I hadn't either. In fact, it honestly never occurred to me that one would ever need a bicycle speed bump. But lo and behold, here in Amsterdam they've got them.This one was placed in front of a school house, so I'm guessing they installed the traffic calming device on this bike-only path to decrease the pedestrian/bicycle crashes.
The collisions between children and all kinds of traffic--including bicycles--has steadily improved in the Netherlands.
"Over the past decades, road safety has improved more for children than for the rest of the population. In the mid-1980s, the number of fatalities among children was approximately 120 and in recent years it has been approximately 35."
(source: SWOV Fact sheet © SWOV, Leidschendam, the Netherlands, February 2009)
Horray for the bicycle speed bumps! Not only are they increasing the safety of school children, they are actually kind of fun to ride. Unlike car speed bumps, the bike bumps have a wavering bump that feels a bit like a roller coaster. Safety and fun for the price of one.
This is quite funny...these are not to slow down bicycles, but mopeds, as they are allowed on bike lanes. ;)
ReplyDeleteMarc
There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The bumps are for the mo-peds. And since we are on the topic, I'd like to express my disdain for the mopeds. Loud, clattering combustible engines they are....
ReplyDeleteThey're also for stupid Spaniards to try and fly off with their fixed wheel bikes, subsequently crashing them and injuring their heads.
ReplyDeleteBright side of the story: as I told Marc from Amsterdamize, the lads in the ambulance put my bike in the ambulance, locked it outside the first-aid place and put the keys in my pocket. This can only happen in a bike culture!
What a nice story! A new way to measure bicycle culture...I like it!
ReplyDeleteAnthony,
ReplyDeleteI may have missed this somewhere but is there a standard speed limit on bike paths over there? Nashville Metro Parks now has a 15 MPH on their Greenways, which can be tough to maintain and also tough to enforce.
Tim
Hey Tim--
ReplyDeleteThat I don't know. I will find out, though, and let you know ASAP. My guess is there is not a posted or enforced speed limit, as the paths (particularly through the city) are narrow enough to prevent high speeds.
Anthony
There is a speed limit for scooters, maybe 30km/h. BTW, they installed new speed bumps on the path in front of my place yesterday. pic in my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/sindandune
ReplyDeleteSpeed limit: yes on mopeds (hard to enforce), (of course) not for bicycles.
ReplyDelete