Fake 3D speed bumps to appear in Philly
Photo: Mike DeNardo
In what strikes us as a bit... uh, stupid, Philadelphia is actually planning to install fake speed bumps on some city streets in an effort to slow drivers down. Obviously, the goal is to increase safety, but slowing drivers down often has the added benefit of reducing pollution and fuel consumption. According to Charles Denny, the city's chief traffic engineer, "Plastic material that is laid down, and it gives the illusion of being a hump in the roadway. And therefore people react to it as though it were a hump, and slow down. The driver sees this in the roadway, and they think that its some protrusion up out of the roadway, and not a perfectly flat surface. So they slow down before they drive over it."
Will it work? We have no idea, but we'd imagine that drivers will get the picture that there is no real bump in the road after their first experience. At least, we'd like to think so. Is this really a better idea than real speed bumps?
[Source: KYW Newsradio via Gizmodo]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ian Bruce 1:36PM (6/15/2008)
Look where the light's coming from... they're actually enormous potholes. I doubt Philadelphians would find unusual about that...
... or humps on roadways. Ba, dum DUM!
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Dave 2:14PM (6/15/2008)
In the long run, this will train people to ignore things in the road.
Or at least reserve judgement until the last moment.
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UH2L 2:27PM (6/15/2008)
The real solution is if people wouldn't speed in these areas, (ie. where kids are present). Then we wouldn't need real speed bumps or fake ones. So it takes people driving with safety in mind or random enforcement here instead of on the highways where children don't get hit. But I guess law enforcement values ticket revenues over making a difference in safety.
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Jay 3:10PM (6/15/2008)
I read somewhere that speed bumps actually increase pollution and gas use due to the repeated brake - accelerate cycle.
The best way to slow cars down on city streets is to narrow the streets with planters, physically separated bike lanes, wider sidewalks etc. This requires huge investment by a community that really wants to encourage walking and cycling over the current dominance of the car. I don't see this kind of sea change catching on nationally until gas is maybe 7 or 8 dollars per gallon. NYC is getting there, though. see http://www.streetfilms.org/ for some great info.
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rj 3:34PM (6/15/2008)
dumb - somebody will swerve around these plastic stickers and have an accident, possibly hitting a cyclist or pedestrian - unbelievably dumb
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BlackbirdHighway 3:55PM (6/15/2008)
Someone will not notice these "bumps" until they are almost upon them, then suddenly slam on the brakes and get rear ended by the bozo tailgating right behind.
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TIMMAH! 4:37PM (6/15/2008)
This is stupid. If I regularly use the street it's only going to fool me once.
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Luke 2:22AM (6/16/2008)
"Hey look, one of those fake speed bumps!"
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jamesFF 6:54PM (6/15/2008)
Has anyone ever seen the speed bumps they have at the Philadelphia airport? Those things are huge!
As far as these sticker goes, it might work on the first pass but after that, it would be completely forgotten afterwards.
As far as saving fuel, any speed below 45MPH is wasteing fuel. Most cars shift into top gear around 40MPH.
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Ignatius 7:35PM (6/15/2008)
Awesome. Now we can slam on the brakes to 'avoid' hitting an imaginary speedbump, then get rammed into in the back by someone who wasn't paying attention.
I give it five days before they finally remove them because of the massive amount of car accidents.
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BQ 8:07PM (6/15/2008)
I have not seen this particular pavement graphic before, but zig-zag lines which cause uncertainty to the eye are in common use, especially in England, where they have been shown to be a reliable way of generating slower speeds. They are primarily useful in promoting pedestrian safety, and I believe the list should investigate these sorts of devices and not be so hasty to dismiss them.
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rob 8:32PM (6/15/2008)
Both my Forester and my motorcycle have 10" of suspension travel. I accelerate for speed bumps, and "traffic calming" islands are treated like chicanes... :thbbbt:
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Joseph 12:28AM (6/16/2008)
"slowing drivers down often has the added benefit of reducing pollution and fuel consumption"
No....Speedbumps increase fuel-consumption. All it does it makes people slow down, and then speed up again before having to slow down yet again. This consstand speeding up/slowing down at lower city speeds is just about the worst thing you can do for fuel-economy.
In fact, ABG had an article a while ago that said that some study said XXXXX gallons of fuel can be saved a year if there were no speeds bumps (or something like that)
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EV-1 10:34AM (6/16/2008)
Ingenious !
And then the drivers will go dashing onto the next speed-bumps (the real ones) =D !
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David Mustoe 10:41AM (6/16/2008)
How many rear enders do you see at a 15 mph sign?
It is not there to "fool" you. It is there to inform you.
I think I prefer the English zigzag line. But all above is better than puting a defect in the road.
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Nick 1:10PM (6/16/2008)
In my county, we have chevrons on the interstate before one of the interchanges that people were taking too fast. They aren't bumps at all, just painted lines that create an optical illusion that makes you want to slow down.
It doesn't work for everyone, but I'd say its effective.
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Kevinm 11:18PM (6/16/2008)
Speed bumps certainly hurt fuel efficiency. When you use regular brakes (friction breaks), the kinetic energy from combusted gas is turned into heat that is useless to your car. The most efficient speeds are 30-60 mph for the average car.
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