Traffic calming

ian@huth · 18-03-2004, 13:40

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?

18-03-2004, 13:46

Dont know about trafic calming.... They make be beedin furious

I think that these speed humps are disighned to let ambulance's ect over. They do jolt you around a bit.. I know how you feel there being a fellow back pain sufferer

I wonder if they have ever been taken to court over this ? There is allos the damage to the car suspention to take into consideration !

Mr_love_monkey · 18-03-2004, 13:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuartbe

I wonder if they have ever been taken to court over this ? There is allos the damage to the car suspention to take into consideration !

But surely the answer would be, if you were travelling at a reasonable speed, you would not be jolted around, nor would there be any damage to the car?

..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.

Also, alot of the 'normal' speed bumps, i.e. ones that spread all the way across the road - end up meaning that ambulances etc, end up having to go slow - which isn't that useful if it's an emergency.

I seem to remember the head of the ambulance service was on TV not so long ago, saying they kill more people (as a knock on effect) than they save?

Ramrod · 18-03-2004, 14:01

They also cause more pollution due to the revving up after each hump

ian@huth · 18-03-2004, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

But surely the answer would be, if you were travelling at a reasonable speed, you would not be jolted around, nor would there be any damage to the car?

..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.

Also, alot of the 'normal' speed bumps, i.e. ones that spread all the way across the road - end up meaning that ambulances etc, end up having to go slow - which isn't that useful if it's an emergency.

I seem to remember the head of the ambulance service was on TV not so long ago, saying they kill more people (as a knock on effect) than they save?

You obviously haven't been over the humps that I am talking about. No way can you drive over the at less than 30 mph without getting jolted around, even if you try only doing 5 mph.

These humps are dangerous for a variety of reasons. The average speed of many vehicles is well over 30 mph. You get the odd driver who absolutely crawls over the humps, nearly always followed by an impatient driver who risks his life and others by trying to overtake the slow car in aplace where no sane person would risk it. Many drivers drive along in a normal manner and then swerve out so that their offside wheels are in the gap in the centre of the road which is a very close shave if a car going the other way does rthe same.

Mr_love_monkey · 18-03-2004, 14:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianathuth

You obviously haven't been over the humps that I am talking about. No way can you drive over the at less than 30 mph without getting jolted around, even if you try only doing 5 mph.

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me, I'm just saying that if you tried for compenstation or whatever, that would be the answer from the court/council? - as I say, I don't think they help at all?

**Russ** · 18-03-2004, 14:14

Any changes to a road by a council need to be set within strict health and safety guidelines, this includes maintanence. This explains why roadwork take such a long time to complete: they need to be sure the roads are safe.

Speed bumps also need to be kept within certain guidelines. As long as they are, say 8 inches (I'm not sure of the exact figure) high then driving over them at a safe speed should not cause any injury or damage. This is taken in to account by the insurance companies if you then chose to make such a claim.

zoombini · 18-03-2004, 14:18

Try & dig up the regulations for them, the angle of the ramp etc.

zoombini · 18-03-2004, 14:25

taken from http://www.bromleytransport.org.uk/L...ic_calming.htm which has links to the regulations.

Quote:

Speed humps must be at right angles to the carriageway, be at least 900mm long, be less than 100 mm high and more than 25mm high and not have a vertical face exceeding 6 mm. Note that most speed humps in the UK are now constructed at 75 mm height due to grounding on higher ones, and there are other guidelines on their use and such measures as leading and trailing slopes which are given later, but these do not necessarily have the force of law. Road humps may be constructed under Zebra, Pelican and Puffin crossings, if centrally located under them. However they cannot be placed near bridge supports, or near tunnels or culverts beneath the road.

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1999/19991025.htm gives the proper regs.

Get your tape measure out!

**Rob** · 18-03-2004, 14:32

Once upon a time it was an offence to obstruct the road, yet that is what "traffic calming" does.

As for design restictions on humps, I can negotiate one hump that I go past virtually every day, supposedly checked after installation as correct, and yet the front of my car will ground out on the road, even if I'm doing less only 10mph

One busy road near us has a system of chicanes. Great. Now all the boy racers see it as a challenge as to how fast you can negotiate them. The average speed in that road is probably still 35mph despite the efforts of the traffic planners.

Near me a small shopping parade had its own service road in front of it, set back from the main road. It offered parking for about 5 cars, meanwhile when the shops had deliveries, the vans double parked in the service road, without obstructing the main road. The council thought this was a bit off, so they got rid of the service road, and created a 3 space layby instead from the main road. 2 parking spaces lost, so the shops have less custom. Meanwhile delivery vans now still double park, but in the main road, so bunging up the high street, and creating hazards as drivers try to get past, yet can't see properly because of a bend.

It's simple these things are a menace. In fact all traffic calming is. All it does is restrict traffic flows and creates bottlenecks so that the average driver then goes faster, often too fast, the moment they see a hint of not so open road. How much money has been wasted on these schemes that don't work?

ian@huth · 18-03-2004, 14:41

One of the best guides to traffic calming is at http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/group...ds_504796.hcsp

It doesn't really matter what the regulations say, its the effect that the calming has on raod speeds, vehicle condition and vehicle occupants health that is important.

Xaccers · 18-03-2004, 14:42

If memory serves, people have succesfully sued their councils for damage to their backs from speed humps.

zoombini · 18-03-2004, 14:46

Have they, then this must be the reason that I currently have a bad back, better go out later & look for some nasty bumps to go over..lol

Atomic22 · 21-03-2004, 19:37

in derby we have successfully hounded and petitioned our council and got our speed humps removed , they were the same ones ianuth described.........it ended up with the council removing the humps and putting up speed camera signs , cameras going up at a later date........victory for the taxpayers
however as a motorcyclist as well as a driver i have to say ianuths description of speeding bikers going between the humps is a bit off because going between them at 30mph may seem fast to a car driver who is going over them at 5mph......(and i did both)
the humps were there to slow down speeding cars not to impede motorcyclists doing the speed limit

ian@huth · 21-03-2004, 20:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atomic22

however as a motorcyclist as well as a driver i have to say ianuths description of speeding bikers going between the humps is a bit off because going between them at 30mph may seem fast to a car driver who is going over them at 5mph......(and i did both)
the humps were there to slow down speeding cars not to impede motorcyclists doing the speed limit

What is there to slow the speeding motorcyclist down then that doesn't impede the car driver doing the speed limit? The only motorcyclists that I see driving below the speed limit are the ones with "L" plates following an instructor or the ones near a police car. I have never seen a car doing wheelies past a speed camera whilst doing over the limit but have seen many bikers doing this.