National Motorists Association Blog

By California NMA Member Stacey Charlton 

In Part 1, we learned the difference between speed bumps, humps, and cushions. Overseas they are called “sleeping policemen.” There are many disadvantages to these so-called road hazards/control devices …I mean speed calming devices that are not clearly disclosed through a city’s public work’s engineering department. This series of blog posts will help uncover the cons of speed control devices.

In this post, we will learn of a celebrity that almost lost his life because of a speed control device. We will also talk about the wear and tear issues on personal vehicles, a city’s emergency equipment, and your lumbar spine. 

Injury from Weakening the Safety Features of Your Personal Vehicle 

We all are well aware that speed control devices can mess up our vehicle’s alignment, but many other safety parts can be weakened or damaged. Speed control devices can cause damage to a vehicle’s frame, shock absorbers, antilock brakes, and exhaust system. Did you know the reflective paint is made out of broken glass, which does not sound safe to me? Also, if the device has cutouts, then side wall damage can be done to tires, resulting in a blowout.

How would you like to be driving along and have your airbag deploy into your face just because you hit one of these devices at the wrong angle? That has happened to several drivers who claim they were going not too fast. Byron Bloch of Potomac MD, a noted auto-safety consultant for 30 years, has said in several interviews that accidental airbag deployment could occur more frequently humps proliferate on our nation’s streets. Unfortunately in the last decade, over 67 million vehicles in the US have been recalled due to Takata airbag inflators that can have the potential to injure or kill drivers during deployment.

Deterioration to cars makes them more dangerous to drive, and the wear and tear from daily traversing speed control devices can cause your vehicle to become unsafe to operate. 

Speed Control Devices Increase the Chance of Being Rear-Ended 

How would you like to suffer from whiplash from being rear-ended? Drivers take speed cushions at different speeds. Some drive over them as though they aren’t even there, and others take them slowly and at an angle. Because the driver behind you does not know what speed you will maneuver over the speed cushion, the chances of you being rear-ended increase.

Back Issues and Other Wear and Tear on Your Body

Speed humps are meant to cause discomfort to drivers to force them to slow down. City street departments acknowledge these devices cause discomfort, but for those with back or neck injuries, it may be daily pain inflicted on a driver. How is it ethical to install multiple devices that inflict daily pain on drivers and passengers?

Subluxations can cause pressure and misalignment of the spinal cord, causing your brain’s messages to be delayed or even a little garbled (i.e., tingling or numbness). Messages don’t flow as freely and as quickly as they should, and the functionality of your entire body is compromised. Speed humps can cause misalignments and even hairline fractures to your spine. As you age, do you want a healthy spine or a damaged spine?

Can Cause Injury and Pain to Those with Disabilities.

Passengers transferred to medical appointments via para-transit services can be injured when the van drives over speed cushions. Passengers in wheelchairs are secured to the van, but this is not as secure as a passenger seat belted in a car. They can be dislodged from their wheelchair due to the speed cushions, which could cause injury. How is it ethical to install a device that causes pain and makes the ride unsafe for those with disabilities or other medical conditions?

In fact, in Berkeley, California, a moratorium on speed humps was put into effect because of emergency response concerns and complaints from the disabled community. Persons with disabilities state the lasting pain and injury caused by these devices make them virtual barriers to accessibility. Engineers are smart people. Can’t they come up with a device that does not inflict pain on others? 

Injury to Bicyclists 

Earlier I mentioned a speed control device almost killed a famous person. In 2016, entrepreneur Richard Branson had a bad accident when cycling downhill in the British Virgin Islands. He hit a speed hump and suffered a cracked cheek, torn ligaments, and extensive bruising. Branson credits his bike helmet for saving his life.

Traffic calming devices also cause accidents to non-famous bicyclists as well. In the UK, Anja Szkodowski was riding a bicycle in the London enclave of Chiselhurst’s Old Hill area and did not notice the large, single “cushions” in the center of the road. Anja was thrown from her bike and was seriously injured. With breaks to her jaw in three places and other injuries, she spent three days in the hospital and had to endure extensive repair work to her teeth.

In a blog post entitled The Dangers of Speed Humps Proved by Old Hill Accident, the writer stated, “instead of preventing accidents, the traffic calming device was a direct cause of making them worse.” The worst part is that residents said that Old Hill was never an accident spot. “This accident highlights not only the general problems that speed humps cause for cyclists and motorcyclists but also the wasted expenditure on a road safety scheme that made the situation worse.”

Fortunately, Anja made a relatively rapid recovery, but there is no denying that this was a “serious” accident and indeed a potentially fatal one. And her financial loss was considerable as she was off work for three weeks, apart from the pain and suffering she experienced.

Anja stated: “All in all, I went through the most difficult time of my life. Looking back at that incident, I truly believe that my accident could have been avoided as there is no need for such speed humps on this road.

In my discovery process concerning the speed bumps in my neighborhood, a resident named Raayan emailed Hillsborough Public Works with this message, “It is dangerous for a bicyclist to slow down further than this because of the need to climb up the hill, increasing the possibility of collusions with vehicles that are ready to accelerate more quickly.”

Lack of Maintenance by City Can Cause Accidents

Street lights are not mandatory for speed cushions, so drivers need to rely on warning signs and reflective tape/paint. If the city does not have a maintenance plan, tree branches can cover the warning signs, and the reflective paint/tape can fade. This failure to maintain the speed cushions can cause accidents.

For example, a warning sign in my neighborhood was upside down, and a tree branch covered another warning sign.  Also, speed cushions might be difficult to see when the sun is in your eyes during sunrise or sunset.

In Part 3 of the NMA’s Driving in America blog series How to Fight Speed Bumps, Humps, and Cushions, I will explore whether these devices really calm traffic. If you have had a negative experience with a traffic calming device, please write about your experience in the comment section below.

In the meantime, here are three questions to contemplate:

• Which concerns do the people in your life, whether drivers, passengers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, or pedestrians, have over any potential injuries due to speed calming devices?
• What kinds of devices can city/county officials come up with that are more humane and do not have the potential to inflict pain and suffering plus liability for local government?
• How can local citizens move these concerns and questions forward to prevent these unnecessary accidents and help change these street paradigms?