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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Keely Greenwood & Alice Clifford & Bradley Jolly

Drivers' fury at optical illusion speed bumps that are an 'absolute waste of paint'

Fake speed bumps - made to look like real ones - have been branded a waste of money because it's said drivers often ignore them.

Motorists reportedly know the virtual 2D speed bumps are not real, so they maintain their speed along the busy road which leads to two different schools in Swanscombe, Kent.

The virtual humps have been painted onto the road to act like optical illusions.

But Katie Bell, drives along the road every day, said: "It is an absolute waste of white paint.

"People speed along there as they know there aren’t bumps. I’ve heard drivers beep others because they are driving too slowly over them.

"I can’t quite believe they came up with the idea in the first place."

Police close the road recently following a crash - despite the speed bumps being in place (SWNS)

The 46-year-old woman believes there may be better ways to control the flow of traffic, such as erecting more signs warning of schools.

But traffic has increased over the last two months following a landslide on a nearby major road, which has forced it to close for 18 months.

Katie added: "That road gets crazy busy even at a standstill during school drop off and pick ups, so it would make more sense to have more warning signs that there’s a school and residential area to calm down the traffic a tad, but the 2D bumps are pointless."

One resident, Joanne Hales, thinks there needs to be a proper zebra crossing where people can cross over the one remaining hump.

She said: "The thing that concerns me is that many pedestrians assume the large hump is a crossing. They just step out without looking and expect all the cars to stop. One day it’s going to cause an almighty accident.

"If it is a crossing then it should be signed so with black and white lines and orange flashing lights like you would see on a crossing. That way both parties know what to expect."

The virtual speed bumps are designed to create optical illusions for motorists (SWNS)

However, she does not oppose the virtual bumps.

She added: "They’re good. I still find myself braking in preparing for the jolt even though the other bumps are gone. The trauma is still there."

Some residents were even excited to hear about the plans to introduce the 2D humps, after complaining about the ferocity of the old concrete bumps.

Ms Hales said: "The bumps were dreadful. They were too high and did lots of damage to lots of people's cars over the years."

Cllr Peter Harman, from Swanscombe & Greenhithe Residents' Association and represents the area on Kent County Council, said residents are unhappy.

He said he had been relaying residents' concerns to County Hall for the past two years as the 10cm high-speed bumps were leaving residents unhappy.

He was initially delighted at the proposed traffic calming measure but he now believes they are not enough.

When there was a crash near a school, police had to close Stanhope Road (SWNS)

Virtual speed humps were first introduced by Transport for London in 2014 to create an "optical illusion, appearing raised to drivers as they approach, giving the impression that speed humps lie ahead".

It is part of a strategy to control speeds without the use of bumps, humps and lumps.

It claimed the physical interventions have a number of drawbacks, including an increase in traffic noise and pollution as drivers constantly change their speed.

RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “Clearly, painting mock speed humps is significantly cheaper for any cash-strapped council than making physical changes to the road, but the risk is that drivers intent on speeding quickly realise they’re not real and continue to break the speed limit.

“Having said that, with scant budget available to them, arguably some intervention by a council like this is better than none at all – so long as the markings are kept painted.”

These fake humps were installed in roads in Ashford in 2019.

At the time, a spokesman for Kent County Council said: "We anticipate more psychological traffic-calming measures being implemented at sites across the county which aim to encourage a reduction in vehicle speed through changing the driver’s perception of the road environment."

Kent County Council has been approached for comment.

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