Speed bump damage to cars

ontheroad1970

frost500 said:

Speed dumps do not damage cars or crack houses. Driving too fast over them does damage cars, so slow down. They are there for a reason, they stop people being killed.

Nothing is ever as clear cut as you think.  The best type of speed bumps are the ones that you can actually drive over at 20mph without having to brake.  There have been cases in South Wales where they have removed speed bumps that go right across the road because they are on bus routes and the shockwave was damaging property.  

Not only that, antisocial drivers will (and do) just floor it in between the bumps and are more likely to hit someone.  

George_Michael

maxmycardagain said:

what about humps that hit the underside at 5mph... in a totally unmodified family saloon

I've never seen any humps that severe on a public road. Could you post a picture from Google streetview showing such a hump.
I'm not saying that they don't exist, simply that I've never seen one.

Car_54

maxmycardagain said:

what about humps that hit the underside at 5mph... in a totally unmodified family saloon

I think you'll find it's the car that hits the hump.

AdrianC

maxmycardagain said:

what about humps that hit the underside at 5mph... in a totally unmodified family saloon

May I refer back to the first page of the thread...

AdrianC said:

There are legal requirements for the size of traffic calming measures that can be installed. So long as they're within those, they are perfectly acceptable.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/883183/ltn-1-07_Traffic-calming-guidance.pdf - section 4

If you're saying that your "unmodified family saloon" has a ground clearance of 75mm or less, please tell us what car you're talking about. To put that into perspective, a standard new Focus has ground clearance more than twice that, around 160mm. A Golf is higher still.

Grumpy_chap

One observation I have noted with speed bumps is that some of the more 'sporty' style derivatives of cars with the low valances front and rear (and even side) skirts do seem to scrape speed bumps - maybe because they are going too fast?

I did feel quite sorry for a minibus that was converted recently that grounded on a speed bump as the rear approach angle was really bad.  The conversion was a disabled ramp that projected off the rear at low level (but folded up) and as the minibus went over the speed bump (speed table), the rear of the ramp grounded and gouged a load out of the road.  The driver had to reverse back out to avoid damage.  That can't possibly be right - either the speed hump or the vehicle design or both.  It was all at a junction, so the speed hump was coinciding with the camber of the road, which I think is the issue as a collective arrangement.  Still not correct though.

AdrianC

Grumpy_chap said:

One observation I have noted with speed bumps is that some of the more 'sporty' style derivatives of cars with the low valances front and rear (and even side) skirts do seem to scrape speed bumps - maybe because they are going too fast?

I doubt there's anything much (unless exotic - and they often have "lifts" to raise the suspension for precisely this purpose) that will foul on a 75mm speed hump, in out-of-the-showroom spec.

Of course, there are plenty of people who modify cars in ways that may not take account of such factors...