Speed bumps are traffic-calming tools and promote safe driving in neighborhoods with children and shopping centers

Speeding cars through a residential neighborhood where children play or wait for the school buys is every parent’s nightmare. When we lived in Franklin Farms, I would have liked a speed bump on the “straightaway” in our cul-de-sac community. There were dozens of children on the street in the summer after school let out. But we were informed there had to be a terrible accident, injury or death before we could get this traffic calming device. A recent news article discussed the fact that Montgomery County is considering rules that would mean more speed bumps on the county’s streets. “The traffic-calming tools have been contentious for years, creating the opposite effect of the usual not-in-my-backyard dynamic. Some residents want them on their streets so cars don’t whiz by their homes. But those who live elsewhere — or even a few streets away — don’t like humping over the bumps.”

Emergency responders have complained about the bumps, saying they can slow ambulances and firetrucks during emergencies and damage their equipment.  The ABRAMS LANDAU law firm has even tried a case involving a speed bump (or speed hump) injury.  The humps are allowed on roads that carry 100 vehicles per hour. To read the rest of the Washington newspaper article. There is now a proposal for a sliding scale that takes speed and traffic volume into account. As someone who has seen too many injuries from speeding cars and trucks in the DC Metro area as both an injury lawyer and as an eyewitness, I would be one of those people who favors more speed bumps on residential streets where there are lots of children or dangerous shopping center crossings near groceries, big box retailers, markets and other high-volume stores.