Love or loathe 'em, humps are here to stay

Humps designed to slow traffic along Oxfordshire's congested roads are the latest political hot potato, after sleep-deprived builder Ian Beesley dug one up outside his home.

Speed humps are a bugbear for many in the county, but a lifesaver for others. Community Affairs Reporter Roseena Parveen investigates:

Oxfordshire County Council has vowed to continue using speed humps.

Transport planners have defended the network of 1,000 speed humps in Oxfordshire which hit the headlines after builder Ian Beesley dug one up outside his property.

Mr Beesley, 41, has been charged with criminal damage after he used a JCB to dig up the hump at a pedestrian crossing outside his home in Ferry Hinksey Road, west Oxford, in November.

Ian Beesley remains defiant

He said lorries speeding over it made too much noise.

Residents and motorists have since bombarded the Oxford Mail with their own stories of disturbed sleep, fears over damaged cars and general nuisance caused by humps.

Ruth Godwin, 52, of Cornwallis Road, Cowley, Oxford, collected a petition of residents who complained their homes shook when cars went over humps in their road. Ms Godwin has written to the council every month for 18 months to no avail.

Eddie Luck, assistant director for transport development, said humps would still be used where drivers' needed to be made to slow down.

He said most were brought in because residents had asked for them in the first place.

In a survey last year, Oxfordshire residents listed road safety among their top three issues of concern, alongside vandalism and antisocial behaviour.

The Government has set stringent targets to reduce the number of people killed and injured on the roads by 40 per cent within the next 10 years.

Mr Luck said: "That's one of the key duties of all highways authorities like ours. We know we are very well supported by the local community."

The council is currently assessing 46 requests across the county specifically for traffic calming -- many including humps.

Mr Luck said: "In the 1990s, the target was to cut fatalities by a third by 2000. That was achieved.

The total number of accidents remain the same because of tremendous traffic growth.

"Humps are not just limited to Oxfordshire, and they are not new. They are a nationally accepted tool for reducing casualties. Getting speed down, particularly in residential areas is absolutely critical."

Accidents have fallen dramatically since traffic calming came into being in Oxfordshire in the late 1980s.

The first road hump was in Cuddesdon Way, Blackbird Leys. It was part of a successful project to improve road safety and led to a host of schemes across the county, some of which have been highlighted as a model for good practice by the Government.

The council uses a points system to decide where humps should go.

Engineers look at the traffic flow, speed, and assess the number and type of accidents and casualties. They also take into account nearby community facilities when assessing how many people need to cross the road.

Under the OTS, pedestrians and cyclists are given priority.

The humps are paid for out of a community safety budget, which is set at £800,000 for next year.

But such is the level of support in the community, many road humps are paid for by parish councils.

Mr Luck said: "In a survey on traffic calming last year, about 72 per cent of respondents supported the measures."

Meanwhile, scientists backed by the Government are testing a corrugated road surface which could provide an alternative to speed humps.

The Transport Research Laboratory is looking at ways of combating the failings of the most commonly used traffic calming measure.

Research has shown road humps can increase pollution because cars have to keep braking and accelerating between each one, prompting Government interest in finding alternatives.

The experimental road surface is designed to generate so much noise and vibration inside vehicles that drivers are forced to slow down.

However, Oxfordshire drivers can rest easy -- the pilot schemes are only taking place in Hampshire.

What the emergency services and bus firms think:

Thames Valley Police said the humps had posed no problems for their vehicles and were welcomed as a measure to increase road safety.

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said humps had in the past caused water tanks to split as fire engines jolted over speed humps when they were first introduced.

Modifications were made, making them more acceptable to firefighters.

But divisional officer Peter Tonks said response times could still be affected by the ever-growing number of humps on the roads.

Kennington was highlighted as an area where an extensive network of humps had raised concerns.

He said: "There is no documentary evidence to suggest speed humps have caused significant delays, but the potential is there, especially on stretches of road where there is a long series of humps."

Mr Tonks said firefighters were always consulted before traffic calming measures were introduced and officers were mindful of the need to persuade county engineers to bring in flatter humps where possible.

Oxfordshire Ambulance Service advocates road humps because they cut serious casualties, but operations manager Christine Hewitt admitted they did cause pain to injured patients being driven to hospital.

Bus companies said they would welcome alternatives to humps which have, in the past, damaged vehicles.

Oxford Bus Company commercial manager Phil Clark said: "There are areas of Oxfordshire where we understand there's a need for traffic calming, such as Blackbird Leys, where there has been cases of joyriding, and we are sympathetic.

"Where speed tables (a variation on the traditional speed hump) have been introduced, for example Harcourt Hill, traffic is slowed down and buses and large emergency vehicles can position their wheels through the level section. This means a far more acceptable ride for passengers.

"However, we do not see speed humps as the way forward."

Kennington was missing out on the new generation of low-floor easy-access buses, specifically because it is riddled with humps, Mr Clark said.

Kennington's 15 humps were once the steepest in the county, until bus drivers complained they were damaging their vehicles and made journeys painful for passengers.

It cost £65,000 to implement them in 1991. Since then, serious injury accidents have fallen from an average of 25 a year to 10.

The county and parish councils agreed to lower them.

But the problem persists and Oxford Bus Company is now in talks with transport engineers to find alternative traffic calming measures.

Mr Clark said: "The harshest humps we experience are in Kennington. It is our intention to introduce the new buses to route 35, which serves Kennington, but we are reluctant to do so while the humps are in situ.

"It is our experience that to run these buses over humps so harsh will increase the risk of damage to bodywork and exhausts, as well as being uncomfortable to passengers."

Stagecoach marketing manager David Whitley said the company supported traffic calming because it prevents accidents, but said the council was too focused on road humps.

He said: "Road humps are not the only choice. It is frustrating they are the first choice for so many councils. Not only do they cause discomfort to our customers, but can lead to injury claims from our drivers, some of whom may have to drive over 400 or more humps per shift.

"This is in addition to vehicle damage, with costly repairs to suspension systems, fuel tanks and side panels a common requirement, particularly on our low-floor buses serving Blackbird Leys.

"Our preference has always been for speed cushions, which can be cleared by the wider axles of buses, but not by cars."

Mr Whitley added that some alternatives to the hump were just as bad.

He said: "Chicanes are also no good, since cars park very close to them, making them difficult to manoeuvre around in a bus. They also impede vision along the road."