We teamed up with a local council to design new rumble bars and keep cyclists’ safe for years to come.
As the Ride2Work national cycle reaches record registrations, it’s clear that like it or not cycling is here to stay. Cyclists are a common sight these days: whether it’s a pack of them wearing matching jerseys advertising their favourite charity or a family spending time together – cycling is the on-trend activity.
What does more cyclists mean for local councils?
Most people wouldn’t consider riding as a ‘risky’ sport. Regardless, the benefits of cycling ranging from greater health to less traffic on the roads far outweigh any risks. However, as more cyclists use our roads it’s important now more than ever that our roads are up to scratch. While a minor cycling accident might just mean an interruption in traffic, a major accident can be devastating.
The majority of cycling accidents occur as a result of drivers and cyclists colliding. That’s why families and most cyclists skilled or not prefer to ride in a bike lane. Unfortunately, that’s not without concern – a painted bike lane provides only the basic level of separation and can wear away particularly on tight corners where drivers most often cross into the bike lane. While it would be great if drivers would just not drive in bike lanes, the issue is two-fold, cyclists particularly unskilled ones sometimes come out of the bike lane too. When it comes to navigating corners, intersections and roundabouts cyclists are at an even greater risk. It’s no wonder that numerous studies have been conducted on how to keep cyclists safe and drivers happy. Short of building a concrete wall, the verdict has been out for a while now and it’s been proven time and time again that low profile rubber kerbing is effective at keeping drivers out of the bike lane, increasing rider confidence and driver caution.
If low profile rubber kerbing is so effective and can save lives – why don’t we see it everywhere particularly in high risk areas?
Firstly, while it might seem cost effective, when we spoke to local councils we found that most products on the market weren’t cost effective over the long run. Rumble bars and other rubber kerbing often deteriorated quickly from wear and tear. In some cases, the resin skin was easily breaking or cracking from the impact of vehicles. This caused the outer skin to split, exposing the fragile granulated inner core. Once this was exposed, the product quickly disintegrated.
Secondly, most products weren’t that practical and if they were good for keeping drivers out of the bike line they weren’t necessarily great for cyclists. The issue is finding the right width, size and height of rubber kerbing or rumble bars to acts as a deterrent for cars while not causing cyclists to become injured. An independent study found that one of the main rubber kerbing products used by local councils was actually not sufficient in changing driver behaviour particularly on sharp corners where the low profile rubber kerbing, was so low that drivers routinely drove over it.
Not only was this product ineffective, another product on the market was found to cause injury to cyclists due to poor visibility!
This left a significant gap in the market for a high quality and cost effective rumble bar built for the busiest roads with cyclist, drivers and councils in mind.
Our new and improved rumble bar
After listening to Logan City Council we designed a Rumble Bar that was different to the others:
Longer lasting. Our new rumble bar is a quality product. The structural integrity is practically bulletproof using the recycled rubber of the same consistency and formula as has been used successfully in our Speed Hump products. Don’t be fooled by cheap imports, we are the only suppliers of Speed Humps Australia Rumble Bars – a superior quality product.
Improved versatility and safety. We invested in two new moulds to produce a 300mm and 600mm Rumble Bar. Not only were larger reflectors used, we also opted for adding additional reflectors to the sides and ends of the Rumble Bar for increased visibility from all angles. This resulted in extending the number of ways in which our Rumble Bars could be used.
Easier Installation. With the improved structural integrity that resulted from the higher quality rubber raw product, we were easily able to add bolt holes with significant structural seating for the bolts and washers. All the bolts and washers required for installation are supplied with the product.
And here is the result…
Speed Humps Australia is a locally owned Australian business and therefore has the flexibility and desire to listen to the needs of local councils.
We produce products that assist with the improvement of road safety and awareness across Australia.
Should there be other situations where our products – or a newly developed specific product – can be of use, we would be happy to work in partnership with you to find a solution.
