Personal Injury News

A speed reduction of one mile an hour reduced personal injury accidents by 5% to 6%

An ‘epidemic’ of road humps in residential streets has done little for safety and just annoys drivers, the Lords heard today.

Labour peers’ chairman Lord Dubs said: There has been an epidemic of these road humps, certainly all over London. They don’t help the police, the ambulances or the fire services.

I doubt very much whether they add to road safety. But they may provide a bonanza for the firms that repair suspensions and shock absorbers.

Is it not a bit of a waste of money by local authorities at a time when money is tight? Is there anything the Government can do to advise local authorities to desist?

Lord Davies of Oldham, for transport ministers, said speed humps were the most effective traffic calming measure. A speed reduction of one mile an hour reduced personal injury accidents by 5% to 6%.

Tory ex-minister Lord Roberts of Conwy described the humps at London’s Euston and Waterloo stations as notoriously vicious and dangerous.

Crossbencher Baroness Strange commented: The word ‘traffic calming’ is rather confusing because, the traffic calming measures do tend to aggravate even the nicest and kindest and slowest of drivers.

Lord Davies replied, to laughter: I think the concept of calming, is addressed to the vehicle rather than to the personality of the driver.

Lord Rotherwick, for Tories, said Yorkshire had a £4m fleet of new ambulances “sitting idle, because they can’t get over road humps. And Barnet Council in north London was now removing its humps because of ambulances.

Lord Davies said most councils were besieged by residents demanding more traffic calming measures but he acknowledged that there may have been excessive enthusiasm for road humps in some council areas.

The Scotsman: 08/12/2003

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