CALMING RISK
Problems with Traffic Calming Projects
Calming Risk provides traffic calming information often overlooked or deliberately supressed by anti-car activists, transportation planners and government representatives.
We are regularly adding resources. Look for the notation NEW LINK when you return.
Overview
- "This and That - The speed bump dilemma"
http://www.tbnweekly.com/content_articles/101905_vpt-02.txt
(link added January 2006)
" The bumps are designed to sidetrack traffic to other streets and residential areas, causing increased risks to children who live in these neighborhoods. Diverted traffic means more travel time and further risks of accidents."
Thomas Michalski, Tampa Bay Newspapers Online, October 19, 2005 - "Takes issue with speed humps" - letter to editor in response to above article
http://www.tbnweekly.com/content_articles/102805_pol-06.txt?archiveview
(link added January 2006)
" The anecdotal evidence reported by and about people with disabilities is backed up in the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory publication titled, “Impact of road humps on vehicles and their occupants” (TRL-614). From their limited model and study, the authors reported there were no problems EXCEPT for people with certain “medical conditions” and for folks riding in certain vehicles (such as the passengers in London taxicabs)."
Tampa Bay Newspapers Online, October 28, 2005
Analysis of Flawed Science
- "Oakland's Study Falsely Finds Humps Make Streets Safer for Children"
http://ti.org/vaupdate63.html - html version (link added August 2006)
https://ti.org/calmingrisk.com/reviewtesterajph.pdf - pdf version with references included
"To top it off, the paper relied on data showing when speed humps were installed on Oakland streets after 1995. Yet, in correspondence, the authors admit that an unknown number of Oakland streets -- at least 125 -- had speed humps installed before 1995. Since these were not in their database, any accidents on those streets would have been counted as accidents on streets without speed humps. This error could easily account for the differences, statistically insignificant though they may be, estimated by the paper."
Randal O'Toole and Kathleen Calongne, Independence Institute Center for the American Dream, August 12, 2006
(An analysis of "A matched Case-Control Study Evaluating the Effectiveness of Speed Humps in Reducing Child Pedestrian Injuries", Tester JM, Rutherford GW, Wald Z, Rutherford MW., American Journal of Public Health, 2004; 94:646-650.)
Analysis of Negative Impacts on Emergency Response
- "Six Minutes to Live or Die"
https://ti.org/calmingrisk.com/ambresptimes.html (link added January 2006)
"People die needlessly because some cities fail to make basic, often inexpensive changes in the way they deploy ambulances, paramedics and fire trucks."
Robert Davis, Mary Grote, In-Sung Yoo and Rati Bishnoi, USA Today, July 28-30, 2003
- "Speed trapped "
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/features/story.asp?id=1887
(link added September 2005)
"It is accepted, however, that speed humps do slow emergency vehicles, be it ambulances or fire trucks, and Regency Park residents fear those delays may end up costing lives."
Orlando Weekly, August 16, 2000
- "The Effects of Speed Humps and Traffic Circles on Responding Fire-Rescue
Apparatus in Montgomery County, Maryland"
https://ti.org/calmingrisk.com/FireMtgyCoMDtestSUMMARY.pdf
(link added June 2011 NEW LINK)
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Commission, August 1997
"The results of the Montgomery County speed hump and traffic circle tests confirmed
that these two types of traffic calming devices cause delays for fire-rescue vehicles en route
to incidents. The amount of delay was found to be dependent upon three factors -- vehicle
type/size, type of traffic calming device, and driver discretion regarding speed."
- "Deaths Expected from Delayed Emergency Response
Due to Neighborhood Traffic Mitigation"
https://ti.org/calmingrisk.com/Bowman1997studyBoulderCO.pdf
(link added June 2011 NEW LINK)
Ronald R. Bowman, Submitted to the City Council of Boulder, Colorado, 3 April 1997
"Even with these rather absurd allowances, nearly 10 lives are
predicted to be lost, over time, for each one saved by full implementation of the NTMP."
This study has been replicated elsewhere with similar results. The full text of the paper
as presented to the Boulder City Council has not been available online for a number of years.
Click on the above link for problems created by some traffic calming devices
for persons with a variety of disabilities. Also, learn some of the problems,
illustrated in the photo, for occupants of vehicles who are disabled, for pedestrians
using wheelchairs and for ambulatory pedestrians who are vision impaired or have other balance
challenges.
Traffic Safety Advocates Acknowledge Problems
- "... you’ve got traffic braking to go -- bump, bump -- over the speed bump and then speeding up between ..."
https://ti.org/calmingrisk.com/engwicht.html (link added November 2005)
"“Speed bumps aren’t the panacea that a lot of people think they are because …. somebody has to put up with the noise of people going over them outside their house and, interestingly enough, the people between the speed bumps have to put up with faster traffic.”
Clark (County) Vancouver TV, David Engwicht, October 19, 2005
Other Resources
- United Kingdom
- United States
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Email: calmingrisk@yahoo.com