Distance between speed humps and pedestrian crossings: Does it matter?

Abstract

Speed humps are a common physical measure installed at pedestrian crossings to reduce vehicle speeds therefore improve the safety and mobility of pedestrians at the crossing. The aim of this study was to determine whether variations in distance between speed humps and pedestrian crossings contribute differently to the safety and mobility of pedestrians and cyclists, especially children and the elderly, and if so, how. Three sites in Sweden were studied, where vehicle speed measurements and video filming at the site resulted in manually coded, road user behaviour of 1972 pedestrians and cyclists. Road user behaviour at three test sites and two comparison sites equipped with speed cushion at distances of about 5m and 10 m from the pedestrian crossing, i.e. about one or two car lengths, were studied. As vehicle speeds were somewhat lower at the pedestrian crossing when the distance between the speed cushion to the pedestrian crossing was greater, and there were positive aspects regarding the mobility of the pedestrians and cyclists, a greater distance of about 10 m or two car lengths between the hump and the pedestrian crossing is suggested. The present study only covers speed cushions, but the same distance is also regarded as important when installing other types of physical measures to reduce vehicle speed.

Traffic Calming Measures: An Evaluation of the Effect on Driving Speed

“…Speed humps, like other speed calming measures, have advantages and disadvantages (noise, vibration, pollution). Therefore, the researchers [13,14,15,16] still continue their studies related to speed humps seeking to determine the most effective parameters, spacing, etc.…”

Design of crosswalks for children A synthesis of best practice

“…A synthesis of best practice destrian crossing. (Johansson, Rosander, & Leden, 2011). We have still included the site since speeds were very similar to those in Malmö, and the behavioral studies were useful.…”

“…Similarly, drivers' and pedestrians' behavior at pedestrian crossings has been extensively researched, see, e.g., Johansson (2004) and Várhelyi (1998). However, the influence of the distance between a speed hump and a pedestrian crossing was not a focus of any study until 2011, when it was concluded that the optimal distance from such a device to the crosswalk is about 10 m if the speed limit is 30 km/h or lower (Johansson, Rosander & Leden, 2011). Swedish guidelines still do not discuss the distance between the speed hump and the crossing explicitly.…”

The Effects of Campus Bump on Drivers’ Fixation Dispersion and Speed Reduction

“…Based on those studies mentioned above, we cannot draw firm conclusions about the spatial effectiveness of the devices because of the following. (1) Vehicle speeds were usually recorded at few spots, such as at 2 or 3 points [4,10,11] along the road segment; therefore, we have limited information of how vehicle speeds change along the entire road segment. (2) Speed indicators used in these researches are collective indexes; some bias may be induced due to loss of information of the data aggregation process, that is, the socalled ecological fallacy.…”