Bump or hump; they do the same job
I’ll often remind my kids to do their chores, their homework and to get ready for school or activities. I’ll often write myself notes to do things so I won’t forget. We often need reminders to do things. Even licensed drivers need constant reminders too, which is why I write these driving articles.
Speed limit signs are often posted many times along the road so drivers will remember what speed to do. There just seems to be the issue with many drivers that they want to drive too fast at the wrong times. To help these drivers, many jurisdictions will put up speed bumps to help keep the drivers traveling a little slower. Since drivers can’t seem to remember to keep their speeds reduced in parking lots or in subdivisions, speed bumps have been placed along the road to “remind” the drives to do so.
These speed bumps can also be called speed humps or even road humps. I think speed bumps should really be called slow bumps. You need to drive slowly over these or else you’ll bottom out your vehicle and cause damage to your vehicle. I’ve witnessed drivers not slowing down and all and they end up bouncing almost out of control until the driver realizes they need to stop to regain control once again.
Speed bumps were first into the driving community in the early 1900’s in North America. Although vehicles couldn’t drive so fast during that era, it was thought that they were still going too fast for the safety of pedestrians. The reasoning for speed bumps still remains the same; pedestrian safety.
Perhaps we need to see more of these in residential areas. I know stop signs every block or so help to keep the speeds of drivers down, but perhaps speed bumps can do more, especially near parks or school zones. On the other side of the coin, many people over the years have placed concerns over having too many speed bumps.
The response time for emergency services can be longer, it may divert more traffic to areas that do not have speed bumps, among others. I can see these points, so if drivers learned to keep their speeds reduced, they won’t need speed bumps to begin with. Sometimes there are rules put in place to help protect the general public. You may not necessarily agree with those rules, but you could at least respect them.
Bumps and Humps may serve the same purpose, but they work differently. Bumps are just that… a BUMP. There is little choice but to slow down.
Speed Humps, on the other hand, are designed to allow vehicles to pass at a reasonable speed — about 40-50 km/h — with just a gentle rise-fall as it crosses. Hitting the Hump at greater speed, however, causes the vehicle to bottom-out, providing a jarring impact to underscore the driver was going to fast.
We have had two Humps installed on a recently-rebuilt street, one that drivers used to use as a short-cut around a busy traffic-light controlled intersection. Residents complained of vehicles speeding up and down their street, and the City installed the Humps.
They work. I take my students down this street so they can experience them.
I’ve seen a lot of humps be installed in Kingston, ON as of late. I must admit, though they are mild nuisances, they do a great job. The only time I’ve ever seen them be an issue, was seeing a lumber truck’s forklift’s steering tire bottoming out on the hump, even at a slower than posted dpeed. I ended up notifying the company aftee tgat observation, for educational purposes. It wasn’t deliberate or cause by rushing, after all.
However, I’ve seen some speed BUMPS that are poorly designed. I’ve gone over a few that I’ve quite literally drove over in my Corolla at 1/2 a kilometer an hour, and I bottom out. Bump designers, especially those on private property, need to be careful.