How to blow £100k resurfacing a road and make it worse >.<

ubersonic · 27 Feb 2012 at 08:56

Our local council are known for many things but intelligence is not one of them, last week they decided to resurface a road, its the first time this road has been resurfaced in ~ 20 years and it was in quite a state, however that didn't matter as every so many meters it had speed bumps (pavement to pavement type) which meant that speed was limited, it was also limited by being a 20mph zone as the is a school on the road. So basically the resurfaced the whole thing and it was perfect, and best of all, people actually stuck to the 20mph limit so the was no need to bring back the speed bumps, so they built speed cushions instead >.<

For those that don't know the terminology cushions are the thin ones that go between your wheels and rip your exhaust off. I just fail to see any kind of logic here, speed bumps are basically a way of reducing the maximum possible speed by sabotaging the road surface to make excessive speed uncomfortable and dangerous to the vehicle, so why bother resurfacing the road? its not like the pot holes weren't doing the speed bumps job for free :S

And to make matters worse three abreast cushions are much worse than bumps (they cost the taxpayer more to maintain and cost the road user more in wear and tear repairs/maintenance).

I was speaking to a friend who works for the company that did the work and he said that at ~ £1k a cushion plus the resurfacing plus markings/etc the whole project would easily have gone over £100k, and this is the same council that claim they just don't have the budget to grit roads properly >.<

bledd · 27 Feb 2012 at 09:05

They are such a pain, I'd much prefer to have 20mph speed cameras.

[TW]Fox · 27 Feb 2012 at 09:11

I love cushions, much nicer than other types.

Muffin` · 27 Feb 2012 at 09:11

Aren't they for allowing emergency services and public transport to move more freely?... and everyone else

I however have to slow right down and drive over with one side or I might wipe out my exhaust

shoes · 27 Feb 2012 at 09:36

Attacking this from the wrong angle... I wonder how much it would cost to put a long line of railings outside the school and teach kids how to behave near a road.

The cushion type of humps are good in the daily but a nightmare in the lowered car.

Muffin` · 27 Feb 2012 at 09:43

shoes said:
Attacking this from the wrong angle... I wonder how much it would cost to put a long line of railings outside the school and teach kids how to behave near a road.

The cushion type of humps are good in the daily but a nightmare in the lowered car.

Dunno makes me think of that kid who vaulted a railing straight into a bus

There's only so much moddly cuddling you can do before you take the responsibility away from the individual to look both ****ing ways.

Conscript · 27 Feb 2012 at 10:18

What's annoying is there does not seem to be a set standard for their height for them. My car sits lower than most and I can clear a lot of speed cushions in my area, but there is a road I know that I can no longer go down without a horrible scraping noise over every single speed cushion. In a stroke of genius, the council has also placed pedestrian refuge islands in the middle of the road between the cushions, so you're only option is to straddle them rather than slowly take the wheels over them.

I wouldn't mind speed bumps so much if some actual thought went into them, including an attempt to make them as kind to a cars suspension as possible. In the UK it seems that a lump of asphalt is enough, or just one of those car park bump strip screwed into the surface which give the wheel an almost kerb-like incline to mount. In France, most speed bumps forced you to slow down but were designed to present a much gentler inital profile to the wheel which was kinder on the suspension and the car.

Dr Who · 27 Feb 2012 at 10:31

There is a max height for speed cushions, if they do not meet this, you can report them.

If your car is lowered and you scrape over a speed bump, the problem is yours, not the councils. If your car is not lowered and it scrapes them causing damage, then you can resort to legal means.

We have speed bumps and speed cushions in Street, and I know which ones I prefer with lowered and stiff suspension.

a1ex2001 · 27 Feb 2012 at 10:36

[TW]Fox;21352251 said:
I love cushions, much nicer than other types.

Totally agree, while they might be a pain in alowered chav mobile or a ground scrapping super car they are no issue to the majority of road users who hardly even touch them.

Django x2 · 27 Feb 2012 at 10:40

Technically, the idea of a cushion is to allow you to drive over them, at the speed limit, without discomfort or damage to you or your vehicle.

I love cushions, and or pillows.

Conscript · 27 Feb 2012 at 10:57

Dr Who said:
There is a max height for speed cushions, if they do not meet this, you can report them.

If your car is lowered and you scrape over a speed bump, the problem is yours, not the councils. If your car is not lowered and it scrapes them causing damage, then you can resort to legal means.

We have speed bumps and speed cushions in Street, and I know which ones I prefer with lowered and stiff suspension.

Oh, I'm not moaning about it. I'm aware I've chosen a car which sits lower than most and Im prepared to put up with the consequences. It would just be nice to know that if I can clear most normal speed cushions (which I can), then I would be able to clear all of them, which isn't always the case. What is the maximum height?

Dr Who · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:01

Conscript said:
Oh, I'm not moaning about it. I'm aware I've chosen a car which sits lower than most and Im prepared to put up with the consequences. It would just be nice to know that if I can clear most normal speed cushions (which I can), then I would be able to clear all of them, which isn't always the case. What is the maximum height?

65mm I believe, but they should take into account any curvature/camber of the road so may be oversize still when that is taken into account.

Scottland · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:01

Muffin` said:
Aren't they for allowing emergency services and public transport to move more freely?... and everyone else

I however have to slow right down and drive over with one side or I might wipe out my exhaust

Yeah, AFAIK they only use them on bus routes and emergency vehicle routes.

MikeHiow · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:09

Our council used the soft rubber like material for these cushions everywhere for years and they were fine - I can clear them in my lowered Clio just fine.

Then they started making them out of hard stuff, and a lot higher (more than 65mm, almost certainly). I need to get a wheel on these.

naefeart · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:13

I hate cushions with a passion. Much prefer speed bumps that extend with full with of the road.

In my road there are a couple where the surface of the road has dipped at the side of the cushion. This means you will ground your car out, unless you go inbetween two cushions which is what I do. I reported this to the council, twice, 6 months ago. Not a peek back since.

The main issue for me with these cushions, is that the people it's aimed at, don't give a monkey about their cars and continue at the same speed regardless. A speed bump would slow them down more effectively.

shoes · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:16

a1ex2001 said:
Totally agree, while they might be a pain in alowered chav mobile or a ground scrapping super car they are no issue to the majority of road users who hardly even touch them.

A lowered chav mobile? So my track toy is a chav mobile?

They're utterly ridiculous, as are all speed humps, simply penalising the motorist once again to protect pedestrians against their perceived inability to not be able to cross a road without looking first.

You have to question whether we need such dumb people on the planet anyway...

Dr Who · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:29

shoes said:
So my track toy is a chav mobile?

No it is a "track toy" so if you use it on the road you are compromised.

The dumb pedestrians are no dumber than someone who doesn't understand this tbh.

Dr Who · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:32

naefeart said:
The main issue for me with these cushions, is that the people it's aimed at, don't give a monkey about their cars and continue at the same speed regardless. A speed bump would slow them down more effectively.

Yeah usually in some sort of 4x4, it is a shame they don't work as well as intended, but for the most part, they do less damage than a speed bump, and if you were injured and in an ambulance, you would be grateful for them over a speed bump.

ubersonic · 27 Feb 2012 at 11:56

naefeart said:
In my road there are a couple where the surface of the road has dipped at the side of the cushion.

Sadly that's pretty normal, hence why they cost more ot maintain that standard bumps

Dr Who said:
but for the most part, they do less damage than a speed bump

That's actually incorrect, they cause suspension wear like bumps (unless your car is wide enough to just sail over them ofc) but studys show they also cause excessive wear to the inner tyre walls which over time will result in increased susceptibility to blow outs.

Dr Who · 27 Feb 2012 at 12:10

ubersonic said:
That's actually incorrect, they cause suspension wear like bumps (unless your car is wide enough to just sail over them ofc) but studys show they also cause excessive wear to the inner tyre walls which over time will result in increased susceptibility to blow outs.

Hogwash tbh, if they cause more damage, then just drive one side over the middle, still half the damage of a speed bump.

Link to these studys please so we can laugh at them, as cornering on a roundabout will put more stress on a sidewall than a speedcushion.