Speed bumps are an abomination and should outlawed. First, when I approach a speed bump, I speed up. Cars are designed to absorb shocks (that’s why they have shock absorbers! and springs.) So the faster you go the better the shocks work. There are only a couple in town that really slow me down and they are on private parking lots so the owner really made them drastic. It’s like driving over a parking space curb.
Speed humps are more than useless, the actually cause damage to the road. After a speed hump has been installed for a year, there is a speed “valley” on either side of the hump. Cars that go up must come down. Check it out. And speed humps can be fun when taken at high speed.
Electronic traffic speed signs are an invitation to me to see how fast I can go before I get to the sign. If nobody’s looking, I will stop and then drag race to the sign.
If it’s a regular posted speed zone, I try to oblige. Unless it’s one of those clever “9 mph speed zone” signs, then I go 25. Don’t be clever with me.
Tailgating: My name is Sixty and I am a tailgater. But only if you are going 35 mph or less. Here’s my rationale. From any speed zero to 35 mph, I can see through YOUR windshield as well as mine. So I can see what you see and anticipate you move. Over 35 mph, I back off the recommended distance. If you’re at a stop light, I will be within a couple feet of your rear bumper. Why not? Are you going to suddenly change your mind and back into me? It may look like I’m in your backseat, but I’m not.
Stop signs: yeah, I blow through them when there’s nobody within sight. Why not? Sometimes I don’t even slow down.
Rebel or Lunatic?
We all know that answer to that last question.
@Catch Her In The Wry: “We” do?
Writing in the first person plural relieves me of all personal responsibility for any comments and therefore allows me immunity from any lunatic responses.
Wha…wha…wha… OK.
Inquiring minds wish to know if you’ll change the name of your blog when you turn 70.
Hey! I just turned 60 – gimme a break.
Here at Simon Fraser University speed bumps are standard height, but around 4 feet wide. This creates a really good launch ramp if you hit it at speed. There is one such speed bump installed part-way through a fairly sharp curve just outside my workplace. A couple of years ago one of our undergrads demonstrated the take-off you could get from one of these. Managed to cover 65 feet in the air and followed it with three complete roll-overs. Unfortunately, he didn’t live to brag about it.
Do you get tickets for your driving habits? I received a speeding ticket recently, so I’m following all the rules.
Does going over speed bumps fast damage your car?
Rita at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide
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@Rita: I haven’t gotten a traffic ticket in ages. (And that was a speed trap deal.)
Damage is a relative term. The plastic panel under the engine that’s there to keep random road junk (and small animals I run over) from flying up into the engine tends to get “worn out.”
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