Bumps erected Countrywide should be regulated as they are a cause of accidents

 Bumps erected Countrywide should be regulated as they are a cause of accidents


The Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KEBS) published the design standard in November 2000 but it has largely been ignored. The standard  KS774:2000  says that  the maximum height of a speed bump is 10cm above the road surface,but in exceptional circumstances,the height can be increased to 20cm.ln Kenya there are very many speed bumps and with varying sizes and shapes and they need to be removed or be reduced. In 1999, the Department for Transport announced that speed bumps must be a minimum height of 2.5cm and maximum height of 10cm. This then means that drivers must slow down to a speed of around 5mph to navigate a road speed bump without damage.Speed bumps are to be affixed for an area to have a  20 mph speed limit and where there are street lights and low traffic. Areas that are well-lighted with the vigorous speed of vehicles are especially main areas where speed bumps and humps should be installed.1-in-40 means that for every 40cm travelled horizontally, the bump rises only one centimetre. So, the highest bump should ascend over a distance of 400cm and then descend for another 400cm along the direction of the road. In other words, the entire speed bump should be at least 8m.Similar calculations reveal that the highest (20cm) and steepest (1-in-20) bump also straddles over a total of 8m along the road. Even the very long and very low Mercedes S-Class Pullman (4.315m between front and rear tyres and 15cm ground clearance) will go over such a bump without getting scratched underneath.Speed bump are formed from two inclined straight surfaces one ascending, the other descending. But, normally, they are in the shape of an arc of a circle. To stay below the maximum limit of the gradient, the curved profile requires an additional 2m along the road bringing the total size to about 10m.

Nearly all the speed bumps in Kenya are substandard. The speed bumps make vehicles lose control and make traffic on the highway slow down resulting in a traffic Jam.Some years back a Cabinet Secretary promised that the government was set to remove the speed bumps from major highways following complaints and also a court case was filled in court.The speed bumps have proven to be fatal avenue for traffic Jams and a motoring nuisance  cause accidents, traffic jams and they break cars. They are a good for nothing and they must be removed.ln Mombasa County some bumps are erected by residents and they use cement making the bumps sharp and dangerous.Other bumps are so thick that a vehicle swings on the bump before descending down.Some of these bumps destroys parts under the vehicles and it is a high time the Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KEBS) made an audit of these bumps.There are thousands of very large mounds of soil on tarmac built into the road surfaces. But these are not speed bumps.In the rural areas they erect the bumps using moulds of soil to deter boda boda riders from speeding in the villages. In kenya speed bumps are ubiquitous.Kenya bureau of standards in conjunctions with the road board should erect   signboards showing bumps  eg 500m ahead.

The Spacing and location of this speed calming measures and the length of the road segment where they are installed affect operating speeds on the affected roads. Traffic operation elements to consider include speeds, volumes and mix, emergency vehicle access, transit routes, vehicle and cargo damage, and environmental impacts.Kenya motorists are threatened by the speed bumps and constantly have to take vehicles for repairs.Indeed the worst bumps are the once put up by villagers ( the ones made from mounds of earth). Imagine  a driver coming at a speed of 160kph and  the person has only 70 meters to 

brake.This is both dangerous to drivers,passengers and pedestrians and it is a high time Kenya bureau of standards and the Kenya Roads board came together and arrested this situations Countrywide to save lives of people using the roads.

By

Veronica onjoro

Director Career organisations 

onjoroveronica@yahoo.com

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