Speed bumps: more harm than good

Phuket Gazette –

PHUKET: Among the many factors conspiring to make Phuket roads some of the most dangerous in Thailand is the proliferation of poorly-designed, poorly-marked and poorly-maintained speed bumps that needlessly cause untold millions of baht in car damages and wasted fossil fuels every year.

The Phuket Gazette does not refute the effectiveness of speed bumps at slowing down traffic. Speed bumps do have their place in some urban settings, especially near schools and other places where the safety of pedestrians is the primary concern.

The sad reality, however, is that Phuket suffers from a widespread public disregard for traffic law, coupled with an almost complete disinterest among law officers in issuing tickets for moving violations. The result is speed bumps everywhere, even on curved, hilly sections of major highways.

The whole concept of speed bumps, and associated impediments to constant velocity such as “speed ramps”, turns mankind’s remarkable achievements in road-building technology over the ages completely on its head.

From the time of the Roman Empire, the goal of road-building projects has been to create firm, level surfaces to maximize the efficiency of rolling conveyances. We are now capable of engineering marvels such as the German autobahn, where for most people driving is actually a pleasure and not a daily source of frustration, fear and anger.

Circumstances here in Phuket make speed bumps a necessary evil in some cases, but we need the Highways Department, Department of Rural Roads, local administration organizations and other agencies responsible to exercise better judgment and common sense in their design and placement. They also need better maintenance, especially those made with reinforced concrete bars that are exposed over time and shred a rubber tyre just as easily as a human foot.

Readers familiar with Phuket roads probably would not take long to produce a list of speed bumps on the island that do more harm than good overall. Many are simply too high, causing even standard car makes to “bottom out”. The situation must be far worse for drivers of ground-hugging sports cars and one actually has to wonder who in their right mind would ever take a Ferrari or Lamborghini out on the streets of Phuket.

All the cracked oil pans, damaged shock absorbers and overall wear and tear caused by speed bumps no doubt provide a ready source of work for island mechanics – but there are few other benefits.

During campaigning, local politicians invariably talk about the need to improve traffic flow in Phuket by spending millions on mega-projects. But the reality on the ground is a trend for ever more speed bumps and red lights at three-way junctions where they are unneeded and, as a consequence, routinely ignored.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle12931.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-05-06

There is a term that either the Aussies or Brits use that I find very appropriate. They call speed bumps "sleeping policemen". I hadn't heard that term in America. I do like it and find it very suitable for what happens here. Instead of patrolling and giving tickets to violators, the solution seems to be to self-police in the form of unnecessary lights and unnecessary speed bump. The fact of the matter is that the traffic and driving are both getting worse. Neither option is working. Enforce traffic laws. Everyone knows there's no penalty for driving like an idiot or endangering others.

Trouble is, is that many speed bumps are not government made. Any member of the public seems free to put a speed bump outside of their house, or, business.

Since allmost everybody's got those SUV - who cares bout bumps?

Roman empire, poor Ferrari drivers.. Sounds like PG has let the trolls go wild.

As said before, there is no law enforcement on the island and drivers are just not smart enough to drive responsibly.

What would be alternatives to bumps to slow down the idiotic drivers?

You can't slow down for most speed bumps because they are the same colour as the road, and you don't know they're there until you're bouncing off the roof of the car.

Camouflaged speed bumps. Only in Thailand.

In that case, I guess you simply have to drive a bit slower not to damage your precious car.

In that case, I guess you simply have to drive a bit slower not to damage your precious car.

With the price of cars here.Yes they are precious

Someone once asked why they were called 'speed bumps' when they didn't speed you up, merely slowed you down ( or broke your car)

The biggest threat of damage to your vehicle , especially if you have a smallish sedan is not from the speed bump itself (often called "traffic calming devices) but usually from the jacked up 4x4 behind you that can fly over the speed bump just as easily as a potholed road and views your vehicle as nothing more than another speedbump in the road of life. SplaTTTTTTTTT.

We had a speed bump installed in our mooban, right on a corner, That is Thai thinking for you.

Speed bumps work. Simple as that.

They slow down traffic. (something rules, laws, policemen cannot do.)

Yes, they sometimes cause a tie-rod to wear out quicker or your shocks.

That's better than a head-on or a T-bone because someone was driving way too fast.

I agree they should be painted a different color. But, paint wears off quickly in the tropics so, learn where they are, and be glad there's a way that works to slow down the drunks at night.