With hundreds of new suburbs popping up all over the nation every year, keeping our residential streets safe with speed humps is more important than ever.
With housing availability – or a lack thereof – dominating the headlines, an increasing number of Australian families are leaving the big smoke and heading to the outer suburbs, and the growing number of new housing developments that can be found within them.
The Australian usage of the term ‘suburb’ differs from common American and British usage, where it typically means a smaller, frequently separate residential community outside, but close to, a larger city. The Australian usage is closer to the American or British use of ‘district’ or ‘neighbourhood’, and can be used to refer to any portion of a city. Unlike the use in British or American English, this term can include inner-city, outer-metropolitan and industrial areas.
Suburbs, as primarily residential parts of cities with a lower density of jobs and activity but with larger houses and more open space, tend to be home to families. Despite the extra space, anywhere that combines notable volumes of people and cars require safety measures to keep the streets safe, such as speed humps.
The Positive Impact Of Speed Humps In Residential Streets
If you take a drive through the suburban streets of an Australian housing estate or development, you will usually notice a few local area traffic management measures already in place. Councils will often install devices such as speed platforms, roundabouts, traffic islands and kerb build-outs to provide a safe environment for pedestrians and cyclists, discourage non-local traffic in neighbourhood streets, and moderate vehicle speeds.
In fact, local area traffic management is an essential component of any new housing development, as new residential precincts need to have proper town planning in place to prevent future headaches further down the track. Thanks to their relatively low upfront costs and high return on investment, the installation of speed humps in suburban streets is often a key tool deployed to keep the roads safe.
As speed humps are incredibly effective for applying the ‘Three E’s’ to road safety – engineering, enforcement and education – it’s no surprise that they’re becoming an increasingly common sight throughout our nation’s suburban landscapes – but how exactly do they work?
Well, when they are properly deployed in a strategic position, speed humps can be used to prevent traffic from regaining speed or developing it in the first place in suburban neighbourhoods. While some cars may be more likely to avoid taking detours through residential streets if they know that speed humps are present, others who need to travel this way have an increased awareness of the fact that children and other hazards may be present, and that they need to keep their speed low for a reason.
Although speed humps are often installed in high traffic road areas, such as near schools, in larger commercial car parks, and near pedestrian crossings, they are increasingly relied upon to manage traffic in built up residential estates. The speed range that a speed hump lowers a car to is greater than a speed bump, with the former reducing road speeds down to anywhere between ten to fifty kilometres an hour.
This is because a speed hump covers a longer section of road, sometimes as much as a full wheel rotation, making a speed hump a less aggressive obstacle for cars when compared to a speed bump. The primary benefit of speed humps in suburban streets is although they still permit faster travel in an efficient manner, they will still discourage excessive speed.
In addition to being a well engineered visual tool and physical speed barrier, councils and town planners can rest easy knowing that while speed humps are an incredibly effective traffic calming tool, they’re also removable in the event that they need to be transported or replaced.
In Australia, road safety is an extremely serious business – and it should be. Although getting behind the wheel of a car is something that many of us do multiple times per day, the likelihood of an accident is sadly on the rise. By encouraging your local council to install speed humps on your street, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve done your part.
Partner With The Experts On Road Safety
At Speed Humps Australia, we’ve spent twenty years focusing on one thing: to provide one style of product, and to do it exceptionally well. We have worked tirelessly to develop specifications that do not fade or deteriorate, are easy to install, and are made from high-quality, recycled rubber for minimal environmental impact.
With just a handful of our clients around the nation including KFC, Taco Bell, McDonalds and numerous local governments and mining operations, our rumble bars, speed humps and wheel stops have been purposefully designed to truly go the distance.
As our design and production is all handled in house and supplied Australia wide, get in touch with us today to request a quote or discuss how we can help with providing a tailored solution to your unique project requirements.
