One of the great strengths of speed bumps and humps is that they remain a deterrent no matter how accustomed drivers become to their presence.
Speed bumps are more aggressive traffic calming options than speed humps, and so are useful in places where pedestrians and cars share space closely, like parking lots and driveways. A speed bump generally slows traffic to 2–10 mph, giving both people and cars time to react safely to one another. Speed bumps are rarely used on public roads because they require vehicles to come to a near stop to pass over them, and can do damage to cars moving at regular speeds.
Speed bumps can be two to four inches high, but they have a much shorter travel distance than speed humps. These obstacles are under a vehicle's tire for less than half of a full wheel rotation, with standard widths are between six inches and two feet. The height to travel-distance ratio creates an abrupt bounce in a vehicle, which can shake both occupants and cargo. Since a speed bump is always much smaller than vehicles passing over it, each axle will cross separately, meaning a car moving at excessive speed will receive two substantial jolts.
Speed bumps, like their more sedate siblings, can be placed at intervals to maintain speed reduction. They are often spaced judiciously as they are more uncomfortable to go over at any speed and are used in smaller geographical areas.
Speed bumps can deliver a shock, which is perhaps why they have developed colorful names around the world. They're known as speed breakers (India), judder bars (NZ), sleeping policemen (UK), and road turtles (Southern US). In French, they're known as “dos-d'âne,” or literally, “humpback.”
Speed humps, sometimes called road humps or undulations, are used for 10–15 mph speed zones. They're often seen on local streets or connector roads where traffic needs to flow smoothly but excessive speed will endanger pedestrians. Playground and school zones often use these in traffic management.
A speed hump creates a gentle rocking sensation in a car passing over it at the posted speed limit. If a car is driving at unsafe speed, the hump will jar the vehicle and its contents, causing discomfort to the occupants and disruption to cargo. These obstacles usually span the lane they are placed in. This way, vehicles are encouraged to pass over them with both wheels, reducing the likelihood of bottoming out.
Speed humps come in a variety of profiles and travel lengths. These factors influence the experience of discomfort created in the speeding vehicle. Travel length varies between 3–20 feet. Any travel length longer than the vehicle creates only one up-and-down motion, whereas a travel length shorter than the vehicle creates two rocking movements as each set of wheels passes over. Speed humps are most often placed in a series, maintaining speed reduction through a long corridor.
These vertical deflections are not a good choice for arterial roads, emergency routes, or on any street where it is easy for a car to evade the hump by driving on a shoulder. Because of this, they're usually installed in one or two lane local urban settings where there are curbs and closed sewers. If speed humps are installed in areas where there is a shoulder, they are often twinned with bollards or other obstructive measures to prevent cars from leaving the roadway.
Both speed bumps and humps are useful to encourage safe driving in pedestrian zones. Speed humps are useful in places where traffic needs to flow, and speed bumps in small areas where pedestrians and traffic share space more equally. Both are less planning intensive compared to other physical traffic calming methods like roundabouts or one-way streets, and modular, prebuilt versions can be installed simply and inexpensively on existing surfaces. Larger speed humps and their small but forceful cousins, speed bumps, are traffic safety superstars, when put on the right stage.
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