Sppedbumps and Leafy Suburbs

D

daltonr

Guest
Can anyone explain why the speedbumps in D4 particularly those beside RTE, are almost soothingly mild, while in the less exclusive areas of Dublin they are practically Kerbs.

I don't want to go into how I know this, but recent tests beside RTE show that those bumps can be hit at over 40mph with no adverse effect on the car on it's inhabitents.

I would have thought that all speed bumps would be created equal. Is it cynical of me to think that in areas where wealthy and Influential people live, some speed bumps are less equal than others?

-Rd
 
I took a wrong turn driving in city centre of Dublin last weekend (happens frequently, I like to think of it as having little adventures rather than getting lost :) ) and ended up among windy streets at the back of Cork St/Meath St area. The ramps were huge and all I could think of was that there may have been lots of joyriding around the area. Near RTE, certainly on Nutley Road(Lane?) I can understand lower ramps since there'd be ambulances in and out of Vincent's all the time.
 
Re: Speedbumps and Leafy Suburbs

Not sure if there is any truth in this but I did hear once upon a time that the buses have some say in the no./height of spped bumps or is it speed bumps ;)
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

There used to be some speed bumps in UCD Belfield ( I say used to be because I havnt been there for a number of years and so dont know if they are still there )

They were very well designed in that if approached at say 18MPH they hardly disturbed the car but if you went over them at say 28MPH they car got a good bouncing. I reckon it was all down to the right design of curve on the profile of the bump. I've never seen them anywhere else. Shame they havnt been copied.

Anyone else notice these ?

Are they still there ?
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

daltonr - it must be the cynic in you. Otherwise you would have noticed that there is a hospital with A&E down the road - imposing large bumps on ambulance patients doesn't do them much good.

sueellen - Dublin Bus doesn't have much input into their location - ask the residents of Balinteer, their buses spend ages negotiating housing estates riddled with the things.

z
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

Otherwise you would have noticed that there is a hospital with A&E down the road
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Yep, Janet set me straight on that. I'll continue my survey and see if my theory holds up, i.e. What are the other ramps in D4 like? How many ramps are there in D4 compared to Balinteer as you pointed out, or Firhouse for example.
What are the ramps like near other hospitals.

-Rd
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

Well, the ramps in parts of Mount Merrion (around the Rise) are horrendous and I remember a few awful ones in Foxrock (the Hollypark side of it, not near the village). Nice gentle ones on Stillorgan Avenue. Who decides, by the way, on what type of ramps are put in? I know I attended a residents association meeting in Mount Merrion a few years ago and they seemed to be making that decision there and then - but maybe that was just going to be a request to the council.
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

Can you clarify your theory ?

If it is that all speed bumps are created equal then you are already onto a loser on this one - there are many profiles of speed bumps, depending on the situation, location, etc . . .

Roads engineers do sometimes put thought into the location and design of their implementations - and I'm no major fan of roads engineers, but I do acknowledge that they do put some effort in.

If your theory is that speed bumps are not all created equal then you are correct.

If there is some other unspoken theory above then please contact Scully & Mulder or whoever has taken over from them.

z
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

If we're handing out awards for highest bumps in the country, I'd like to kick off with nominating Stoney Road, between the Upper Kilmacud and Taney Roads in Dublin 14. They are phenomenal.
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

D4 and Ballinteer are in in different local authority areas so the approachs are likely to be different. I was in a meeting with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown last year where they said that speed ramps are no longer their policy for control. They are focused on closing rat runs through estates.

Nogser
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

Can you clarify your theory ?

Nope :)

I suppose I don't really have a theory, I just get confused sometimes looking at how roads are put together. From speed bumbs that range from mildly pleasant to almost unpassable.

Roundabouts EVERYWHERE. Why do we have so many damn roundabouts? Even in the Long Stay Car park in the Airport there everywhere. Have we forgotten how to stop or give way?

The cities are full of road markings that are no longer valid, they occasionally burn off the old markings often they don't. There are yellow boxes that are gradually wearing away, but you still need to observe them to be on the safe side, even though the intersection no longer exists.

And don't get me started on silly speed limits e.g. the infamous 60km/h (37mph) Naas dual carriageway, which contrary to popular belief is not because of road works.

I guess I'm just looking around at the level of tax motorists pay and I'm wondering about the product we get for our money.

-Rd
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

Hi RD,

the infamous 60km/h (37mph) Naas dual carriageway, which contrary to popular belief is not because of road works.
Click to expand...

I rang Kildare CoCo on this one and the very pleasant engineer who I spoke to explained that the NRA had instructed the local authority to place a speed limit of 40mph (now 37 mph) on the dual carriageway in advance of work actually commencing.

He said that they were getting tons of calls about the situation and that he expected it would be taken up with the NRA as a matter of priority.

I have a feeling this will become a major by election issue.

ajapale
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

4" LEGAL LIMIT!!?!
I read some time ago that 4" is the proper height of ramps.
A court case was won for damage to vehicle for ramp that was too high.Can anyone verify this info.
The cost of this shoddy work in damage to cars etc. must be in the millions.Maybe a mechanic could give some stats on shock absorber damage before and after ramps.
 
Naas

the NRA had instructed the local authority to place a speed limit of 40mph (now 37 mph) on the dual carriageway in advance of work actually commencing.
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I checked this evening, there's 3.5 miles of road from the end of the Motorway until you even hit the roadworks. So I suspect you're friend was right, the entire road has been set to 60 even though they aren't working on most of it.

The interesting thing is that even where there is road works the logic is that the lanes are narrow.

Any one of those lanes is still wider than some of the roads around the country with 100km/h in which cars are moving in opposite directions, e.g. in the vicinity of Goran/Thomastown etc.

That's completely ignoring what are essentially back roads that have 80km/h lanes. 60km/h is lunacy when you have traffic coming off a Motorway at 120km/h, where is the traffic supposed to go????

As for the road works argument, are there road works on the 60km/h Lucan to M50 road that I didn't know about?

I managed this evening to stick to the 60km/h, unfortunately I did most of it on the hard shoulder in third gear.

If they're not going to enforce this limit then I don't know how the one or two idiots like me who try to obey it are supposed to survive as cars speed alongside, behind and around us. It isn't safe.

I shudder to think that these limits will be in place long enough to become an election issue. 80km/h is a sensible speed in the circumstances. It should be changed.

-Rd
 
Roads

DaltonR I sympathise with you deeply........so much so I don't drive or keep a car.

In Friesland, Holland, they've taken away all traffic-lights, speed-limits, directions and accidents have fallen to zero. Drivers are not able to drive "by the rules" (which are often counterintuitive as you point out) but on eye-contact and wakefulness.

Mind you the Dutch have a lot of experience of acknowledging the proximity of other vulnerable structures called "other people" as Holland is the most densely-populated country in Europe. Still, it's thought provoking.
 
unfortunately I did most of it on the hard shoulder in third gear.
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I thought it was illegal to drive in the hard shoulder?

Marion :hat
 
Daltonr, why not turn off at the Poitin Stil and go at 100 kph down the roads that are so narrow that two cars can't pass each other at some stages without one of them pulling into the ditch. To you and me these roads might seem more dangerous than the main road... but not so, otherwise they would have a lower speed limit!
 
Re: Speedbumps and Leafy Suburbs

I thought it was illegal to drive in the hard shoulder?
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It is, but when you've got Trucks and cars coming up behind you at 50 to 60 mph and you're dawdling along at 35mph it tends to be a little difficult to hold the line.

Now, I know the other drivers were breaking the law, and I should have every right to be where I am doing the speed I was, but let's get real here. Unless that ridiculus limit is going to be enforced so that a decent percentage of drivers obey it, it will be too dangerous for individual drivers to obey it.

Twice I had trucks overtake me only to find another truck coming up behind him not realising that there would be a car doing 35mph.

I made a judgement call that it was safer in busy traffic to drive on the hard shoulder (Not for the entire journey, but most of the way from the M50 until the actual roadworks, about 3.5 miles). Remember I was travelling slightly slower than a tractor.

This morning southbound traffic was very light so I was able to use the road and keep to the limit.

Purple, I agree with re: the minor roads. It's laughable that Narrow Lanes are the supposed reason for this stupid stupid speed limit.

I'll most likely be trundling along in the hard shoulder tonight. give me a wave if you see me. I'm the one with the John Kerry Bumper sticker.

Don't walk out in front of me, my eyes will be glued to the Speedo trying to stay below 60 km/h.

Would any member of Kildare Co Co be willing to swear that they obey this limit? I doubt it.

-Rd
 
The best i have seen is traffic lights on a speedramp outside Baldoyle shopping centre you drive on them and the lights change then. Also the speedramps in swords outside the overflow car park for the fingal county council have to be the worst as they go into all the adjoining roads and you nearly cut out i say these do some damage to everyones car
 
Re: Talking of speed bumps

ajapale:

I rang Kildare CoCo on this one and the very pleasant engineer who I spoke to explained that the NRA had instructed the local authority to place a speed limit of 40mph (now 37 mph) on the dual carriageway in advance of work actually commencing.

He said that they were getting tons of calls about the situation and that he expected it would be taken up with the NRA as a matter of priority.
Click to expand...

I drove to Newbridge and back last weekend and NO ONE was doing 60kph. In fact, most people were exceeding 60mph.

Me, being a responsible citizen, kept the Bondmobile under 60mph. :)
 
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