New roads v speed bumps : NIMYS v OIMBYS

Justin Smith

Justin Smith

Justin Smith

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New roads v speed bumps : NIMBYS v OIMBYS

It occurred to me just the other day that new roads and speed bumps really are opposites.

Take new roads, most drivers want them, but only if they aren`t built anywhere near them, particularly if they`d be routed straight through their garden..... This is the NIMBY (Not In my Back Yard) syndrome.

On the other hand, most drivers, including myself, dislike having to drive over speed bumps. But, particularly if they have kids, many people do want them on their own road. I`m guilty of this because since my own son was born I want speed bumps on my own road (a narrow dead end which many drivers go far too fast down), in fact I`m thinking of starting a campaign amongst the residents. However, I don`t want them on anyones elses road, the OIMBY (Only In My Back Yard) syndrome ? ! ? I suspect many others, especially parents of young children, feel the same way, it`s hypocritical but we`re only human......
 
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UK Speed bumps are retarded.

In Europe they have low ramps, go over them at 30mph and you will bounce, go slower and you waft over them. Marvel at the logical application of Physics.

In the UK you will break your suspension whether you are doing 30mph or 1" per decade. Worse are the bump islands that just encourage people to weave around them, or in the case of parked cars, drive on the opposite side of the road.
I swear nobody in the councils traffic department owns a car.

Whatever happened to a polite notice requesting people drive a bit slower in certain streets.
 
bitslice said:
Whatever happened to a polite notice requesting people drive a bit slower in certain streets.
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How long have you lived in this country? If it's more than six months then you ought to know the answer to that question.


As for the OP, yes, your attitude is entirely common, and much commented on. Every person, with children at least, wants speed bumps on their street, but reserves the right to do 40mph down everyone else's street. As for the design of humps, yes some are dreadful.
 
bitslice said:
Worse are the bump islands that just encourage people to weave around them, or in the case of parked cars, drive on the opposite side of the road.
I swear nobody in the councils traffic department owns a car.
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These speed bumps are designed to let ambulances and fire appliances drive over them without slowing down due to the wider wheelbases on said vehicles.
 
To OP - entirely predictable, selfish human nature :(

Local councils are saving money by allowing potholes to develop as a cheaper, less predictable alternative to speed bumps. It seems that Islington Council in North London have introduced a 20 MPH speed limit throughout the borough and by enthusiastically enforcing it on unsuspecting motorists are making a LOT of money :)
 
Richie said:
These speed bumps are designed to let ambulances and fire appliances drive over them without slowing down due to the wider wheelbases on said vehicles.
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I've found you can drive over them in most cars without slowing down (unless you drive something with exceptionally narrow track, or a low slung car) so I still don't really see the point. Is it really worth going to the effort of installing them just to slow down such a small proportion of cars on the road?
 
I can't stand speed bumps, and I wouldn't particularly want them installed on my road either. Some strategically placed high tension piano wire to decapitate scooter riders on the other hand...
 
I'm one of those annoying people that goes over them VERY slowly - I'm not wrecking my suspension, or carving up the road with with front splitter as I bounce over the ridiculous speed humps. They're absolutely overkill in this country - and so many people don't care and just crunch and crash their cars over them (if anything making you lose some control over your car).

However, I guess they work? I don't know what the alternatives are - but they are hideous things.
 
Can someone explain why, if there must be speed bumps, split bumps are being used everywhere as opposed to normal full length bumps?
 
I've never understood why people value speed humps? They're typically poorly designed so you have to crawl over them at ~50% of the speed limit if you wish to avoid buckling your wheels, which means you then have to accelerate back up to speed, with the associated noise & fuel economy / emissions considerations that so offends eco-hippies.

As a child I was taught how very important it was to cross a road safely, because they were dangerous places. That meant crossing only in places where there was excellent visibility, & when you were sure the road was clear in both directions. I often wonder if speed humps are desirable as substitutions for such lessons?

I can understand campaigning for crossings / middle of road bollard islands / bridges / underpasses as methods of making pedestrian life easier, but speed calming measures have always felt (to me) like a devolution of responsibility away from pedestrians.

IMO speed awareness on the part of drivers is better dealt with via digital signage, & maybe discretionary speed awareness course every 3-5 years refreshing (& simulating!) speed / stopping distances & the importance of tyres (model / pressure etc) beyond legal minimums would be beneficial. This could be supported by premium tyre manufacturers & even discounted by insurers in a similar way to recognising IAM.
 
Conscript said:
As Richie explained earlier, the intention is to allow emergency vehicles to negotiate them at full speed.
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The side effect being that the vast majority of speeders can also sail over them, so their more of an inconvenience that a speed calming measure.

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It is somewhat ironic that in this country we spend thousands and thousands repairing pot holes and improving the road surface then in order to try and limit peoples speed we spend thousands and thousands building inverted pot holes in order to sabotage the road so people must slow down, madness.
 
ubersonic said:
The side effect being that the vast majority of speeders can also sail over them, so their more of an inconvenience that a speed calming measure.
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Exactly. They do nothing to stop bikes and wider than average vehicles.

They really irk me as they do far more damage to suspension components and tyres than normal bumps do. There is no need to be so angular.

There is also the added inconvenience of parked cars near these bumps - if they are the split type you end up having to go over the hump half on/half off :S
 
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The last 2 times I've been out walking around Wapping in East London, someone in a Golf MkV seems to treat the speed humps as his own personal launch ramps. I'm not easily shocked when it comes to speeding cars but this guy has gone over these speed humps at well over 40 mph, all four wheels off the ground (or very close to being so) - narrow streets, dotted with parked cars - Utter madness.

Obviously in this case we're dealing with an idiot but the problem with speed bumps that have a shallow slope (so people don't have to slow excessively under the speed limit to protect their suspension) is people like that challenge themselves to go as fast as they can over them. I'd like to see him try it if they changed these bumps to the sharp edged near-vertical ones (Not the the split ones - I dislike those too).
 
ubersonic said:
It is somewhat ironic that in this country we spend thousands and thousands repairing pot holes and improving the road surface then in order to try and limit peoples speed we spend thousands and thousands building inverted pot holes in order to sabotage the road so people must slow down, madness.
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haha yep! on the road just outside the court where I live there are speed bumps.... not entirely sure why (although I'm assuming because there's a church half way up which lots of elderly go to so probably got it petitioned in) as none of the other parallel roads to it have speed bumps and they are much easier to speed down as they are pretty much straight.

I'm not all that bothered by them but there are one or two where if taken even slower than normal, due to the incline of the road and the angle of the bump it's a pretty hefty jolt...which is rather annoying.

the divided speed bumps (ones that are for "emergency services" to go over at full speed) only really seem to slow people down there there are cars parked on one side so instead of the car on each side taking their outter speed bump, one if forced to the middle and not quite enough room to both really squeeze past so one has to slow :p

some speed bumps are just retarded though. like ones where they are quite narrow.... but pretty high up... shock to the system! also.... there's this one by a school (fair enough... all for speed bumps by school if it stops the children killers) and it just takes the biscuit... rather than being the typical squished half circle speed bumps normally are.... this is....best way to describe it is a raised platform with RAMPS at either end. now I say ramps.... as they are effectively mini 1/4 pipes (think skateboarding) on either side.... so when you do go up... it feels like the front of your car is being flung up into the air xD thing is... because the middle is raised and turned into a crossing it can be hard to notice it's a speed bump. first time I went over it in rain at 20 and I thought someone had put hydraulic rams into my car like a low rider!
 
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