Retractable Speed Bumps - Neatorama

Mexican firm Decano Industries has developed a speed bump that remains in place when a vehicle that is moving too quickly is about to drive over it, but retracts when a slow-moving vehicle approaches. Christ Hawley writes in USA Today:

"With this speed bump, people will feel rewarded for obeying the law," says Carlos Cano, the company's president.

The technology is relatively basic: The speed bump is formed by two steel plates that form a triangle sticking out of the pavement. When a car tire touches the plate, a patented device under the triangle measures the force of the impact.

If the tire's impact is gentle enough — that is, if the vehicle is traveling slowly — both plates immediately collapse into the ground under the weight of the car.

Link via DVICE | Image: Sergio Solache, USA Today

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It may be a new implementation, but the idea isn't new - there have been pneumatic solutions to the same problem for a decade or more.

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I'm with Biker Ray. Besides, how many times have you seen a driver zoooooooom up to the speed bump, practically stop to go over it, and then zooooooooom away again.

Alignment-wrecking evil things.

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Real smart. Put a barrier in front of a car that you think is going too fast. The faster the higher. Who do I sue when this abomination wrecks a tire or suspension part? How about the poor schmuck who gets hit when my car goes out of control with the aforementioned front end damage?
Down with speed bumps!

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This could wreck havoc on the Mexican economy--at least in my driving experience in Sonora, Mexico. In smaller towns, they have speed bumps that are very long--so you end up driving over them slowly enough so those people living in town can try to sell you stuff like shrimp that have been in sealed plastic bags in the hot sun for hours.

What will these people do when collapsible speed bumps are installed?

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I've always maintained that all speed bumps do is annoy drivers so they go that much faster on the other side. Not to mention increase road rage and provide a distraction.

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