22-01-2013, 11:11 AM
Tests of new road hump profiles adapted to a crossing speed lower than 20 km/h
ABSTRACT
In France the concept of pedestrian priority zone opened to through traffic has been introduced in the regulation since July 2008. In these zones non-motorised users are given the right of way. They can cross the area at any time in front of a car or a motorcycle, walk in the centre of the street. To ensure vulnerable users safety the usual speed of a motorised user should be very low; therefore speed limit in this zone is set to a maximum of 20 km/h. The design of such areas should provide self explanatory behaviour for users. But it may happen in some places that road users would not drive as slow as needed. As a result some cities may lay road devices, such as road humps, across the streets to oblige drivers to travel at a speed lower than 20 km/h.
In order to avoid the proliferation of unsuitable speed reducing devices, the Centre d’tudes Techniques de l’quipement Normandie Centre (CETE NC), a regional technical service reporting to the French ministry of Transport, was asked to define and test road hump profiles adapted to a maximal speed of 20 km/h.
The experimental objective is to evaluate whether the road hump profiles selected from the results of a literature review, are run across at speeds lower than 20 km/h and safely traversable by all users, including wheelchair users. Also the literature review shows that some road humps are more comfortable in higher crossing speed than in lower speed. Such parameter had to be evaluated for the selected profiles.