[Hyper Active]

An overwhelming majority of motorists want to see the much-hated speed hump removed from British roads.
According to research by online car-buying guide, NEWCARNET.co.uk, a massive 87 percent of drivers said they would gladly see all versions of the 'sleeping policeman' put to sleep permanently.

This would avoid an average annual repair bill of £235.71, possible injury and even structural damage to their houses.

Speed humps were introduced in 1991 as a measure for controlling vehicle speeds, and the Government claims that for every 1mph decrease in speed, the chance of an accident reduces by 5 percent.

But recent studies found that speed humps have caused injury to drivers, especially those with bone conditions such as osteoporosis, increased road noise and pollution levels and mechanical damage to vehicles.

Data from independent automotive warranty specialist, Warranty Direct, shows that over the last 10 years, an average of 1 in 8 cars has suffered suspension damage that could be directly attributed to speed humps.

Guidelines on the construction of speed humps say it is illegal for them to be raised more than 100mm from the road surface, although the Department for Transport states that, to avoid grounding, they should not actually exceed 75mm.

Massimo Pini, of NEWCARNET.co.uk, said: "Discrepancies exist not only in the rules for constructing speed humps, but also council's reasoning for installing them.

"In Barnet, for instance, the local council removed all speed humps in 2005, and recorded a 14.9% drop in accidents in the first six months.

"Usually, councils install speed humps on the grounds of improving safety!"

The humps also cause a dangerous distraction to drivers, slow the progress of emergency vehicles, and often divert heavy traffic on to less suitable roads, as motorists seek to avoid the discomfort of driving over them.

A petition signed by 6,622 motorists, calling for the scrapping of all speed humps, was delivered to the Government in July.

[SoggyCornFlakes]

they only cause damage to your suspension if you go over them too fast ........... slow down and you're ok, oh, slow down, that;'s what they're meant to do!!

No, I have no problem with speed bumps so log as they are placed in areas that require them, residential estatres, out side schools etc. as unfortunately there are too many idiots that will drive too fast in these areas and kill people.

[Dawn]

Ditto Soggy...
I live on a new development with speed humps and say YES to more!
It stops the idiots who feel the need to race up and down residential roads!
Slow down and no damage is done

[stuvoi]

I think the angle of some speedbumps is the problem.

On my old car I was forever scraping the aerokit.

I saw a car a few years back where the car had "bounced" on a speedbump and the car had come off the axle

[Rakey]

Can't stand the bloody things, always catch my bumper on them, no matter how fast or slow I go over them, should get rid of all them, there are far better ways to calm or slow traffic

[N20]

I crawl over some speed bumps in MK and they are too high i keep scraping my areo kit on them and i have not lowered the car. I hate them

[minicabrio]

I'm all for speed humps in theory, but their size needs reviewing - by law in the UK speed humps can be any size up to 10cms in height. Our local government therefore builds them 9.9cms high - totally unessessary!!

If they were say 5cms high, you'd still have to slow down for them, but they wouldn't rip your front bumper (or lower strut brace) off

When I approach a hump I slow right down, the worst part is people tailgating over the humps and the road rage produced by me driving slow over them!

[Robboards]

I think the size of some of them is a problem on the road i live there huge ive seen land rovers crawl over them

[N20]

Quote: Originally Posted by Robboards (original)

I think the size of some of them is a problem on the road i live there huge ive seen land rovers crawl over them

The new one they put in campbell park if i go over it more than 10mph it scraps bad, so i have to go over it about 5mph which really winds the drivers up behind. I just think some speed bumps are far too high you should not have to go over it that slow.

[Hyper Active]

A speed hump in Staffordshire has been named the worst in Britain in a survey by Continental Tyres.

The offending hump, on Tower View Road, Great Wyrley lies in the path of a notorious flood spot and is often submerged in water and hidden from view .

It is covered in deep scores and scratches from being hit by unsuspecting motorists and an action group - Wyrley Residents Against the Hump - has been set up to campaign for its removal .

The hump is one of 10 'sleeping policemen' highlighted as the worst in the UK in the poll.

Others to make the list include the first hump in Hurdis Road, Solihull, where the road on one side of it is lower than the other, causing vehicles to hit the ground hard.

One extra high hump on Mere Street, Leicester is sparking road rage among drivers.

And one on Victoria Road, Cirencester causes more discomfort when driven over at less than 20 mph, when it violently rocks the car and causes drivers to hit their heads.

Speed humps were introduced in 1991 as a measure for controlling vehicle speeds.

While there is no record of how many speed humps there are in the UK today, it is estimated that London alone has between 20,000 and 30,000 of them around the city .

Recent research by Warranty Direct shows that over the last 10 years, an average of one in eight cars has suffered suspension damage that could be directly attributed to speed humps .

So would anyone here on mini2 like to name a hump they'd like to see dug up, or at least name and shame it ?.

[simeds]

speed humps, is there any other type of humping

[KillerByte]

I'm not against speed humps per se, but there is one road in Nottingham (The Wells Road in Mapperley/St Anns) which has speed humps every 100 yards for 600 yards. This is completely unnecessary in my opinion.

Also, even though I have to slow right down in the MINI (no problems scraping, but sport suspension doesn't exactly make it comfortable!), I often see drivers doing 25-30mph over them and just bouncing over them. This is where suspension damage is caused - when drivers don't actually slow down for them!

[slim_boy_fat]

I'm hoping to get them put in around my area to stop the twattish parents using my road as a rat run for school to avoid traffic lights. for about 20mins at the start and end of each day we have an endless stream of cars driving past our house. Only a matter of time before the someones child gets knocked down.

If the bumps move the traffic back to the main road then all the better.

[Tara&Paul]

If speed bumps are removed, then I'm sure we will see a decrease in the number of 4X4 and SUV type vehicles on the road?

How many times have I heard "I got a 4X4 because of all the speed bumps around here"? I live in St.Albans which has some HUGE speed bumps, some of which are almost 200mm high !

[minicabrio]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tara&Paul (original)

How many times have I heard "I got a 4X4 because of all the speed bumps around here"? I live in St.Albans which has some HUGE speed bumps, some of which are almost 200mm high !

Maximum height for a speed bump in the UK is 100mm, and the minimum height is 25mm.

The DFT actually recommends a height of 75mm, as per this link - Department for Transport - 75mm high road humps

If your local ones are bigger, start kicking up a fuss

[MarkW]

speed humps should be made illegal not only do they cause damage to cars they are potentially lethal to motorcyclists.

Recent article in the times highlighted a group of residents who campaigned for ages to get speed humps installed but were then kept awake at night by the noise of vehicles hitting so then campaigned to get them removed

There are much better way's of reducing speed

[Saad]

I'm not 100% sure but I believe if you can prove that driving at 10mph or above over a speedbump will damage your vehicle then they have to do something about them.

There's some on my road, and they're the '3 hump style' as buses have to go on my road and it makes it easier for them. All that happens is people drive over them at the same speed they used to. Between 40 and 50. They're pointless. But obviously I can't drive over them at anything close to the speedlimit as I'm not wide enough, nor do I have a sump guard. So people just tailgate me or try and overtake, on a road with cars parked on both sides. How is that safe?

[ScottyB]

Nope, all for them.

In fact, I wish they'd put a few of them up and down our street to stop the clowns drag racing/tearing through it all night