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  1. Naked Science Forum
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  4. How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
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How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?

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Offline nudephil (OP)

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How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« on: 06/11/2020 14:57:51 »
We got this interesting question in from Neerav:

I have a question about car efficiency while driving in London. There are a lot of speedbumps… and there are a lot of 20mph limits. How does that affect the efficiency of using fuel? Does it change the level of exhaust and noise pollution? Slowing down and accelerating constantly surely is not efficient. Are there figures to justify this reasoning? Has it lowered accidents, have there been more accidents because of phone use instead thereby skewing results? Does it affect efficiency for hybrid/electric cars? 
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Offline alancalverd

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #1 on: 06/11/2020 15:41:10 »
Early experiments in Glasgow showed no change in accident rates or severity with a 20 mph speed limit. Serious injury is mostly caused by collisions at closing speeds in excess of 30 mph, whatever the speed limit may be.

It should be possible to drive over a speed bump at the speed limit without damage to the vehicle. If not, the bump is an illegal obstruction to the Queen's Highway and must be removed, and the person or organisation who put it there fined. The test is quite simple: whoever signed the order to place a speed bump must drive his own car over it, say 20 times, at the speed limit, on a wet road with oncoming traffic.

So no need to brake or accelerate. The real problem with speed bumps is the danger to cyclists, the amount of noise they create when driven over by trucks with loose cargo, and the fact that people swerve to avoid them or brake unnecessarily on approaching them.
« Last Edit: 06/11/2020 15:44:18 by alancalverd »
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Offline evan_au

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #2 on: 06/11/2020 21:05:50 »
Braking and accelerating is not efficient in petrol/gas fueled vehicles.
It is less of a problem with hybrid and electric vehicles.
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Offline strongernow

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #3 on: 09/11/2020 08:30:12 »
Quote from: evan_au on 06/11/2020 21:05:50
Braking and accelerating is not efficient in petrol/gas fueled vehicles.
It is less of a problem with hybrid and electric vehicles.

But don't they use those bumps for environmental reasons?
I would love to see a study that shows how pollution increased due to those bumps.
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Offline Colin2B

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #4 on: 09/11/2020 09:03:56 »
Quote from: strongernow on 09/11/2020 08:30:12
But don't they use those bumps for environmental reasons?
I would love to see a study that shows how pollution increased due to those bumps.

The effect of speed bumps and humps on the concentrations of CO, NO and NO2 in ambient air

T. Januševičius & R. Grubliauskas
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health volume 12, pages635–642(2019)


Abstract

Traffic-calming measures act as the instruments to reduce the speed of vehicles. They make a major contribution to road safety; however, on the other hand, air pollution is more likely to occur due to the fact that motor vehicles use brakes and accelerate more frequently. The study reviewed two types of traffic-calming devices, that is, trapezoid-shaped speed humps made of asphalt and plastic circular speed bumps. The obtained results showed an increase in the concentrations of NO, NO2 and CO found in the pollutants emitted from the vehicles approaching speed bumps/humps compared to the concentrations of the same types of pollutants at the check points. As for trapezoidal speed humps, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide increased on average by 1.8 times, that of nitrogen monoxide by 4.3 times and that of carbon monoxide by 2.2 times. Meanwhile, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide at circular plastic speed bumps rose on average by 2.5 times, that of nitric monoxide by 5.0 times and that of carbon monoxide by 3.2 times.
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Offline strongernow

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #5 on: 09/11/2020 12:33:03 »
Quote from: Colin2B on 09/11/2020 09:03:56
Quote from: strongernow on 09/11/2020 08:30:12
But don't they use those bumps for environmental reasons?
I would love to see a study that shows how pollution increased due to those bumps.

The effect of speed bumps and humps on the concentrations of CO, NO and NO2 in ambient air

T. Januševičius & R. Grubliauskas
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health volume 12, pages635–642(2019)


Abstract

Traffic-calming measures act as the instruments to reduce the speed of vehicles. They make a major contribution to road safety; however, on the other hand, air pollution is more likely to occur due to the fact that motor vehicles use brakes and accelerate more frequently. The study reviewed two types of traffic-calming devices, that is, trapezoid-shaped speed humps made of asphalt and plastic circular speed bumps. The obtained results showed an increase in the concentrations of NO, NO2 and CO found in the pollutants emitted from the vehicles approaching speed bumps/humps compared to the concentrations of the same types of pollutants at the check points. As for trapezoidal speed humps, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide increased on average by 1.8 times, that of nitrogen monoxide by 4.3 times and that of carbon monoxide by 2.2 times. Meanwhile, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide at circular plastic speed bumps rose on average by 2.5 times, that of nitric monoxide by 5.0 times and that of carbon monoxide by 3.2 times.

Thanks a lot!
Still I don't know which would be more important to me to make a decision : stop the air pollution or calm the traffic for the safety .. maybe a solution is the support of more electro cars and bikes
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Offline Xeon

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #6 on: 09/11/2020 18:54:19 »
Quote from: nudephil on 06/11/2020 14:57:51
We got this interesting question in from Neerav:

I have a question about car efficiency while driving in London. There are a lot of speedbumps… and there are a lot of 20mph limits. How does that affect the efficiency of using fuel? Does it change the level of exhaust and noise pollution? Slowing down and accelerating constantly surely is not efficient. Are there figures to justify this reasoning? Has it lowered accidents, have there been more accidents because of phone use instead thereby skewing results? Does it affect efficiency for hybrid/electric cars? 
how on earth :-\
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Offline NakedTruth

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Re: How do speed bumps affect car efficiency, pollution, or accidents?
« Reply #7 on: 11/11/2020 09:10:48 »
I also thought they would use those bumps for environmental reasons.
I guess pollution is increased due to those bumps, but yes, it`s an interesting topic.
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