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Speed Bumps: How Effective Are They

Speed Bumps: How Effective Are They

If you’ve ever driven through areas that require quick reductions in speed, chances are high that you’ve driven over a speed bump or two. Unlike its close relative, the speed hump, speed bumps are higher in stature and make for a jarring experience when traveling over them at fast speeds. This effect is intentional and is meant to dramatically cut speed in an effort to reduce accidents. Still, many roadwork professionals often find themselves asking how useful these pieces of equipment actually are and whether they should be utilizing them more often. Find out more about the effectiveness of speed bumps and what you can do to maximize their impact.

The Overall Effectiveness of Speed Bumps

As previously stated, speed bumps are designed to create a more noticeable impact for the driver that will encourage them to reduce their speed dramatically. Since these items can make drivers drop their travel rate to around five miles per hour, they better ensure drivers won’t cause accidents. In fact, speed bumps can be linked to up to a 60 percent decrease in passerby injury or death. This means that they’re just as important for pedestrians as they are for workers and drivers. When used properly, speed bumps are an incredibly useful tool, as they encourage increased driver alertness and make it easier to control oncoming traffic overall.

Factors Influencing Speed Bump Effectiveness

In order to truly gauge how effective speed bumps can be, it’s crucial that you know the proper conditions in which to use them. As helpful as they are in certain settings, there are circumstances where speed bumps can become dangerous. Knowing the difference between the two scenarios is the key to ensuring you use your equipment correctly. Below are some factors to consider.

Average Road Speed

One of the most important things to think about when determining the usefulness of a speed bump is the average speed of the road in question. Because these items can give a fright to an inattentive driver, they simply aren’t allowed on roads that exceed 40 miles per hour. Doing so actually raises the risk of an accident and can cause significant vehicle damage. For this reason, they’re best used in slower, residential areas, parking lots, and back alleys.

Positioning

You should also consider how you will install your speed bumps. While you can place speed humps right next to one another to encourage consistent slower driving, speed bumps can be too harsh on a vehicle and driver when driven over in quick succession. Because of this, it’s important that you’re careful about how far apart you the speed bumps them during installation. This is the best way to prevent accidents and potential driver injury.

As professional traffic safety product suppliers, we at Traffic Safety Warehouse want to ensure you’re confident when using our products. For this reason, we seek to educate each of our customers about what makes certain pieces of equipment so important and how you can heighten their effectiveness. Speed bumps are only one vital piece to the roadwork safety puzzle. So, feel free to reach out to us to gain a better understanding of how you can get the most use out of your supply.

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