Speed Ramps

Keith C

Can anyone explain why some roads have 3 square speedramps across them?? Majority of cars just fly over them as the width between the wheels of the car is more or less the same as the width of the ramp so, unless your car is lowered, you cant damage the underneath of your car, so whats the point of putting them down??
Why aren't full ramps, the width of the road, used??
What a waste of money :mad: :mad:

crosstownk

AFAIK, they are called bus cushions. Check here > http://www.sdublincoco.ie/index.aspx?pageid=539&deptid=12&dpageid=273

I can only assume that its to allow busses pass over them, but as you say, most cars do it too. So it sort of makes very little sense.

EDIT : I got this quote "Bus cushions are similar to road humps but do not extend the full width of the carriageway, allowing buses to straddle the feature. Other smaller width vehicles like cars will experience bus cushions as though they were road humps and vehicle speeds will reduce accordingly."

from this site > http://www.preston.gov.uk/General.asp?id=SX9452-A7806E50&cat=619

jayok

Anyone else notice with these that if there is a parked car either side of the bumps or "cushion" that it actually encourages a game of chicken between two cars? (who can get over the middle one the quickest)

Stark

When I was doing pre-test lessons, I deliberately went over them like normal speed bumps so as to be "a good boy about it". But my instructor told me that straddling them was actually the correct thing to do as they're designed to let cars continue at 50kph whilst avoiding wear and tear on cars, but still calm traffic by making drivers manouver slightly going through them.

If they mean less suspension busters all over the shop then I'm all for them.

fletch

yeh i never slow down for them.....most ramps in 50kph zones can be taken at 50kph anyway once you drop a wheel rather than driving straight over them

calhob_ie

Surely your driving instructor is incorrect about that?

From reading the Dublin City Council description of them it appears that they are intended to function as normal speed bumps and not as a traffic calming measure. The traffic calming measures he's thinking of would be the construction of islands jutting into the carriageway to create a chicane and force you to slow down or the narrowing of the road to one lane to force one carriageway to give to the other.

Another point is that if you pull out to go over one you'll cross the centre median and if you do that without a indicating or checking your mirrors you'll fail your test.

Personally I'd disregard the instructors comments and treat them as normal speed bumps for test purposes.

Stark

calhob_ie wrote:

Personally I'd disregard the instructors comments and treat them as normal speed bumps for test purposes.

God I wish there was a definitive source for these things. I've a lesson booked with a different instructor tonight anyway so I can check with him.

calhob_ie wrote:

Another point is that if you pull out to go over one you'll cross the centre median and if you do that without a indicating or checking your mirrors you'll fail your test.

That would be in line with common sense thankfully (I love it when the rules side more with common sense than pedantry ). I guess he probably meant where there were no parked cars on the left, that I shoud keep going through the space between the ramps, thus straddling the left ramp rather than deliberately steering into the ramp so that my wheels go over both ramps.

jayok wrote:

Anyone else notice with these that if there is a parked car either side of the bumps or "cushion" that it actually encourages a game of chicken between two cars? (who can get over the middle one the quickest)

There's that side of it.

I wish they'd just install speed cameras in residential areas rather than ****ing inverted potholes. The bumps must be a nightmare for the emergency services.

calhob_ie

Yeah you could pull to the left allright and go round it that way.

It looks to me like these "bus cushions" should be a lot wider so that smaller wheelbase cars have to treat them like speed bumps while wider wheelbase buses can just drive over them.

Unfortunately eitehr due to poor design or poor implementation the cushions aren't wide enough and everybody from Micra's and Fiat 500's up can disregard them completely. They probably lifted the idea from another country which has a wider standard suburban road than us.

You'd think somebody would look at them and say "Well those don't work" and try other traffic calming measures like chicanes and road narrowing.

ando

some of them are higher than others and you can see the wear on them from the cars hitting them. My car hits lots of them and its not lowered. Every once and a while i hear a scrape from the underneath of my car cause some of them are not made correctly and are to high. I hate them absolutly hate them

Seth Brundle

I recall a discussion here about ramps a while back (www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=310637)
I contacted the DoE and was told that there were no standards for speed ramps - only recommended guidelines, so basically anything goes!
That is why you have such a diverse range of speed bumps - some can be crossed at the speed limit. Others will damage your car if crossed at the speed limit.

Stark

I ****ing hate the ones in Blanchardstown shopping centre. You go over them in first gear with no gas and brake half pressed and you can still feel the car getting a fair wallop off the things.

As for "safety", when you take into account delays caused to emergency vehicles, the flashing effect you get from cars with dipped headlights going over them (why oh ****ing why must they have them at junctions), discomfort to bus users, noise pollution etc., I reckon they're more trouble than they're worth.

At least the "think of the children" nitwit brigade who petition for them in their estates are probably kept awake at night from the noise of the things, so that's some small comfort.

Berty

You should see the speed ramp in Charleville Co Cork behind Dunnes. There are two Square bumps but the one in the middle is missing and always has been. Everybody just drives through the middle of the bumps. Even a truck could fit through.

It deserves to be on failblog.org to be honest.

Mr Benevolent

Berty wrote: »

It deserves to be on failblog.org to be honest.

Much obliged Berty, great site!

Smokerkl

They are for Emergency vehicles o be able to go staright to the destination without slowing. Ie Fire engine's and ambulances have a wider wheel base so therefore miss the bump entirely. The rest of us they are just stupid little out of place chicains.. My theory anyway..
S..

Wishbone Ash

Stark wrote: »

When I was doing pre-test lessons, I deliberately went over them like normal speed bumps so as to be "a good boy about it". But my instructor told me that straddling them was actually the correct thing to do

calhob_ie wrote: »

Surely your driving instructor is incorrect about that?

Personally I'd disregard the instructors comments and treat them as normal speed bumps for test purposes.

Your driving instructor is correct. You should make the journey as comfortable as possible. If you were to drive your wheels over the top of the cushion is a test when other options are available, the examiner could penalise you.

calhob_ie wrote: »

It looks to me like these "bus cushions" should be a lot wider so that smaller wheelbase cars have to treat them like speed bumps while wider wheelbase buses can just drive over them

You're forgetting that buses have a twin rear axle (i.e. double wheels on each end). The inner of the two wheels would be much the same width apart as the normal wheels on a smaller vehicle

KamiKazi

They make them so us bikers can just go around them :pac:

Wishbone Ash

Stark wrote: »

I ****ing hate the ones in Blanchardstown shopping centre. You go over them in first gear with no gas and brake half pressed and you can still feel the car getting a fair wallop off the things

+1

My last car had 16in wheels and ordinary tyres and I used to find that even in 1st gear they were very severe. My present car has 17in wheels with run flat tyres and strangely I can go over them at a much higher speed.

The most severe ramps I've experienced are the ones on Balleally Lane in Lusk (Co Dublin) on the way to and from the tip-head. There are 21 of them in a 1 mile stretch and each one requires one to come to a stop and go into 1st gear.

-Chris-

Thread locked because it's a 3 year old thread that was bumped by a (potential) spammer.

If you want to start a new discussion, go for it. If you want this unlocked to continue this discussion, PM me.

Chris