Nine things Councils don't want you to know about 'speed humps'

Have you noticed the new speed humps that have been appearing across the country? Small red square pyramid ones. Big Red ones stretching across a road. Massive big black ones. Perhaps the most aggressive ones I have come across are on Maxwell Avenue in Bearsden, near Glasgow. Try them. Just don’t sue me for the damage it may cause.

But I have to ask the question, why are they being installed? “To slow the traffic” I hear you say.

But do they work? And what are the consequences of installing them beyond the slowing of traffic.

On 3 July 2002 the UK Parliament debated them. Many voices were raised in concerns about them. But what came of that? Nothing.

So, let us take a look at them. Why are they so controversial?

The first point is, depending upon the vehicle and the hump design, going over a hump at a higher speed may cause less discomfort than a lower speed. Strange but true. This point was amazingly demonstrated by Sergeant Mike Peck, a Police officer from Humberside, who boasted that his new Subaru Impreza patrol car could 'skim' speed humps at 70 mph! And it did! So much for slowing traffic.

A second point is on the environmental impact. Accelerating after negotiating a hump generates more pollution than if the hump hadn't been there. And as humps are invariably near children, think of all the nice fumes they are enjoying. Research carried out in Austria on a mile long stretch of road with six humps and a 40kph speed limit showed that cars negotiating the humps emitted 10 times more nitrogen oxide, 3 times more poisonous carbon monoxide, and 25% more carbon dioxide, than vehicles maintaining a constant speed. And fuel consumption rose from 7.9 litres to nearly 10 litres per 100 km. And the UKs Transport Research Laboratory has conducted emissions tests on roads with a 75 metre hump spacing and found CO emissions increased by 70–80%, Hydro-carbons by 70–100%, and CO2 by 50–60%. . I didn’t know that! Did you? So have the Councils carried out an environmental audit?

Point three is noise. Speed humps actually increase noise levels. Have you heard a milk float in a residential areas at 5 o'clock in the morning going over bumps? And vehicles accelerating after a hump generate more noise than had they been travelling at a constant speed. Such is the impact of the noise generated by bumps that the issue is being tackled by the Noise Abatement Society

Fourthly, have you noticed how your car jolts as it goes over, even at a slow speed? Well, repeatedly traversing humps causes long-term damage to vehicle components, especially the suspension. This in turn has serious implications for safety and stopping distances. Shock absorbers are key in ensuring vehicles are able to stop effectively and safely - perhaps if a child ran in front of a car. And if you live in an area with humps, or use roads that are “humped”, do you notice how more frequently you are visiting HiQ or KwikFit? Speed humps are nothing more than inverted potholes. Whilst Councils readily admit that potholes are dangerous and cause damage to vehicles, they intentionally install speed humps which are just as dangerous, and then try to deny that they cause damage. I wonder if Councils knows that Fire Engines fitted with a water tank containing up to 2,250 litres may suffer structural damage so great that it puts the appliance off the road, and results in a massive repair bill? And someone always has to pay in the end. In Hastings in November 2002, taxi fares were increased by 10p during the day and 20p at night to pay for the increased cost of maintenance due to damage caused by traversing speed humps up to 200 times per day. In 2004, the Metropolitan Police told the London Assembly that 34 of its vehicles had been damaged by speed bumps in a three month period. Who paid the cost? Us, the taxpayer!

A fifth point is the impact of vehicles traversing a speed hump. It sends shock waves through the ground. And depending upon the nature of the soil, the proximity and construction of buildings, the weight of vehicles, and the frequency of traffic, these shock waves may cause structural damage to nearby properties. If you don't believe that, read the official UK regulations stating where humps can be installed - they specifically exclude anywhere within 25m of bridges, subways, or tunnels. But not your house.

Sixthly, take care at night on roads with bumps because they cause headlight beams to rise. Oncoming traffic may be dazzled. And if you live on a road with them I bet you are fed up with the headlights dancing though your curtains.

Are you sitting comfortably? Well, point seven is that humps cause unnecessary discomfort to drivers and passengers. It’s a real pain in the backside! Bus drivers operating Gatwick Airport's Shuttle Service are being signed off sick because they are having to drive over 1600 humps per day. And in November 2003, bus drivers in Sheffield forced the council to remove speed humps after threatening to withdraw several bus services, and take legal action, because the frequent jolt from the humps was causing back pains. And if you are disabled, tough! Humps discriminate against the severely disabled, elderly frail people, and those with serious back or neck problems.

And if you think that once you leave behind your earthly coil you are freed from all this, sorry. Point eight is that for funeral cortèges, speed humps cause distress to mourners. Trying to drive a funeral vehicle conveying a coffin over a speed hump with any degree of dignity is simply impossible.

Point nine. I leave the most important point to last. The most serious of all is the delay which humps enforce on emergency vehicles.
Ambulances rushing an injured patient to hospital may have to slow to a ridiculously low speed to negotiate a hump; in cases of severe injury they may have to find an alternative route to avoid the hump altogether.
Karen Higginson of Avon Ambulance Service; reported in the Bath Chronicle in 2004 that "We already know from the London Ambulance Service that so-called 'traffic calming' causes over 500 deaths a year in London alone, and now the police have confirmed it affects their response times too. The evidence is clear — road humps are a menace which are endangering Londoners." If that doesn’t make you sit up and take notice, how about this from Brian Coleman, of the London Assembly. In 2003 he stated: "For every life saved through traffic calming, more are lost because of ambulance delays." It was a point echoed by Sigurd Reinton, Chairman, London Ambulance Service who noted in January 2003 that "They affect our attendance times. Each ramp delays our attendance by ten seconds. In fires, minutes can cost lives."
Talking of fires, you won’t be surprise to find that the Fire Brigade are not too keen either. Divisional Officer Dean Johns, London Fire Brigade; noted in October 2002. "We have certain standards to meet and we have to have vehicles at the scene of a Category A emergency within eight minutes. That's a life-or-death situation like a heart attack. Before road humps came in we used to be able to get from the station to the scene within the required time, but now it can take up to ten minutes."
So my advice is, don’t have a fire if there are speed bumps between you and the Fire Station.
Or the Ambulance Station. For according to Geoff Farnworth, divisional officer, North Yorkshire Ambulance Service; "Speed humps do slow our responses very much. These humps slow our vehicles to an absolute crawl, virtually having to come to a complete stop on some of them to avoid damaging our expensive vehicles. ... it would truly help our service to the citizens if we can get the truth out."

So, what benefits do speed bumps offer us in our towns and villages? They slow the traffic. Well, yes. But at what cost in life, in damage to our vehicles, in adding to the emission of noxious gassed from cars.

And know what? Most bizarrely, there is virtually no evidence speed humps have an impact on overall accident rates.

Surely our Councillors are not keeping the true facts of speed bumps from us?
So, how about instead we call for road safety initiatives to concentrate on better training that would make drivers realise the need to drive slowly in residential streets, and better police enforcement that would target those who do not act responsibly.
Then we all would be happy. And safe!