What Happens if You Hit a Speed Bump Hard?

Many locations now use rubber speed humps to calm traffic and reduce the speed of the car to a safer level in a passive manner. A speed hump should always be accompanied by appropriate signage warning the driver to slow down. Most drivers naturally apply the brakes when they encounter a speed hump, but others don’t, and then a number of things could occur. In this article, we will take a closer look at the consequences of hitting a speed hump hard in your car.

The Anatomy of a Speed Hump

A speed hump is designed to slow down your car by providing a small obstacle that will remind you that it’s there and blunt some of the forward kinetic energy of the vehicle. This isn’t a roadblock; the height of a speed hump can vary from 7.5cm up to 10cm at the top of the hump. The length of a typical speed hump would somewhere between 3.7m up to 4.25m at the upper end of the range.

The Purpose of the Speed Hump

The real purpose of a speed hump is to bring the speed of the vehicle down to a more acceptable level to promote safety in an accident prone area. These devices are a proven technology to reduce a vehicle's speed down to around 25-30 kph. At the actual hump, the speed is reduced to around ten kph to navigate the hump without undue levels of comfort. Once the speed hump has been passed, the driver will be able to accelerate a little to the aforementioned 25-30 kph range until they meet the next hump and slow down. This will continue until the car clears the area and the length of the area covered by the speed hump is dictated by the particular speed related problems in that specific area.

The Speed Bump

A speed hump should not be confused with a speed bump. They may sound the same and function in a broadly similar fashion, but they work differently. A speed bump is designed with a steeper angle on the approach to rapidly slow a vehicle down. A speed bump is often installed on private roads and driveways to slow down the vehicles of unwanted visitors. If a speed bump is crossed at speed, a driver will experience an extreme change in elevation, and it’s very likely that their car will be damaged in the process.

What Happens if You Hit a Speed Hump Hard?

The first thing damaged on many cars is the spoiler and/or any low bumpers. They can become easily scratched, and a more expensive carbon fibre unit could even be ripped off entirely. Splash guards and mufflers are also at risk; these parts can get held up on the lip of the speed hump and then they are torn off if the speed is too high.

If you’re looking for rubber speed humps in Perth, get in touch with Image Bollards for expert help and advice.

Supply and install high quality security bollards around Australia, we supply wide range of bollards including steel bollards, removable, along with rubber wheel stops.