Went over speed bump too fast.......

[betty swollocks]

Cycling to the gym this morning, there's a long straight bit of road, slightly downhill, which drivers treat rather like a drag strip, despite the speed bumps.
Got overtaken this morning by a driver who then slows down for bump number one. I'm able to maintain speed over the bump by unweighting myself and thus undertake their vehicle. Get overtaken again on approach to bump number two and the driver this time maintains their speed......obviously not wanting to suffer the humiliation of getting undertaken by a mere cyclist for a second time......over the bump and comes down with such a WHUMP!! that a plastic bit on the back of the car hits the top of the bump, breaks off and tumbles down the road. Car/driver carries on.
Catch up with them in gym car park, glide past and say,
"You may want to go back and collect the bit which fell off your car when you went over the speed bump too fast. They're there to slow you down: idiot."
I get an unblinking ovine stare in return.

 

[guitarpete247]

I give respect to all speed bumps. If you look at the standard bumps (not the cushions that you can get wheels to go either side of) you often see a spattering of engine oil and sometimes the tarmac is scraped by the car bottoming out. This scraping is also something you can see on the landing zone after a humped back bridge. (Look at the scrapes here to see what I mean )
I have bever understood why folks spend hundreds (if not thousands) on a car, which they call their pride and Joy only to treat like they do. (The GF had an argument with her son who borrowed her car, when his was off the road with serious structural and suspension problems, and was caught driving over speed bumps above the 30 mph speed limit ). Others just use the bumps as a braking area between thrashing it.
Treat any machinery with respect and it should repay you by not costing as much to repair .

 

[asterix]

I get an unblinking ovine stare in return.

Unfair to sheep!

Your driver will making a strong complaint about the speed humps that have damaged their car. Possibly seeking compensation.

 

[661-Pete]

I don't know, but there may well be a law saying, deliberately or negligently leaving debris on the highway is itself an offence. I remember, a really scary moment for me on the M6 when a car in front of me lost its rear spoiler - just like that! I was luckily in an adjacent lane. I didn't stop, because I saw in my mirror that several other drivers were stopping.

Moreover, I wonder whether driving over a hump in such as way as to damage your vehicle, constitutes Driving Without Due Care or something like that? Might be worth exploring.

 

[beanzontoast]

Moreover, I wonder whether driving over a hump in such as way as to damage your vehicle, constitutes Driving Without Due Care or something like that? Might be worth exploring.

+1. It seems sensible to have such a law.

Speed limits in such areas aren't that effective at avoiding damage. Not all vehicles have the same clearance beneath - so what's a safe speed for one, even considerably under the limit, wouldn't necessarily avoid damage to another. You would think drivers would learn and stick to the safe speed for their own vehicle to tackle humps.

It's the same when cars park facing forwards on to high kerbing with the front overhanging the kerb and pavement. The number of times I've heard or seen cars scrape their fronts on the kerb. Surely they know if their own car has a low front clearance?

 

[mgarl10024]

I often wonder how much fuel is wasted with all the accelerating and braking done between successive speed humps. IMO, they just don't work.

 

[HLaB]

I often wonder how much fuel is wasted with all the accelerating and braking done between successive speed humps. IMO, they just don't work.

Drive at a consistent speed suitable for the area and there's little or no fuel wasted; its just some simple folk can't understand that but then again if they understood, there would be no need for traffic calming in the first place.

 

[Ste T.]

One sunny, Sunday morning in 1992 I was travelling along the M6 outside Preston at about 7.00am on my way to do some paddling on the river Lune, when I managed to lose two kayaks off my roof rack. One world record emergency stop later I ran back to get them . They were still spinning in the middle of the nearside lane when I got to them. Lucky enough there was no other cars in sight so I dragged them back to my car and hooked them up onto the roof rack. I was just tying them on as a police car pulled up. " Just re-tightening the straps officer "

"Ok just be on your way as quickly as possible"

Phew, got away with it. A big lesson learned. Had it been 5.00pm on my way back it would have been a very different story. I could very easily have killed some poor soul.

The lesson?

Always double check your straps , and have an extra one front and back to the towing eyes so that, if they do come lose, you wont lose them off the roof.

 

[mark barker]

[QUOTE 1250757"]
We have a CC regular who claims to be one of the handful of drivers in the world whose car is regularly damaged by speed bumps. First time I've heard of an inanimate object being capable of wilful actions.
[/quote]
My old Lotus wouldn't clear a speed hump in Telford a few years back. The car was totally unmodified and the front bumper bib wouldn't clear the hump. After a number of letters and a visit from a bod from the council they agreed the hump was too high and reduced the height.

 

[summerdays]

Our car seems to have very low clearance over speed bumps ... depends on the type ... but we tend to slow down and take them at a crawling sort of pace.... and even then they occasionally scrape the underside somewhere. I suspect that whenever we replace this car we will not be getting the same estate car as we have now. I think whether we hit them or not seems to depend on the length and angle of the up and down slopes - but I've not studied it in enough detail to have worked out a formula (just know which of the local ones to be particularly careful about).

 

[benb]

I hate speed bumps. And I hate the fact that they are necessary.

 

[gavintc]

Our car seems to have very low clearance over speed bumps ... depends on the type ... but we tend to slow down and take them at a crawling sort of pace.... and even then they occasionally scrape the underside somewhere. I suspect that whenever we replace this car we will not be getting the same estate car as we have now. I think whether we hit them or not seems to depend on the length and angle of the up and down slopes - but I've not studied it in enough detail to have worked out a formula (just know which of the local ones to be particularly careful about).

Too many pies? Is the car sitting that bit lower than it should?

 

[skudupnorth]

I often wonder how much fuel is wasted with all the accelerating and braking done between successive speed humps. IMO, they just don't work.

I just plod along the roads with bumps when i'm driving much to the annoyance of other drivers but i do not have to speed up or brake to get over the damn things and i save any damage to my car/bus/herd-child carrier plus working in the trade i know how much suspension,tyres and basic re-adjustment of any suspension parts can cost !
On the mountain bike though i give it beans and try to airbourne them !!!

 

[Norm]

Drive at a consistent speed suitable for the area and there's little or no fuel wasted; its just some simple folk can't understand that but then again if they understood, there would be no need for traffic calming in the first place.

How about if the bumps are so severe that your speeds need to drop to single figures to clear them with any sort of mechanical sympathy?

There are few areas for which 10mph is a suitable speed.

If speed bumps are installed in a 30mph zone, then you should be able to take the bumps at 30. If 30 is not a suitable speed, reduce the speed limit.

Allowing monkeys with shovels contractors to set the speed limits by building barricades across the road is, thankfully, not an alternative that too many councils have explored.

 

[benb]

How about if the bumps are so severe that your speeds need to drop to single figures to clear them with any sort of mechanical sympathy?

There are few areas for which 10mph is a suitable speed.

If speed bumps are installed in a 30mph zone, then you should be able to take the bumps at 30. If 30 is not a suitable speed, reduce the speed limit.

Allowing monkeys with shovels contractors to set the speed limits by building barricades across the road is, thankfully, not an alternative that too many councils have explored.

Hmm, but then you'd people thrashing along at 40 between the bumps, and only slowing down to 30 when they get to them.