For motorists, driving over a speed bump can be both unnerving and uncomfortable. An unexpected jolt, bump, or scrape may lead you to worry if you’ve damaged your car—and you’d be right to have concerns.
New research by Comparison website Confused.com shows that over a fifth of drivers report vehicle damage from driving over speed bumps. They also discovered that, between 2013 and 2015, local authorities paid out around £35,000 in compensation to drivers whose vehicles had sustained damage from speed bumps.
A bumpy ride
The UK has 29,000 speed bumps, humps and cushions—8,516 of those are in London—a bad place for speed bump damage. Between 2013 and 2015, £15,717 worth of compensation went to drivers to cover expenses incurred by damage from one of the capital’s many speed bumps.
Confused.com used the Freedom of Information Act to get data from various councils and also surveyed 2,000 motorists. Here’s what they discovered:
- 41% of motorists claim speed bumps cause ‘too much’ damage to cars
- 22% reported that driving over a speed bump caused damage to their car
- 48% of the incidents related to damaged tyres
- 33% of the incidents related to suspension damage
- 27% said speed bumps were ‘ineffective’ at reducing speed
- 28% said they want road markings and signage for speed bumps made clearer, as they find them hard to spot
- 27% say speed bumps cause disruptions to traffic flow
- 23% avoid driving down roads that have speed bumps
- 58% say speed bumps should be lower
- 29% said they sped up in between speed bumps
- 19% don’t slow down for them at all
- 22% oppose speed bumps due to the constant change of speed they cause—known to be bad for the environment
- 23% say councils should abolish speed bumps to improve air quality
It confused 17% of those surveyed why councils often choose speed bumps instead of other traffic-calming measures but speed bumps have their supporters. In fact, about half of those surveyed said speed bumps guard pedestrians, with 44% saying they improve road safety.
Councils often place speed bumps in areas where there’s a lot of pedestrian movement. The bumps force motorists to slow almost to a stop, to avoid causing damage to the bumper, undercarriage, or even the steering rack.
Other concerns about speed bumps include the chance of damage to emergency vehicles who may cross them at high speeds. Damage to low-riding vehicles, even at low speeds, is another concern. Yet thorough studies carried by transportation organisations say the benefits outweigh any damages caused.
‘Inverted potholes’
Amanda Stretton, Motoring Editor at Confused.com, said although it’s clear that speed bumps aren’t popular with many motorists, they’re there for a reason. She advised those drivers who think they’ve damaged their cars while driving at a reasonable speed should—if safe—check the height of the bump, to see if they would be eligible for compensation.
“But forking out hundreds of pounds to fix tyres or suspension is a cost we’re sure drivers could do without when the cost of motoring is becoming less affordable as it is. “, she added.
Garages do well from speed bumps, from drivers who bring in their damaged cars for repairs. The Confused.com survey discovered that the average repair cost for damage from speed bump is £141. One garage owner from Islington, Tony Marco, said the lowest parts of the car—the middle exhaust box, the rear exhaust, the oil sump, and all the rubber bushes that move around and flex as you go over the bumps—are where most damage occurs. He added that most people don’t realise speed bumps are the reason for the damage.
The Alliance of British Drivers (ABD) says the belief that speed bumps make our roads safer is a ‘simplistic notion’.
ABD Director, Brian Gregory said: “Speed humps are nothing more than inverted potholes; they are a danger to all road users.”
Claiming for damage
Most experts say driving over speed bumps the way you’re supposed to and not too often, won’t damage your car. Preexisting wear to the car would decide most damage (such as bad alignment, worn tyres, or weak suspension) or hitting the speed bumps too fast. Yet, if you drive over them often, your vehicle may incur damage, so avoid these areas if possible during daily journeys.
It can be difficult for motorists to make a claim for compensation because a speed bump is a speed-calming measure, not a road defect, but they have size restrictions. Here are the permitted measurements:
Height: 100mm—although the government recommends that they’re not higher than 75mm.
The vertical face should be below 6mm.
The bump should be narrower than 900mm.
If you find you need to make a complaint about a speed bump, you need to contact the area’s council. They might handle your grievance through their complaints procedure, or they may refer your case to their insurers.
If the council refuses to compensate you for the damage to your vehicle, you can take them to court. You can sometimes get free advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau, a law centre, or a solicitor. Don’t forget that some insurance policies offer legal help and some trade unions and motoring organisations offer legal help for their members.
The HM Court Service website has information on making a claim through the county court: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service
Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
For information about Highways England: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/highways-england/
Have you ever damaged your car on a speed bump? Do you think the UK should abolish speed bumps or do you want them to stay? Let us know in the comments
I also think they are a safety issue as I drive a smaller car, I concentrate on driving over the bump as centrally as possible, to minimise shock to car and occupent(s). So I am not looking out for other distractions, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. Some near me also make me drive closer to road centre (oncoming vehicles) than I would like, due to poor positioning.
I live in an area ‘shot blasted’ with these nuisance bumps.
Speed humps; NOT bumps; shud be the full width of the road as most large cars/vans/lorries/buses all straddle them with ease and impunity and do not slow their speed. 90% of the drivers then harass/tailgate smaller cars with narrower axle widths that ‘hit’ the bumps. To be honest, bumps are a danger as others have described, and l admit l concentrate more on positioning my small car at every bump over any other safety concern that there may be !
Plus driving over these blocks in the road wear the inside of your tyres.
Very good point, the wear would become very noticeable if you had to drive over many speed bumps on your daily commute.
£35,000 worth of damage caused by 29,000 speed bumps !
Wow, that’s £1.20 worth of damage per speed bump … shocking !
Not all speed bumps cause damage. Many are well signposted and marked on the road, as well as being a sensible height. But there are also many that aren’t.
What’s shocking is that these obstacles in the road are paid for via public funding.
In addition to damaging vehicles, speed bumps create congestion and pollution, and you can expect the claims against local authorities (and therefore the compensation figures) to rise steadily.
You also have to consider that the hidden damage caused by speed bumps may be a contributory factor to many of the fatal road traffic accidents in the UK. Tyres, steering and suspension are all critical to the driver’s control of the vehicle and all are vulnerable to damage by speed bumps.
Disgraceful use of our tax revenue.
Try slowing down, its the driver causing the excess speed in the first place, oh and remember why they are there. TO SLOW YOU DOWN TO SAVE LIVES.
Why should we slow down ? These bumps are often in 20 and 30mph zones and, by law we are allowed to travel at those speeds. Yet they still place the bumps. Makes no sense at all.
also remember its getting its info on successful claims. I bet the damage is a lot worse.
The information, legal system and advice given at the end of the article, relates specifically to England. What should I do in Scotland regarding claiming compensation?
If you drive over these at, or near, the speed limit, the car will be damaged. The bumps generally have white markings when new but these don’t last long and in the dark or wet, without any warnings to say there are bumps, you are almost guaranteed to hit them hard.
There are other measures, so why not instead use the tarmac to fill the potholes?
There are sign postings to tell you humps are there, I can’t understand all these complaints, they slow cars down and protect pedestrians and CHILDREN who we know or should know are a misery to most adults so just negotiate very slowly
Its great when you can race down the middle of a pair of speed bumps with no effect whatsoever to your speed lol!
They are placed there as a disclaimer, nothing else, boy racers have no regard for them
It’s a fact. They haven’t slowed down the bad guys at all
I agree it’s so obvious, learn how to drive over them correctly, then no problem.
“CHILDREN who we know or should know are a misery to most adults ”
I don’t think every parent would agree with you.
Roads are for motor vehicles, pavements for pedestrians. Easy to understand? Speed limit is x amount we should be allowed to drive at that speed. Modern cars are so advanced with safety devices, yet, the powers that be treated us as if we still drive Morris Minors and the like. speed bumps are there because of knee jerk action by those in councils that want to try and prove something “Bandwagonist’s” The majority are inconvenienced and cars damaged because of the few. This is wrong. When one considers the amount of vehicles on the roads, it’s amazing that there aren’t more accidents. More people are injured or die in the room than from anything else, does this mean we should stop living in houses?
Speed bumps are not only damaging to many parts of vehicles but some of the higher ones are really dangerous to motorcycles.
And the fact some motorists swerve to avoid them only proves that other forms of traffic calming ie Speed Cameras are a much fairer and safer method. Digging them up and using the material to fill some of the millions of potholes would be a much better use.
My wife has nerve damage caused by the shingles virus and visibly winces as we drive over speed humps even at half the twenty miles an hour limit in my aria which we can’t avoid as they are on our doorstep.
I wonder if this is one reason why crossover type cars are now so popular in cities, the improved ride height and presumably comfort when having to navigate these inverted potholes.
Highly likely Paul, when my Peugeot 206 gti was ready to be replaced, I wanted another one but got a 307 for that reason, its heavier, less fuel efficient and takes up more room. The replacement for the 307 will likely be something larger again for the same reason.
I think the only car that can ride over them without a negative effect is an Humvee.
I have two ruptured disks in the spine and these bumps are a killer, sometimes to the point of hardly being able to get out of the car afterwards.
Yes. The bumps are there just to placate the do-gooders who are attempting to win favour from those more deserving. They need removing ASAP. Another EU idea that has messed up the UK’s roads.
I cringe too because of my fibromyalgia. They trigger more pain. I’m already on fentanyl and morphine to try and control the pain, driving over the bumps kicks it off again.
I am a taxi driver so I am going over speed bumps all the time. When I slow right down for the speed bump I sometimes get abused by cars behind for holding them up. Also after a days work of going over speed bumps I have backache.
There are better ways of controlling speed than these hideous bumps e.g. pinch points/priority. In my area, bumps are mostly around school roads so become obsolete outside school times and weekends – also parents taxi-ing their kids by car create obstacles in the road which slows down traffic!
The idea of speed bumps is to slow traffic down. Would guess that in the vast majority of damage events the driver was moving too fast.
I’m not in favour of guesswork in a considered argument our debate. We should confine ourselves to the facts, not simple statistics spoon fed by the authorities.
How can they be driving too fast if the speed limit allows that particular speed? We can be sticking to the legal speed limit then have to slow down for the bumps, it just doesn’t make sense! can’t you see just how crazy they are? They are an invention that isn’t needed, and could be deemed illegal if someone took the time to look into it.
I have ZERO sympathy with drivers who complain about speedbumps, either slow down or take a more appropriate route.
If we stick to the speed limits it wont hurt your precious lump of metal.
I dare you to go over a speed bump in a 30 mph zone at 30. it might actually rattle your brain a bit. a lot of the speed bumps are not maintained and the ones that allow emergency vehicles or large wheel based vehicles past tend to have broken edges which are great for gouging tyres or smashing wheels. but our “precious” multi thousand pound house deposit cost cars are not worth protecting. nice .
They are bound to damage suspension and tyres, They have a similar effect as driving over a kerb and we’re told not to do this as it ruins our tyres and shock absorbers. Humps , according to the AA, are the cause of numerous broken springs on many modern cars.
Some of us need our precious cars to get about at all. I would be house bound without mine.
Typical response from a big car owner. You can drive with impunity over bumps as your car straddles them, but think of small eco friendly cars that cant do that. If they tried as you suggest at the speed limit not only would the occupants inside suffer severe physical damage, the car itself would most probably be launched off the road and cause an accident.
Look at the bigger picture before offering opinions.
If a driver is travelling within the speed limit displayed, why should he or she be forced to slow down ? They aren’t breaking any law.
If all the materials, time and effort used to create speed bumps was put into filling pot holes, we’d have some pretty decent roads to drive on. Speed enforcement can be governed with cameras and more up-to-date methods.
I never had to replace broken suspension springs on any car before speed bumps were in place. Since their introduction, on 4 vehicles, I have had broken springs replaced on all of them, more than once.
Coincidence, I think not.
By the way, I am not a boy racer and I don’t drive fast.
I share your views, Kevin. Now doing about 3000 miles per year and only drive locally in a Volvo XC90 which I bought from new 8 years ago. Just spent nearly £800-00 to have new front springs fitted and 2 new tyres. Front offside spring snapped and gouged the inside shoulder of the tyre that had only 6000 miles wear. I do not drive about like a ‘boy racer’ so just where does the fault lie. If you come to Oldham then just drive with care, not that it will make much difference.
It is partially a coincidence. Most springs nowadays are nowhere near the quality they used to be so they do fail earlier, simply because they are not as well made. They rarely are finished top and bottom with flats, and I beleive this makes them more susceptible to failure. Almost all made in one factory in Europe somewhere.
Of course, speed humps do not help, but are not entirely to blame.
Rubbish! Steel is better than it ever was and British road springs ARE fitted to some British cars. There is an export business too.
made in china plus they are made from a smaller gauge rod
Materials and manufacturing processes have improved so thinner material is used. The latest Mercedes Sprinter van has a weight saving option of fibreglass rear suspension and the gross weight is 3500Kg and more. Unless studies have been done comparing old and new suspension it’s safe to say the cause is the road and not the springs, afterall, with vehicle safety standards as high as they are it’s unlikely manufacturers would be allowed to fit substandard equipment to such an important part of a vehicle.
Having worked in a motor vehicle workshop environment for over 40 years, my observation is this. The rate of spring failure appeared to increase with cars made from around 1997 onwards. Maybe someone in the steel industry might have an explanation!
The new cars have progressive springs for a smoother ride, ie. They are thiner at each end than the centre to absorb the load in a softer manner, it’s usually in the ends snap off? It’s too thin for or crap roads. Old cars had thick springs which don’t ride as nice but at least last.
Bad roads and bumps!
I remember the screams of the child who was hit before we had speed bumps. I see plenty of people driving over them without regard to the engineering limitations of their cars. QED?
The child shouldn’t be in the road. Parents should practice more control. Also, most drivers are actually travelling legally at the speed limit until having to brake for the humps. It’s crazy!
I think speed bumps are a waste of time as drivers still speed over them and they should be done away with.I always slow down going over them as I knew they could damage my car.
Why should you be forced to slow down if driving at the legal speed limit? It defies logic!
They should be abolished. Disabled people with bad backs find them painful to drive over and it has long been know Ambulance drivers loathe them. They don’t work because the speeders avoid the roads where they are or simple speed up between them.
Perhaps these people that install these humps ask the older generation what they think of them, they will old one day
I’m 50 and have 3 prolapsed discs in my spine and consider speed bumps an instrument of torture invented by Satan himself. I’ve now bought a large van with a wide wheel track especially to avoid them. Now I totally straddle 99% of speed bumps and just catch the very edges of the rest. It was an extreme measure but it was that or never leave the house as I live in Bristol and the buggers are everywhere. I’d always driven for a living and often wonder if my problem was caused by speed bumps and the general state of the roads and if I could prove it I’d take it to court today.
I’m 70 a disabled veteran with Spinal injuries top to bottom I’m lucky to be able to walk, speed bumps are there for a reason, not for people to chunter and complain. I suffer when driving over them but I would rather it be an inconvenience than protect us from the speeding idiots who can’t control their right foot, again children need to be protected
Got to agree with you Keith. Speed bumps are there to stop the t@@ts speeding and possibly injuring or killing a young child or for that matter anyone. Just because people cannot take their time to drive over them slowly. I’ve been driving nearly 40 years and never had any problems with them. I don’t like them as much as anyone. But, as they say,they are there for a reason.
I wonder if those drivers complaining about damaged suspensions etc, mount curbs on a regular basis.
Ask your selves one question. Do you hate it when drivers speed past your home way above the speed limit?………….. Well don’t speed your selves outside other peoples homes
What reason are speed bumps there for if a driver is within his or her rights to drive at the speed limit shown for that road? Can’t you see how senseless and pointless they are?
Don’t you know the council installed them as stealthy torture devices! Shocking what councils will do to ruin peoples lives.
The recent attacks on motorists are designed to stop us from using our cars. The UK government admit they want to see the end of private cars. Just look at the nightmare ULEZ and other Big Brother schemes
It would make more sense if councils used the ashfelt to repair the roads and make them safer for all road users in particular cyclists.Drivers almost always speed up between speed humps they don’t work, build outs do.
How can
The whole point of “speed bumps” is to reduce traffic speed – traffic calming- which in urban areas saves lives. Personally I reduce speed and consider that an important contribution to all round well being. It’s clear that many still cannot understand why and how these work, so end up by making themselves uncomfortable and not reducing risks to others. Ideally you would just have a speed limit of say 20mph (30Km/h) and stick to it without any of these alarming humps. Better still making use of other less problematic routes. I am advocating better and clearer understanding of why we are where we are with these unfriendly road features – used to be called “sleeping policemen”…
Why should they reduce speed when the roads they are installed on allow us to legally drive at whatever speed limit is displayed? Can’t you see how wrong your thinking is? Sadly, the so-called, do gooders have brainwashed many into not seeing what is really behind these outlandish schemes
The speed limit has been reduced to 20MPH in our area, yet we still have speed bumps. I think the speed bumps should be removed altogether. I must cross 28 speed bumps on my journey to and from work as most of the roads in York have them.
I can remember traveling to work before they were around, the whole driving experience was ‘smoother’ and no bills for tyres or suspension either. Remove all speed bumps apart from outside schools please….
I agree all speed humps are a menace and should be band. Don’t expect councils to help you, they are in business to create the most annoyance to the tax payer as possible.
Absolutely agree with you, the councils only existence today is to be a literal pain to the butt, drive us into poverty with raised council taxes. Its about time we had our value from the road taxation for a change as well, instead of having to pay out for needless repairs from these types of annoyances all dished up by your local government.
If you are experiencing tyre and suspension damage then you are driving too fast, speed limits are just that a limit just reduce your speed accordingly
Can’t be driving too fast as signs show us what speed we can legally drive at and most do. Then, suddenly, we come across a speed bump, but the speed limit hasn’t changed! Crazy! those who break the speed limit care nothing for speed bumps as many have nicked the cars and are out to wreck them. Sad to see so many people are brainwashed in this way and can’t see the true reason behind the bumps.
Speed bumps – I slow to araound 2 miles per hour to preserve my car. I am quite often overtaken by vehicles which wish to go faster.
OF COURSE I speed up, to maybe 20 mph, between bumps. Am I expected to travel for far at 2 mph?
A key problem is failure to meet the spec by contractors who are the lowest cost bidder for a contract – no inspection takes place because the local council has to pay for them – so does it fund social care, child protection or speed bump inspectors.?
Should be abolished they create more issues than is necessary … congestion, dangerous overtaking I’ve been driving slowly over the ones in the Village where I live, and other vehicles overtake such as delivery van and motorbikes and cars suppose the car drivers are company cars the delivery vans just don’t care and motorbikes simply speed through the village … I’ve also had taxis overtake and I’m generally travelling g at 28 to 20 miles per hour and that us still causing the car to take significant stress … they don’t help at all they create more issues if reckless driving!!!! They are a joke a a complete waste of money..
As a motorcyclist I can say they are extremely dangerous to me, I most certainly do not drive fast over them, slower than most cars. This of course is if I see the dam things, low sun wet roads congestion or trying to see which direction to take all can be reasons not to see them, quite apart from concentrating on other traffic pedestrians and the generally
awful road surface in towns plus speed limits which chop and change between 20 and 30
for no apparent reason!
We have speed humps and road narrowing near me and neither help with traffic calming. In fact they have the opposite effect as they cause minor road rage every day! The young, speeding drivers see them as a challenge and race to see how fast they can take them before “taking off” – complete reversal of the intention.
Remove them and fill the pot holes please!
Yes, remove the young speeding drivers. Quite right.
Just slow down. We have trieded everything in our village but still they come through at 50+ in our 30. Speed Bumps? Yes please…
NO ! to speed bumps in your village…but a big YES to speed camera’s as they work.
Have you tried painting white lines at the side of the road or installing a flashing sign triggered by those exceeding the limit? These were tried in succession by the council in mum’s road (which became a rat run thanks to GPS) and succeeded in slowing the traffic.
why should anyone slow down who is adhering to the legal speed limit for that particular road?
Of course Speed Bumps can cause damage just as potholes can. There is a greater risk of damage from a pothole because they are to some extent unknown hazards. Speed Bumps however are usually identified and the driver has the option to slow down to cross them, rather than taking them at the areas designated Speed Limit.
The Pothole however unless you know it is there can result in you “hitting it” in the designated speed limit of the Pot Holes location.
On a personal note during my ownership of Porsche GT3’s and other 911s, it was always necessary to be careful on Speed Bumps inorder not to clip the front spoilers!
Try owning a Mercedes B class, It’s a completely standard car and would smash the front subframe in to every speed bump, Going slow just prolongs the torture and straddling (which i had to do) meant i had to replace 4 shocks in 2 years.
The evolution of roads meant that we went from dirt roads to cobbled roads to nice smooth tarmac, it is a massive backward step to be putting huge bumps in it.
You must be driving really fast to damage your suspension elements on a speed bump or it already had age related wear and damages.
No, I agree with Anthony’s comment. My car is a bog standard Peugeot 407SC and my undertray is trashed and the sump is dented. I am sixty and very careful with my car. Done humps are ridiculously high or damaged with collapsed surface on the lead to the hump and the leaving! Sick of the dash things.
Even a few mph over many speed humps is enough to damage vehicles. It all depends on how often one has to drive over the pointless things. If the speed limit shows 20mph legally, then we should be able to drive at that speed without hindrance as we’re not breaking the law.
Speed bumps, and other “traffic calming” measures i.e road narrowing are, in my opinion, a bloody nuisance.
Even at the correct speed limit they still gives a severe jolt to the car and occupants and is a road hazard as well as potential car damage.
The sooner this menace is banned the better.
Not sure how road narrowing jolts the car, unless you are driving over the chicane part…(Wife saw someone do this in our village the other day).
Some chicanes also have speed bumps in the middle!
Any speed ramp should not limit you to less than the legal speed of the road.
In Fleet, there are speed ramps on 30mph roads where you need to slow down to at least 20 if not 15mph and some of them have no warnings.
The problem with most speed bumps is the majority do not COMPLY with British Standards Institute regulations which all road authorities are obliged to comply with.
And you know the specification of course?
They’re in the article. Did you not read it?
Get rid of speed humps, you should be able to drive at the speed limit in force without damaging your vehicle or causing discomfort to the occupants
In London Borough of Redbridge they have built humps across the entrance to the road causing your car’s suspension to twist and flex as you turn. Just sheer madness, but then again it has become a car hating Labour council.
My life’s ambition is to find our who authorises these bumps and then drive them in their own vehicle at the speed limit of the road and ask how he/she liked it and don’t you think it has damaged their vehicle.
I hate the damn things with a vengeance, significant spinal injuries are exacerbated by them. However, limits are not targets. I also drive a high performance and low vehicle so straddling will damage the car, for me it’s 5mph and two wheels one one side of the car used to mount the bloody things.
I should like to see statistics on the accidents in an area before speed bumps arrived and since then. Is there any actual evidence that they work to prevent trouble. In snowy weather you can’t see the bumps and in some areas the paint markings are not renewed often enough.
Braking, accelerating and driving in low gear all create additional pollution. The pollution levels in London are known to be so high that the air we breathe has become a cause of death. Speed humps were put in to save lives. At some point the lives saved will become fewer than the additional deaths caused. Scientific data could measure and compare the gains and losses of speed humps. Hopefully this important research is being done in a laboratory somewhere.
There have been studies done, and it has been proved that speed bumps cause vehicles to belt out more pollution, when they are constantly slowing to near stopping and then accelerating, the study was shown on the bbc with dr. zand tullican. Im sure there are more people being killed by pollution now, than there are by a direct collision
I have not personally damaged my car as I tend to take them as slow as practical, however a friend who is an MOT inspector said his failures have increased by about one third mainly suspension minor and major defects of which some were caused by travelling to fast over road humps.
Speed bumps should be banned and ripped up immediately. This country is reliant on the money generated from motorists, so it is time to stop putting up speed cameras and other measures like vehicle damaging speed bumps. Cameras should only be used around schools, old peoples homes etc, and notorious accident blackspots and nowhere else, and absolutely no speed bumps!
It’s not just cars, speed humps cause problems and damage for bicycles also. And clearly few cyclist break the speed limit so why is there usually no gap for cyclists to pass through to avoid them? Particularly steep sided humps cause punctures and have the potential to throw cyclists off their bikes into oncoming traffic. Thus spped humps can cause accidents rather than prevent them.
The “ABD” are correct when they said- “it is a simplistic notion to think they work!”
You will never stop boy racers with a speed hump! It needs another solution that’s not as invasive to the law abiding motorist?…or is that the idea??
In our village where there is a 20 mph limit the bumps are narrow enough for the average car to drive over them at normal speed as the wheels miss the bumps if the car is aligned. This makes them rather a poor investment by the council and dont slow the traffic at all. The problem for the motorist is that they wear the inner edge of the tyres as they slope off at the edges. The best traffic calming method seems to be a priority chicane or parked cars.
We have a relatively new speed bump just a hundred yards from our front door. The white warning markings on it have already worn off, so anyone new to the area is likely to get an unpleasant surprise when they hit the wretched thing. We have also travelled extensively around the UK and Europe by road and there are myriad options available to our Authorities, to prompt motorists to slow down for hazards and speed limits, so there is no need for speed bumps of any sort.
… and not excessive speed for the circumstances, then.
I recently had the front springs replaced on my 2011 car as one had broken I live in a road that has speed humps all the way down it so I can not avoid them , it cost me over £ 300 speed humps don’t always slow traffic I think the best solution is tables as they are not so agesive.
The comment by experts that to avoid damage to your by treating the speed humps with care and avoiding the is totally facetious. The estate in which I have lived for the past 40 years has been totally covered by them so every time I leave home I can have as many as dozen or more to negotiate to get out of my estate. This was all done by my local borough in the last few years.
Furthermore, my wife is disabled and had major spinal surgery several years ago and suffers sever pain every hump we have go over-in fact the moment I drive off I have a speed hump to negotiate right in front of our disabled parking bay at a forty five degree angle so that each wheel goes over the hump individually causing my wife to suffer four sets of jarring as a result.
My feeling therefore is that speed humps should be banned and replaced by other methods of traffic calming.
Don’t blame the speed hump, blame the speed you go over them. Been driving for years over them and never had to replace anything on my car. Slower makes sense. Try it.
Have you thought about negotiating the offending speed hump before your wife gets into or out of the car? Or maybe giving her an extra cushion?
SPEED causes the damage not the speed bumps
I agree. Which car got damaged was either went too fast or was not road legal (custom bumpers, etc).
I can’t avoid them – the road from my house has them and the kids’ long school drive has them, so that’s out an in near home and twice up and down every day taking the kids to and from school. I drive a regular car – not some low slung sportscar – but surprise surprise, at my MOT last week I needed new rear springs and a front suspension arm.
A few years ago there was considerable discussion about damage to roadside building foundations caused by speed bumps but this topic seems to be suspiciously silent now.
Surely the speed bump should have a maximum incline angle specified in addition to a maximum height? That would enable them to be installed correctly, and also easier for checks to be made to ensure they are maintained correctly.
Speed bumps are there to ensure cars keep to the speed limit, most speed bumps I know are in 20mph areas and very unlikely to casue damage going over them at 20mph. Pedestrians need to feel safe and speeding cars in towns curtails this.
Disagree. We have humps on 30 mph roads which will damage your car at mote than 10-15 mph. I have never got anywhere near 20 mph over them so they have introduced a lower speed limit through stealth rather than via proper proceedures
We still need traffic calming measures…. perhaps we could adopt chicanes, a tool which has been used increasingly in the UK, and has been commonplace in some European countries. They (in Europe) also have cobbled streets and roads paved with bricks, which reduces speed in built up areas.
It’s no wonder so many drive a high riding SUV with all these speed humps / bumps. No issues with grounding & the softer ride from bigger tyres with increased sidewalls almost make them disappear. It’s a shame Citroen no longer build a hydropneumatic car. Earlier ones like the GS & CX glide over them. Even BL’s 1100/1300 handle them with ease.
In our village there are many “speed bumps” and owning a small car I have to slow down even more for them > However large cars, vans and lorries with wide wheel bases take no notice of them at all and drive right up to you to try to make you go faster.Your survey says that 19% of drivers say they ignore the speed bumps. I would say, looking at the flow of traffic here, that the figure is higher!
My MOT was renewed in August. Guess what? I had to have a new front offside spring, I was also told that all the front suspension bushes might need to be replaced before the next MOT. We have 3 sets of speed bumps in our village & another 3 sets on the road through the next town. I rest my case.
So many drivers steer to the middle of the road to try to go between the humps with the mistaken belief their car will cross more smoothly, when in reality, their wheels actually go over higher parts of the humps than if they were to keep to their own side of the road. There have been hundreds of times I’ve had to do emergency stops due to idiots coming the other way going between the speed humps in the middle of the road. I’ve seen many scrapes and bumps caused by this, but fortunately I’ve not been hit YET!
Hundreds of emergency stops and many scrapes and bumps! Maybe you should publish your location so we can all avoid the area.
Avoid totally, Alder Lane Hindley Green , Wigan and the Wakes estate. There are bits of cars strewn across the roads. Some humps are so high even buses can’t traverse them without damage.