Public Evaluation of Speed Humps Performance and Effectiveness

Abstract

In Egypt, it is believed that speed humps are the cheapest and best solutions to reduce vehicles speed and thus reduce the number of potential accidents. Due to the lack of specifications in Egypt that govern the installation of speed humps, they were spread randomly and with different dimensions without adequate studies. Consequently, this practice can cause adverse effects on the road users and the surrounding environment. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed to discuss the different effects of using speed humps in Kafr El-Sheikh city as a typical model in the Egyptian cities. To verify that the questionnaire is appropriate for the intended task, it was evaluated by 30 respondents aged 18 years and over. After the trial process, the required corrections were made to the proposed form of the questionnaire. Then, final questionnaires were distributed and 1000 responses were collected from all road users, whether they were pedestrians, drivers, and owners of vehicles or vehicle repairmen by using face-to-face interviews. The responses were analysed using SPSS program. The results reflected that the installation of speed humps contributed greatly to reduce vehicles speed, the flow of traffic and accidents rate. On the other hand, the results proved that humps also contribute significantly to the environmental pollution, damage to the pavement and vehicles especially when they are poorly designed and located. The majority of respondents attributed the random spread of the speed humps to the weakness of the authorities in law enforcement and the prevention of the installation of new humps without authorization. Finally, with the widespread use of speed humps and with the exception of the positive impact on traffic safety, it also has negative impacts on both the economy and the environment. Finally, the use of speed humps can cause many harmful effects to the neighbourhood, if there no strict control on its installation process. Unless specifications and some standards should be strictly followed, other means of traffic calming measures should be considered.

Development of Ideal Hump Geometric Characteristics for Different Vehicle Types “Case Study” Urban Roads in Kafr El‐Sheikh City (Egypt)

“…Consequently, the use of speed humps can cause a negative effect to emergency response times. If there no strict control on its installation process according to wellconsidered standards, other means should be considered for calming traffic in residential areas [2].…”

“…Traffic calming is defined by the Institute of Traffic Engineers (ITE) as "the combination of mainly physical measures to reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior, and improve conditions for nonmotorized street users" [1,2]. Since speed humps are a very effective means of calming traffic, the main purpose of installation of speed humps is to reduce speed and volume of traffic to acceptable limits in order to enhance safety for pedestrians and motorists [3].…”

“…ese are speed humps, speed bumps, speed tables, roundabouts, transverse rumble strips, optical speed bars, textured pavement, and cat-eye reflectors but the speed humps are considered the most used means of traffic calming in Egypt [2,3]. In order to fight against speeding, the government and people opted for the construction of speed humps.…”

“…A speed hump is a raised area from the pavement, installed transversely to the traffic flow and having several design shapes such as sinusoidal, circular, parabolic, and flat-topped profile [3]. e speed humps are supposed to serve two main objectives, the first is to force the drivers to decrease their speeds to avoid the uncomfortable crossing on the hump and the second is to reduce the rate of accidents [2]. e speed humps can reduce the speed of vehicles gently to 15 km/h to 30 km/h, and they may cover the entire width of the road or cover a part of it [7].…”

Simulating the Effect of Speed Humps on the U-Turn Traffic

“…Based on data from Iraq U-turn sites, Al-Obaedi [15] reported that speed humps reduced the merging time by more than 50%. Shwaly et al [17], based on a questionnaire in Egypt, found that both vehicle speeds and accident rates significantly reduced as the effect of speed humps.…”