Speed bumps are bad for the planet

[DanielXR8]

From Autoblog. Makes interesting reading.

Maybe every speed camera is an environmental vandal? Is Victoria destroying the planet?

Britain's Automobile Association has found another bump in the road to environmental kindness: speed bumps and really low speed limits. They took a car that got 58-mpg running a constant 30-MPH, and ran it over speedbumps at the Millbrook Proving Ground, slowing down and speeding up for each bump. What they discovered was that mileage dropped to 31-mpg and carbon dioxide emissions went up. The findings correlate with those of the country's Transport Research Laboratory, which reported that "carbon monoxide emissions are increased by as much as 82% and nitrous oxide levels by 37% on roads with speed bumps."

The AA also found that setting the speed limit at 20-MPH instead of 30-MPH raised car emissions and consumption by 10-percent. Along with the speed bump results, these are intriguing findings, but in the real world, how long do you spend each day driving over speed bumps, and driving 20-MPH? The AA says that it knows speeds need to be kept down on residential roads to keep children safe, but thinks that "average speed cameras" would be more acceptable to the driving public. Based on the comments we get at Autoblog about speed cameras, we doubt it.

[bob^]

I wish my street had speed 6 or so speed humps in its 500m length - it has none.

[fmc351]

All they had to do was look at any magazine review of any car to find that speedbumps decrease efficiency. Stopping and starting is bound to mess with economy, city v highway figures should tell them that.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by DanielXR8

but thinks that "average speed cameras" would be more acceptable to the driving public.

and there it is.
the driving force behind the study.
safety - no
save the environment - no
another way for revenue - yes.