What if speed bumps rewarded you for obeying the speed limit?
Let’s face it, speed bumps are a curse for motorists but they have good intentions. Their role to curb speed in residential areas, shopping districts and outside schools is necessitated by idiots who drive like morons and mow down pensioners and innocent young folk. The problem is that, due to the inappropriate speeds of these imbeciles, we all have to suffer. But what if speed bumps rewarded you for obeying the speed limit?
Designers Jae-yun Kim & Jong-Su Lee seem to have come up with a clever fix for us law abiding drivers in a super ingenious way. Their design is based on retractors that open if the impact with them is small enough and can be set to the speed limit of the road. If a car is going below 30km/h, the speed bump flattens; over 30km/h, the force causes the retractor to stay closed, keeping the speed bump active. Therefore, drive under the speed limit set for the road and no speed bumps. Hurrah!
They also state it has some environmental positives “Encouraging drivers to retain a constant slow speed will reduce the amount of stops and starts made, and thus, the amount of exhaust waste from the car. It is hoped that this retractable speed hump would therefore have positive effects on energy consumption and pollution.”
We are not sure if this will catch on in Dubai as this educational video from the Road Transport Authority (not really) demonstrates with a flying Gallardo.
Hat tip – Mohammad Al Falasi
