|
I'm not a big fan
of road humps, sleeping policeman. To my mind their
disadvantages outweigh their advantages.
There's nothing wrong with speed limits in built-up areas.
You don't want people driving like maniacs past school
gates. But are road humps the best way to keep speed down?
Idiots will be idiots. Someone who's going to drive at 30mph
in a 20 zone is likely to try and drive at 30 over speed
bumps and bust their suspension in the process.
Speed bumps are a hindrance to the emergency services,
skilled drivers who need to drive quickly, appropriately, to
get to a scene. You've probably seen those speed bumps with
gaps in them which are meant to help fire engines and
ambulances through. But, in truth, they're pretty
indiscriminate - they let Transit vans, Range Rovers and
Audi Q7s through as well.
We're supposed to be living in greener times. But speed
bumps aren't green, they encourage inefficient driving.
Every time you use/apply a brake you are wasting fuel. There
are one or two cars, like the Toyota Prius, that use
regenerative braking - storing the potential energy in a
battery - but they're the exception not the rule.
Smooth driving is the key to fuel economy and a healthy
engine. If you think ahead, and drive at the appropriate
speed for the conditions, you shouldn't need to touch your
brakes that often. All that speeding-up and slowing-down for
speed humps, is just wasting fuel.
They also do harm to your car. The most common faults of
hitting speed bumps too quickly are damage to the suspension
parts and cracked sumps. What you've got to remember is that
you get four knocks when you hit a bump at speed: the first
impact when the front wheels hit and you get a
bottoming-out, the knock to the suspension as it jolts
upwards and then a second bottoming-out with the rear wheels
and a subsequent knock.
A third of cars fail their MOTs because of damage to their
suspension. I'd reckon most of that damage will come from
hitting speed bumps, or misjudging the kerb when driving
into a driveway.
Cracked sumps can be messy. The sump is a pan beneath the
engine that stores the used oil before it's pumped back into
the engine. There are two types of sump: dry sumps are
external. Crack this and you'll drop oil around the place
but it can easily be replaced. It's not a big job but it's
not something you want to happen if you can avoid it.
A wet sump is actually in the bottom of the engine. Crack
this and you'll drop oil around the place and you've got a
potentially expensive repair job.
You can fit rubbers to protect suspensions from damage
caused by speed bumps but to be honest they’re a waste of
money. My advice would be to take speed bumps as slowly as
you can. If the road has a downhill gradient, coast in a low
gear to save fuel. Much as I like getting work, it's better
for your car, and for your pocket, not to hit speed bumps in
the first place.
|
