time I try to navigate them it gets tedious.
Speed humps are just an admission of failure by the local authorities that they have failed to convince/educate drivers that the speed limit they have set is the appropriate one. Often because the limit is unnecessarily low.
I'm also amazed at how many different 'designs' there are for speed humps.
Surely, there should be a clearly defined and unambiguous standard for the size & shape of humps, just as there are for road signs & markings? Or would that be hoping for too much from our Government?
I'm also amazed at how many different 'designs' there are for speed humps.
Surely, there should be a clearly defined and unambiguous standard for the size & shape of humps, just as there are for road signs & markings? Or would that be hoping for too much from our Government?
Puddenchucker said:
...the speed limit they have set is the appropriate one. Often because the limit is unnecessarily low.
That would be perfectly fine IF, you could take a speed hump at say 30mph in a 30zone if it is stop SPEEDING. I object to being forced to slow down to nearer 15mph in a 30, just to take the bump comfortably/damage limiting. And my car is not anything special. Surely the point of the speed bump is to stop people doing above 30? If it was to force people to do 15mph, then why not set the limit at that? Most likely because absolutely no-one would ever stick to a 15mph limit. Just thinking out loud now 
I sure I read ages ago that Bolton Council had to remove some as "too high".
But have come across some on a residential road where one of my sisters-in-law live in pretty Manchester 'burb of Worsley whereby they range from being very high to fairly low. They not even equi-distant . with some fouling up driveway acccesses for some on this road too.
Ill thought through. In the areas where there some distance between these humps you see acceleration. It also noisy when the cars go over the higher humps too. The residents as collective want them removing as "eyesores" as well.
My personal hate though,.. those plastic ones und the ones made of blocked paving. Not high . but still evil. I feel these at not even registering speed in any car/vehicle. I feel it jar into the metal pins from that incident all those years ago. 
But have come across some on a residential road where one of my sisters-in-law live in pretty Manchester 'burb of Worsley whereby they range from being very high to fairly low. They not even equi-distant . with some fouling up driveway acccesses for some on this road too.
Ill thought through. In the areas where there some distance between these humps you see acceleration. It also noisy when the cars go over the higher humps too. The residents as collective want them removing as "eyesores" as well. My personal hate though,.. those plastic ones und the ones made of blocked paving. Not high . but still evil.
I feel these at not even registering speed in any car/vehicle. I feel it jar into the metal pins from that incident all those years ago. 
I see from the picture that those speed bumps, like our local speed bumps suffer from the dreaded "equal spacing" syndrome. This really pisses me off. The picture shows the speed humps placed over two lanes with three equal spaces. This means that the humps are not placed centraly to the lane you are driving in, but instead the non-central placement of the humps leads you and the traffic in the opposite direction to steer toward the centre line of the road. Why am I forced to drive nearer to oncoming traffic, just because they can't place a hump in the center of the lane 
John_S4x4 said:
Why am I forced to drive nearer to oncoming traffic, just because they can't place a hump in the center of the lane
Because it's not to do with safety, but to do with image, and with making drivers' lives as miserable as possible.I firmly believe (and an ex-colleague used to work for the City Council so can actually confirm this around here) that most transport-planners and town-planners are either non-drivers or are anti-car. It's the only explanation for some of the stuff we're seeing...traffic lights on roundabouts FFS!!!
Chicanes are just as evil in their own way. They don't cause the damage that speed bumps do, but they cause congestion. At least with speed bumps two cars can pass on the bump, with chicanes you often have a priority system, and it traffic is busy you can be stuck on the non-priority side for ages.
Theres a long straight stretch of road near my work which roads through a Shoddy area of Halifax, big blocks of what looks like hard rubber in the road, i now cant drive up there on my way to work now and have to take route around them !
Im thinking of writing to the local council to voice my opinion
Oh and as people have said above me, i have to drive over the bumps i cant avoid @ 10 - 15mph... thanks ! Its always painful.
Im thinking of writing to the local council to voice my opinion
Oh and as people have said above me, i have to drive over the bumps i cant avoid @ 10 - 15mph... thanks ! Its always painful.
Edited by Martin_Hx on Friday 2nd November 09:13
Every year i go through a set of trailing arm bushes- and thats only since i started working in london- i have to go over an obscene amount on the way to work.
And i dont like those ones with the hump in the middle. - some seem to be oversized, and i've scraped my downpipe on a number of occasions, and my car is a standard ride height. I dont know how you guys with proper performance cars cope!
Fordo said:
...And i dont like those ones with the hump in the middle. - some seem to be oversized, and i've scraped my downpipe on a number of occasions, and my car is a standard ride height. I dont know how you guys with proper performance cars cope!
I don't!One of the b*stards ripped one of my exhaust hangers off the other day.
Judging by the amount of scrape-age on them, I wasn't the first.
IIRC they aren't supposed to be over 100mm high (*), but these are like this...
...with the top sliced off.
E.T.A. * - regs here...
Regs said:
So exceeding the 100mm height, without authorisation, would be likely to mean that Section 90E of Highways Act 1980 did not apply, with the result that the road hump could be viewed as an obstruction. (Humps constructed prior to the 1996 regulations will not be affected by this). Additionally it is not considered good practice to deliberately choose heights which are either higher or lower than those prescribed, on the grounds that the regulations would not then apply. This again would mean that Section 90E of the Highways Act would not apply with consequences for the highway authority in providing the device was not an obstruction.
Edited by nelly1 on Friday 2nd November 09:57
FWIW, (and I've said this before) in my neighbourhood the speed bump is a 'normal' bit of road furniture..Locals asked for them when drivers didn't abide by the 30mph speed limit.
Before you all get on your high horses (again), let me tell you WHY they were asked for(again)...the area sports two schools 1 infants/ juniors and 1 Comprehensive for the future generations of ne'er do wells.
Also the roads form a nice little makeshift racetrack for those who wish to hoon around the town at silly o' clock when people are trying to sleep.
Two kids died after being hit by cars travelling in excess of the speed limit and several others have been injured by trying to stop cars with their bodies and a lot of hit and run damage has been caused. ...
OK so the kids should perhaps have not walked into the path of a moving vehicle, but if you have ever watched kids leaving school..there isn't much thought given to anything other than getting home to the Xbox...sad I know, but testament to the education parents are giving them these days!
Also several of the 'wackey racers' found their skills to be lacking and damage to residents vehicles was caused as they misjudged corners etc...wing mirrors and front/rear bumpers were favourite for being removed forcibly from their mounts when collisions happened.
At one point we even had a racer forget to take a corner altogether and smash straight into some old age pensioners front living room!
Anyway we now have speed bumps AND a 20mph limit in the area.
By and large they have slowed traffic as intended.
People are getting a good night's kip (usually)
In the 4 years they have been in-situ there have been no accidents/deaths injuries in the area.
Having said that, you always get the odd one or two who oblivious to the speed bumps wants to go faster than the posted limit says you should. These types end up depositing a goodly amount of their vehicle under bodies on the roadway as their suspension bottoms out on regaining terra firma over the bump!
Perhaps our area is the exception to the rule but the installation of speed bumps has done some good....and I've never had a problem negotiating them at or slightly below the 20mph that is advised...any faster and you do have problems.
There are places where it is safer to go faster than the speed limit...over speed bumps isn't one of them.
Before you all get on your high horses (again), let me tell you WHY they were asked for(again)...the area sports two schools 1 infants/ juniors and 1 Comprehensive for the future generations of ne'er do wells.
Also the roads form a nice little makeshift racetrack for those who wish to hoon around the town at silly o' clock when people are trying to sleep.
Two kids died after being hit by cars travelling in excess of the speed limit and several others have been injured by trying to stop cars with their bodies and a lot of hit and run damage has been caused. ...
OK so the kids should perhaps have not walked into the path of a moving vehicle, but if you have ever watched kids leaving school..there isn't much thought given to anything other than getting home to the Xbox...sad I know, but testament to the education parents are giving them these days!
Also several of the 'wackey racers' found their skills to be lacking and damage to residents vehicles was caused as they misjudged corners etc...wing mirrors and front/rear bumpers were favourite for being removed forcibly from their mounts when collisions happened.
At one point we even had a racer forget to take a corner altogether and smash straight into some old age pensioners front living room!
Anyway we now have speed bumps AND a 20mph limit in the area.
By and large they have slowed traffic as intended.
People are getting a good night's kip (usually)
In the 4 years they have been in-situ there have been no accidents/deaths injuries in the area.
Having said that, you always get the odd one or two who oblivious to the speed bumps wants to go faster than the posted limit says you should. These types end up depositing a goodly amount of their vehicle under bodies on the roadway as their suspension bottoms out on regaining terra firma over the bump!
Perhaps our area is the exception to the rule but the installation of speed bumps has done some good....and I've never had a problem negotiating them at or slightly below the 20mph that is advised...any faster and you do have problems.
There are places where it is safer to go faster than the speed limit...over speed bumps isn't one of them.
Speed bumps in 30mph max speed zones are designed to keep average speed way below 30mph. Too many people think that just because its sign posted 30mph its safe to drive at 30mph or even a little higher. Sad fact is, 30mph is way too high for many residential areas, but until councils have the right to post lower MAXIMUM limits they will use traffic calming 'initiatives' to reduce that maximum limit artificially.
A 30mph limit sign doesn't give you the right to drive at, around or above 30mph. Sadly, many drivers do not appreciate this idea of a maximum speed, indeed, most seem to treat it as a MINIMUM speed acceptable. Some of the posts on here even show that attitude.
Personally, I think heavily built up areas (such as housing estates, areas near schools etc) should have a 20mph limit, rigourously enforced and adhered to, and then speed bumps can be removed. However, we all know thats never going to happen.
Its also been shown that the placement of 'chicanes' actually encourages people to speed to 'make the gap', and are probably the worst feature on our roads, especially and people often use the narrowing point as a natural crossing point. They should be banned imo.
A 30mph limit sign doesn't give you the right to drive at, around or above 30mph. Sadly, many drivers do not appreciate this idea of a maximum speed, indeed, most seem to treat it as a MINIMUM speed acceptable. Some of the posts on here even show that attitude.
Personally, I think heavily built up areas (such as housing estates, areas near schools etc) should have a 20mph limit, rigourously enforced and adhered to, and then speed bumps can be removed. However, we all know thats never going to happen.
Its also been shown that the placement of 'chicanes' actually encourages people to speed to 'make the gap', and are probably the worst feature on our roads, especially and people often use the narrowing point as a natural crossing point. They should be banned imo.
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