Study on speed profile across speed bumps

Abstract

A speeding vehicle can be a menace to other road users particularly on roads where interaction between motorized and non-motorized traffic is high, such as residential streets, school zones and community areas. Although speed limit signs are placed in accordance with the requirements of the standards, much is left to the conscience of the drivers whether they should abide by them. Hence, controlling vehicular speeds is an important issue in traffic management. The best way to influence driver speed is through traffic management. One way of controlling speed is to use static speed control devices like bumps which produces discomfort while driver experiences while crossing over it. Road bumps play a crucial role in enforcing speed limits, thereby preventing over speeding of vehicles. It significantly contributes to the overall road safety objective through the prevention of accidents that lead to death of pedestrians and damage of vehicles. This thesis aims to present the results of a study on the performance of road bumps used in India in reducing vehicle speed. The purpose of this work is to study speed across bumps, like speed at bump, speed reduction, deceleration and acceleration by having a detailed survey of vehicular behavior near bumps of various heights. The speed profile of vehicles are determined and analyzed at various locations along the road prior to the bump, on the bump and after the bump. A critical speed change analysis has been conducted and the result presented for various vehicle category and type of bumps at various locations.