A pair of engineers have come up with an innovative way to reduce carbon emissions and encourage drivers to slow down - all by simply reworking the humble speed bump and updating it for the 21st century. Jae-yun Kim and Jong-Su Lee have developed a new speed bump that can vary its height according to the speed that drivers are traveling. The system uses a special damper fitted inside the speedbump that allows the bump to flatten when drivers are travelling at less than 19mph (30km/h). If drivers are travelling greater than this speed, the bump will remain in place, slowing down the speeding driver and causing the car to bounce uncomfortably.
Allowing the bump to flatten at slower speeds reduces carbon emissions by encouraging drivers to accelerate less between the bumps and maintain a slower speed. The system works best when used with a series of speed bumps, such as on long, straight streets. This will help reduce the urge to speed up and slow down excessively in between speed bumps. To ensure that the speed bumps are easily recognised, the designers have also fitted red LEDs around them. This should make them easy to see during the night, as well as the day, and also highlight the fact that they will flatten if drivers slow down.
Currently, the speed bumps are a concept design from Kim and Lee, but with the interest that the innovative design has been receiving from the press, hopefully the duo will be able to find some investors or local governments willing to back their production.
Check out a study that we reported on earlier this year, highlighting how speed bumps increase carbon emissions and damage to the undercarriage of cars, as well as this other system of active speed bumps developed a couple of years ago that unfortunately seemed to have faded into obscurity.
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