When providing cheap car insurance for women is your priority you scour the motoring pages to find any useful information for all the female drivers out there. And so, without further ado, I offer you something you may already have decided for yourself, but which is always interesting to read about; speed humps really are rubbish.
According to the Association of British Drivers (ABD) - all speed humps, ramps, sleeping policemen, speed cushions etc, should be demolished. I like their thinking.
Here is some of their reasoning why we should Dump the Humps.
Speed humps are:
Dumb - and basically ineffective. Depending upon the hump design and the vehicle, driving over a hump at higher speed often causes less discomfort than the lower speed that the hump is hoping to induce.
Dirty - the acceleration generated after negotiating a hump causes extensive extra pollution. The Transport Research Laboratory in the United Kingdom conducted emissions tests on roads with a 75 metre hump spacing and found CO emissions increased by 70-80%, Hydro-carbons by 70-100%, and CO2 by 50-60%.
Deafening - well noisy, to say the least. The effects of braking, increased tyre noise, acceleration, vibrating cargo in vehicles, and noisy protests (horn blowing) by incensed motorists have all been cited as noise disturbance by people living close to speed humps. Speed humps have been investigated by the Noise Abatement Society.
Damaging - Repeated crossing of speed humps causes safety issues due to accelerated wearing of vehicle components, especially suspension. This can seriously impact on stopping ability in a hard braking incident. Shock absorbers are crucial in braking, and speed humps have been proved to weaken them significantly in instances where drivers have no option, but to go over them daily.
Also of concern is the damage that can be done to the underside of a car, to spoilers, number plates and exhausts. Even your specialist car insurance for women is unlikely to cover speed hump damage. (And let's not forget goods carried in your car - have you ever tried negotiating speed humps whilst ferrying a bowl of trifle on the front passenger seat to a six-year-old's birthday party - an impossible task!)
Destructive - speed humps damage the ground surrounding them. Structural damage can occur due to the impact of vehicles traversing a speed hump and sending shockwaves through the ground. The official UK regulations that provide installation guidelines for speed humps exclude locations within 25m of bridges, subways or tunnels. That's a sobering thought for those with a speed hump right on their doorstep.
Distracting - do you watch the humps in the road or for other
hazards - like children!?
When the London Borough of Barnet took out its speed humps, accidents
were reduced by 14.9% during the first six months of 2005.
Dazzling - How many times have you been dazzled by the flash of a car's headlights as it bumps over a speed hump? Quite a few, I guess. And this flash of headlights can also be construed as a flash of permission to cross in front of the oncoming vehicle, when in fact it is no such thing. More accidents waiting to happen, I fear.
Deflecting - speed humps can deflect vehicles laterally causing the driver to lose control. This safety issue is further exasperated by rain, snow or ice.
Discriminatory - humps discriminate against certain vulnerable groups; the disabled, elderly frail people and those with back or neck problems. Jolts from speed humps can cause severe discomfort, pain and even debilitating injury to road users. This may well prevent certain groups from using roads or car parks that contain speed humps.
Delaying - Perhaps the most serious impact that speed humps can have is on emergency vehicles that are forced to slow to a snail's pace to traverse the man-made terrain. American research has shown that 85 people are likely to die as a result of delayed emergency appliances for every one life that may be saved by speed humps.
Every speed hump in the UK should be demolished
The ABD state that speed humps are always an ineffective and inappropriate
solution to road safety concerns. They call for road safety initiatives
to concentrate on better training that would make drivers realise the
need to drive slowly in residential streets, better signing of hazards,
and better police enforcement (by police officers - not cameras) that
would target those who do not act responsibly.
The Association of British Drivers is a campaign group for motorists. It is a voluntary not-for-profit organisation, independent of any government funding and thus is an independent representation group. For more on their speed hump findings visit the ABD website.
Car insurance for women may be my job, but my passion is a hatred of speed humps, and I echo the ABD when I make a continued call for local governments to Dump the Humps.