Speed bump help

[BJL]

For over seven years, I've lived on a road with a 20mph speed limit and speed bumps. (They're the kind with gaps in them which means that if drivers stay in the middle of the road, the bumps barely affect them.) We're very close to a primary school and I've seen cars, vans and even trucks race up and down the road at ridiculous speeds, especially in the morning and evening rush hours.

Does anyone know how easy it is to get the council to consider filling in the gaps?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Be careful what you wish for.

I live opposite a primary school and our road has complete speed bumbs. First, it does not deter the majority of drivers. Secondly, those who do slow down, immediately speed up after the bump with accompanying revs/sound nuisance. Not much fun.

[kford]

And cushion bumps are there to allow ambulances on their way without further hurting the patient on board. Full bumps still don't stop the real speeders: the uninsured and un-MOT'd, van drivers in vans that don't belong to them, dustbin men and the police.

[EDmummy]

It is a catch 22 really. I recently wrote to one of our councillors (no reply after 3 weeks) because our car has been damaged by the "complete" speed bumps on the road outside Alleyn's (mechanic said nothing else could have caused problem) and I only ever do just under 20mph. Equally, my street has the cushion bumps and we do get the occasional car roaring down at 40mph. There is one positive side to complete speed bumps - when I was in labour with my first child and needed to be rushed to hospital the paramedic went on the streets with the most speed bumps on purpose!

[BJL]

Thanks for the comments. Maybe changing the bumps won't help but I wish there was a way of slowing down the traffic.

If people drove more slowly then the ambulances wouldn't need to make so many journeys.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

What about asking for one of those speed signs that lights up when one is driving too fast? Only downside is that I sometimes feel an overwhelming urge to set them off!

[BJL]

That's a good idea - thanks.

I used to simply walk out in front of the speeders, forcing them to slow down. Had some interesting "discussions" with one or two...

[kford]

Those active road signs actually work. Everyone's happy.

My car's had two new suspension bushes (?230 each) caused by speedhumps, and I tip-toe over the darned things. And BMW now make 'London-spec' bushes made from harder rubber to counter the effects of UK traffic calming measures, as they don't have the problem in Germany (and curiously, their pedestrian casualty rates are lower than the UK's; maybe drivers there have their eyes peeled for pedestrians rather than speedhumps).

[LibraCarr]

Hi,

Just to advise you that you can pursue the council if your vehiclee has been damaged. I lived in York and a driver succesfully sued the council. There are guidelines that council are supposed to adhere to. If they exceed the height (as in the case of the private road adjoining East Dulwich College) you can claim.

Regards,

LibraCarr.

[BJL]

I think that you're talking about the road by Dulwich College, which - AFAIK - is a private road and perhaps not covered by council guidelines. (I've never had a problem with those bumps.)

[Torben Pieknik]

Surely you can't pursue the council if it is a private road?

[LibraCarr]

You are quite right, you pursue the owners. I was just mentioning that road as a afterthought.

[lozzyloz]

This sign might make drivers slow down and think

[louisiana]

There's a similar active road sign scheme in the Basque country (operating for the last 15 years), which I've never seen here: there's a speed limit lighted grid display (to remind the punters), together with - further along the road - a stop traffic light that is only activated where a driver drives over the speed limit. You drive under the limit because you don't want to trigger the stop light. The people behind you feel likewise. It's really effective, in a Pavlovian way.

[lozzyloz]

Yes very interesting how they solve the problem in other countries. This is how they do it in Iraq warning contains bad language

[kford]

Don't show Mr Livingstone that. It'll give him ideas.

[BJL]

This seems a bit drastic, but...

[lilolil]

BJL I love it LOL

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

I wouldn't take too much notice of the Basque country speed controls, because when I drove with my kids to the south of Spain and back a couple of years ago we saw loads of wrecked cars on the Spanish side of the border when we drove through the San Sebastian route and very few on the French side.

My kids lost count but I think it was way over 30 wrecks in about 10 KM.

[dc]

These look interesting.

We tried to get Southwark interested in them several years ago when I lived on Melbourne Grove and we were campaigning against it being used as a rat run/racetrack. They said at the time, not unreasonably, that they had not been tested extensively enough.

Basically, if you speed they remain firm like permanent humps and you suffer. If you stick to the speed limit they deflate and the road is effectively rendered flat. Never seen them actually working though and problems with an ambulance trying to speed for good reason would probably still apply.

Edit: ooh actually this says that "ambulances and fire engines will be able to cross the device with little discomfort, irrespective of their speed". Doesn't say anything about the discomfort of the person strapped to the stretcher inside them though. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/sick032.gif

[kford]

"Edit: ooh actually this says that "ambulances and fire engines will be able to cross the device with little discomfort, irrespective of their speed".

Which means so will transit vans and bin lorries.

Better than normal speed bumps though.

[lozzyloz]

"when I drove with my kids to the south of Spain and back"

In a hybrid?

Spain and Portugal especially probably have the most dangeous roads in Europe

[Jennys]

when our childrfen were small we drove to Italy with them. they started asking if we were there yet at Tulse Hill!

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

No, that was when I was naughty and owned a diesel!

[Michael Palaeologus]

Oh CWALD, how you have sinned!:))