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Petition the Prime Minister to Remove all speed humps from UK roads

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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    drumbeat wrote: »
    what the hell do you mean 'no they don't'?
    in that example their average speed is obviously chopped right down from 30. they only reach 30 for a fraction of the second and then slam to reach 15-20.

    It's quite possible to make more than 30 between speed bumps. But the point is that I feel it makes a lot of people drive less safely than they otherwise would. As a side note, this type of driving also causes more emissions from the car.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Turns out they also cause noise pollution and structural damage to people's homes (especially if the road carries larger vehicles like buses). Here. The council naturally claims that the vibration caused isn't enough to cause structural damage (they wouldn't want to admit responsibility now, would they). But official UK regulations would suggest otherwise, since speed bumps are not allowed to be sited within 25m of subways, bridges or tunnels for this very reason.

    They also divert traffic away from these roads, meaning that the accidents will just happen elsewhere instead (hell, I'll drive twice as far if it means avoiding speed bumps).

    And on a personal level, I'm sick of getting dazzled by the headlights of the car coming the other way. I haven't had an accident yet, but can you seriously say that that's safe? Cars have dipped headlights for a reason.

    Oh and a quick story from my local area.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    drumbeat wrote: »
    whats the problem? (well, apart from emergency services?)

    they do stop people driving down 20 zones from doing 30-40 mph. which a lot of people would blatently do if possible.

    in an unhumped 30 zone at lot of people go 35-45 on the regs.

    most people on the roads at night double a lot a speed limits.
    The problem is that they are ill designed and they cause more harm than good.

    I know you've already mentioned the emergency services but it is worth reminding ourselves that they have said speed bumps cause up to 100 deaths per year due to the delays they cause to ambulances ferrying seriously ill patients to hospital.

    And a great many speed bumps remain road-wide, as opposed to the shorter ones which allow ambulances to go over them at speed.

    So the whole saving lives issue is cancelled out right away.

    Then there is the issue of pollution and noise. Accelerating and breaking constantly is not only a great nuisance for neighbours but very bad for the environment.

    And before anyone says 'why should you accelerate and break instead of keeping a constant speed' I should point out that going over many of the speed bumps round where I live at 20mph would mean a certain death, if not yours certainly of your car. In fact, going over anything over 11-12mph is going to be extremely uncomfortable and not good at all for the car.

    So we have tens of thousands of badly designed speed bumps that hinder efforts of ambulance crews to save lives and caused untold pollution and noise due to their WWII anti-tank obstacle size.

    Put cameras if you want. Put bollards and chicanes. But remove those odious monstruocities from the roads please.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    As a related aside (and a nice hot bit of spam fritter) here's mine and Dom's very different views on the whole No. 10 petition debate


    My reasoned viewpoint

    Dom's waffly anti-democratic droning ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Much like cameras, speed traps, and all the other stuff we have speed bumps have a time and a space to try and reduce peoples speed - given a large minority of drivers seem incapable of keeping to the limits.

    However, if any of you signing this think it will make one tiny bit of difference you are very dim indeed.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I find it funny that your car has major problems, my sisters old Supra went fine over speed bumps and never had a problem, with scraping, and that car was lowered from the standard ride height, I find your arguements Kind of pathetic and pointless, They are usefull, if you don't like the road they're on find a bloody different route.

    Plus the island I live on has none ;):p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    They are there for a good reason, there's lots down my road - you can't go fast down there anyway because of all the parked cars but there's alot of kids. Soon people will be moaning that more kids are getting killed because there's no speed bumps. They should be designed better and better placed though.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    They are there for a good reason

    That doesn't make them a good solution. Like Hellfire said, "if you don't like the road they're on find a bloody different route." Unfortunately, everyone does, which means that traffic is diverted to roads which are ill-designed to have such a large amount of traffic on them. And everyone bangs on about the reduced number of casualties "at the sites where they are placed" (and this goes for speed cameras too) whilst ignoring the fact that overall road casualties remain unchanged. Do you think it might have anything to do with the accidents simply happening elsewhere instead?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well in my experience there have been two sets:

    first was outside my college. We had one kid hit per year on average, and after two fatalities they put up speed bumps and at one bit made the road so it was give way, so only traffic coming one way could get through. Since then, 0 people have been hit by cars. That was about 6/7 years ago now. Though other students have been killed by stabbing each other :confused:

    Second set is through the local villages main roads, as the M1 was being expanded, so they put it up to stop through traffic. Worked a treat, and me being a local, knew the backroads anyway, so just went through there.

    I personally don't have much of a problem with them, you don't find them on empty dual carriageways like you do speed cameras, you have them in urban areas, outside schools and residential areas where twats speed. You'll find that they do bring the average speed of cars down, I think mostly they're perfectly justified. Anyone who says that they damage the car is probably going over them too fast, as if you slow down they're fine!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jim V wrote: »
    As a related aside (and a nice hot bit of spam fritter) here's mine and Dom's very different views on the whole No. 10 petition debate


    My reasoned viewpoint

    Dom's waffly anti-democratic droning ;)

    1. Wouldn't this be a good thread debate on it's own? Rather than hijack someone else's thread you could start one just about this. I;m sure that the mods wouldn't mind ;)

    2. Judging by your "viewpoint", and the comments which follow, do you and Dom actually talk to each other in the office, or is your communication only via comment boxes?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've seen Ministers change their minds due to public pressure. And with purely technocratic viewpoint rather than a democratic this is usually to meaning they take poor decisions or not to make a decision which is right but politically unpopular. then again I don't have to stand for election...
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    Anyone who says that they damage the car is probably going over them too fast, as if you slow down they're fine!

    the ones around here are always hitting my front bumper on my car, even on my old 306 the way the middle pipe on the exhaust was designed i always had to have it replace for the mot every year because the hole where it would hit
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You really need to start looking at the way you drive.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You really need to start looking at the way you drive.

    yep. thats probably the main reason why he started this thread. probably lowered waaay too much as well.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Honk if you Hate the HUMPS

    Yes people!

    Hump-haters honk.

    Drivers who don't like speed humps and are serious about it, don't just moan on forums. We do petitions! And we protest. When you face a hump in the road and it is an obstruction, beep.

    This riles the community who will be so sick of hearing how we feel about the humps, they'll petition their councils to get rid of them.

    Hang on, before someone respond with: "But its not their fault."

    If they are not protesting along with us, and if they haven't already taken action, then it IS their fault.

    In other European countries, drivers are so disgusted with speed humps, they 'Sound their horn' at the site of them.

    Take action, and tell everyone else to do the same.

    Hump-haters honk! Be warned.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    chmaster wrote: »
    Yes people!

    Hump-haters honk.

    Drivers who don't like speed humps and are serious about it, don't just moan on forums. We do petitions! And we protest. When you face a hump in the road and it is an obstruction, beep.

    This riles the community who will be so sick of hearing how we feel about the humps, they'll petition their councils to get rid of them.

    Hang on, before someone respond with: "But its not their fault."

    If they are not protesting along with us, and if they haven't already taken action, then it IS their fault.

    In other European countries, drivers are so disgusted with speed humps, they 'Sound their horn' at the site of them.

    Take action, and tell everyone else to do the same.

    Hump-haters honk! Be warned.

    But what if they don't want them removed? What if it solves a genuine issue in their community? They just have to put up with you honking?

    If there was a speed bump outside your house I doubt you'd find it so amusing to disturb other people who have no responsibility to you. Sure, honk outside the houses of parliament, but why should everyone suffer because of your opinion?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I just read the 'response' to the petition.

    It starts with "The purpose of traffic calming is to reduce vehicle speeds..". etc., etc., blah blah.

    Thats really strange!! The sovereign people have spoken and commanded the administration to do a task and they have failed to do so! Instead they have misread the instruction. It was not a request for information, it was a clear instruction to remove the speed bumps. Does this mean the petition was somewhat ineffectual? In this free and modern land where the democratic voice of the people has clout?

    Now, I'll be honest with you. I am being sarcastic. Those among you who thought a petition would work will not have known that.

    Hump-couldn't-be-bothereders petition. Hump-haters HONK.

    Take responsibility.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ShyBoy wrote: »
    But what if they don't want them removed? What if it solves a genuine issue in their community? They just have to put up with you honking?

    If there was a speed bump outside your house I doubt you'd find it so amusing to disturb other people who have no responsibility to you. Sure, honk outside the houses of parliament, but why should everyone suffer because of your opinion?

    See! There's one.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    chmaster wrote: »
    See! There's one.

    There's one what?

    Stupid-people-haters honk!

    It's amusing you belittle the efforts of a petition and then assume that beeping your horn will get things changed :lol:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I like you ShyBoy. I also like your Space Invader avatar.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not wanting to put a damper on it, but it really isn't the fault of the local resident's, and sounding your horn everytime you go past is going to get you into trouble with the police.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Only after 11pm.

    Hey your avatar is pretty cool too. I like you people.

    Now how long can I poke you in the eye before you stop asking me politely to stop?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When I poke people I choose other parts of their bodies for it- they seldom ask me to stop.

    You're doing it wrong!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ah, there is a potential for this crowd to show some passion. That's valuable.

    Now, how loudly does a passionate person HONK when they want something to happen?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Dead thread
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    Dead thread

    Precisely. Come on people.

    If you don't want speed humps, make it known.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Aladdin wrote: »
    When I poke people I choose other parts of their bodies for it- they seldom ask me to stop.

    You're doing it wrong!
    :lol:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Outside our local school there are speed bumps. before they were there we had young drivers behaving like dick heads as usual. in five years there ws a fatality right outside the school gates ...and three serios events plus lots of near misses and one guy ...a farmer who threw a brick through a guys windscreen much to the delight of the kids. the farmer was arrrested the kid in the car got compo.
    For three years we have had the bumbs ...not one accident ...they are large as well which stops the stupid modded motors from being able to use the road at all!
    Keep the bumbs.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    chmaster wrote: »
    Yes people!

    Hump-haters honk.

    Drivers who don't like speed humps and are serious about it, don't just moan on forums. We do petitions! And we protest. When you face a hump in the road and it is an obstruction, beep.

    This riles the community who will be so sick of hearing how we feel about the humps, they'll petition their councils to get rid of them.

    Hang on, before someone respond with: "But its not their fault."

    If they are not protesting along with us, and if they haven't already taken action, then it IS their fault.

    In other European countries, drivers are so disgusted with speed humps, they 'Sound their horn' at the site of them.

    Take action, and tell everyone else to do the same.

    Hump-haters honk! Be warned.
    Honk near my house and you'll feel the wrong end of my rifle make, speed bumps or no speed bumps, stop being a prick
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Nearly one year on, can anyone see Macavity taking any attention of this?
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