Road humps myth

[Tracy]

Something interesting I read recently:

Jenny Jones, the London Mayor's Road Safety Ambassador has attacked people who are still peddling the urban myth about road humps costing lives. As a Green Party member of the London Assembly, Jenny was part of an in depth scrutiny which found:

·       The London Ambulance Service deny making the claim that road humps cost 500 lives a year in London; ·       The London Ambulance Service had no detailed research to support a claim that road humps cost lives through delays.

·       Evidence from serving ambulance crews pointed to congestion as the main reason for delays. ·       Road humps are a cheap and effective way of reducing speeds on residential roads.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't claim road humps cause accidents, but they are a nuisance.

I have one right outside my house and the noise of vehicles bumping over it and revving their engines as they brake/speed up is a constant annoyance.

Safe they may be, but environmentally friendly they are not, unless
everyone walks instead to avoid the hassle.  

Iain C

[IainC]

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Iain C.

[Urban Commuter]

Speed humps (the full road width, small mountain types) do a great job of equalising speed between transport modes. It means that when cycling, my speed is the same as other vehicles, < 20mph.

This really is a win-win scenario, as any accidents with pedestrians & cars, at these speeds are shown to give much high chance of survival than at 30 or 40 mph.

And cyclists become much more part of the traffic, instead of intimidated to the extreme edge of the roads by 2 tonne boxes of steel hurtling by at 40mph+

********************

http://cycling-london.blogspot.com/

[Solomon]

Road humps don't bother me in the slightest, since I don't slow down for them. My car's suspension is so soft I can drive over them at normal speed, with nary a problem.

I don't see how they help in the long term though, because people accelerate away from them quickly, which means more fumes which means more pollution.  :|