If you want to bring down the vehicles in a specific area to a standstill speed for a moment, you can think about using speed bumps. You can find the applications of speed bumps all around the world. In most instances, you will be able to see speed bumps in parking lots. That’s because a speed bump will be able to bring down the vehicle speed to around 2 to 10 mph. The speed bumps are quite effective in terms of preventing careless drivers from causing property damage. On top of that, these speed bumps can also provide enhanced protection to the pedestrians as well.
What exactly is a speed bump?
A speed bump is nothing but an abrupt raised area that you can find on the roads. However, you will not usually be able to find speed bumps on the commercial roads. They are more prominent in parking lots and other areas, where the vehicles are being moved at slower speeds. The main objective of a speed bump would be to further slow down those vehicles that are traveling at slower speeds. This is the main reason on why you can even find speed bumps installed on the pavement surfaces.
The speed bumps are quite effective at the time of controlling speeds at a low volume on the parking lots and private driveways. The average height of a speed bump is around 3 to 6 inches. They have a length from around six inches to three feet.
How does speed bumps work?
A speed bump can cause discomfort to the drivers who drive over them at high speeds. This will be a significant discomfort. Due to the same reason, the drivers are forced to move slowly on top of the speed bumps. In fact, most drivers would come into a standstill speed when they are traveling on top of the speed bump.
The speed bump would usually a cause a vehicle to slow down up to a relatively low speed such as 5 mph. A speed hump is not in a position to bring down the speed of a vehicle up to such a level. However, this can help to ensure that the drivers are in a position to bring their vehicles to a stop at any given point of time. On the other hand, vehicles that are traveling at such a speed are safe for the pedestrians as well. The pedestrians will be able to stop themselves when they see a vehicle approaching them.
People tend to call speed bumps in numerous ways. For example, we can often see how people call them as traffic control bumps. On the other hand, we can also see how people around the world tend to have different names for the speed bumps that they are using. For example, people in Argentina call them as donkey’s backs, whereas people in Puerto Rico call them as dead person. Regardless of these different names, the speed bumps are in a position to deliver one main functionality, which is to slow down the speed of the vehicles effectively. You can keep that in mind and get the speed bumps that you need for the applications.
Different materials used for manufacturing speed bumps
At the time of manufacturing speed bumps, it is important to pay extra attention towards the durability. This is the main reason on why we can see how people are using materials such as concrete and asphalt for the manufacturing of speed bumps. However, it is also possible for the speed bumps to be manufactured out of recycled plastic, metal, and rubber. You will be able to bolt the rubber made speed bumps to the roads. If there is a need for you to install speed bumps only for a temporary duration of time, this would be a good option available to consider. That’s because you can go ahead and remove the speed bumps whenever you don’t want to use them.
Speed bumps are different from speed humps
As you understand the functionality of speed bumps, you should also figure out that they are different from speed humps. The biggest difference in between these two is the speed that they can reduce. For example, a speed bump can usually reduce the speed of a vehicle up to around 5 mph. However, a speed hump would not usually reduce the speed of a vehicle that much. Instead, they will reduce the overall speed of the vehicles to around 20 mph.
You will usually be using the speed bumps in parking lots, driveways, and private roads. It is not possible to see how speed bumps are positioned on the public roads. When you can see on the public roads are the speed humps. That’s because a speed bump can cause a dangerous situation to a driver who doesn’t expect it. On the other hand, a speed bump can also make someone lose control over the vehicle. They can also create massive traffic jams on the public roads. Hence, it is never a good idea to position speed bumps on the public roads, which are being used by buses and emergency vehicles.
Regardless of these differences, both speed bumps and speed humps are in a position to slow down the speed of vehicles. You will need to understand this difference and go for the best solution out of them. Then you will get the opportunity to improve the flow of traffic as per your expectations.
Final word
Now you have a clear understanding on what speed bumps are and the benefits offered by them. You should keep this in mind at the time of getting speed bumps. Make sure that you don’t install speed bumps on the roads that are being used for commercial purposes. That’s because the speed bumps are in a position to cause more damages to the passengers who travel on busses, emergency response vehicles, and cargo that is taken on trucks.
