Cuts put the brake on traffic calming

Barnsley Council yesterday said that communities which asked for speed humps on residential roads were likely to have their requests refused because no cash was available for such projects.

Senior councillors also said the humps had become unpopular with some motorists and had occasionally led to legal claims from people who said their vehicles had been damaged by them.

The news was welcomed by drivers’ groups who claimed that speed humps were ineffective and simply moved traffic problems elsewhere.

However, council leader Steve Houghton said yesterday that 
the authority would not introduce a blanket “no speed hump” 
policy and would still consider them in major accident blackspots.

He added: “The general policy now is that we will not install speed humps because our ability to do so has been drastically reduced as a result of cuts imposed by the Government.

“So when people contact the council asking if it is a possibility, as they do quite often, we will almost certainly have to say no unless there is an overwhelming health and safety case.”

Coun Roy Miller, the authority’s cabinet member for highways, had previously said that part of the reason for stopping the installation of speed humps was that they were unpopular with drivers.

He said: “Because of all the trouble we have been having with them, in that half the public want them and half the public don’t, the council decided to stop them.”

Coun Miller also said that people had been “putting in claims against damage to their cars” although the authority said it had only received two claims relating to speed humps in the last 12 months.

It is thought that those claims were made by drivers who had lowered the suspension on their cars, leading to bodywork damage when they drive over the bumps at speed.

But local authorities are able to reject such claims because lowered cars often do not meet the requirements of an MoT test, meaning any action over damage is void.

Roger Lawson, a spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, and the organisation’s expert representative on speed humps, said many motorists would be pleased to hear of the council’s decision, whatever the reason for it being taken.

He added: “We would welcome any news that means that speed humps, will not be installed on roads across the country, because data shows that they don’t work in any case.

“We are opposed to speed humps for this reason and we have campaigned against them, with several councils already abandoning them as a traffic calming measure.”

However, road safety charity Brake said it was concerned to hear of the council’s decision. A spokesman said; “People, especially children, have the right to get out in their communities without feeling afraid of fast traffic.

“We want more government investment in road safety to protect everyone who uses roads, prevent needless tragedies, and save the £1.6m every road death costs the economy.”