Fake Speed Bumps
Sometimes, fake does the trick.
“A Most Uncomfortable Sort of Road Devised at Chatham, N.J.,” read the headline of a March 1906 article in the New York Times.
The article detailed the construction of new raised crosswalks in Chatham. “Broken springs and racked machinery will await the motorists who fail to heed the [crosswalk],” the article declared. Upon passing over one of Chatham’s crosswalks at 40 mph or faster, “one will rise several feet in the air and settle with a shock that will be anything but pleasant,” per the Times.
These were America’s first speed bumps, and over the coming decades, the speed bump would become a mainstay of American roads.
But, there’s a downside to these bumps: They can cause a car to emit twice as much carbon dioxide because emissions rapidly increase as the car accelerates after the bump. And building speed bumps can be expensive.
So, cities like London are turning to fake speed bumps. These aren’t physical objects; they’re shapes painted on roads to give the illusion of bumps. They are white arcs, about four feet wide, that trick the eye into think they’re coming out of the pavement even though they’re flat. It’s trompe-l’œil. Currently, London has painted 45 of these fake speed bumps on its streets.
According to a Guardian article, when you drive toward a fake bump, you don’t think there’s a bump in the road. Rather, you become curious. You become more aware, more attentive, about 15 meters before you get the “bump,” which helps prevent accidents.
During a trial period for the fake bumps, average driving speeds fell by 3 mph nine months after installation.
These fake bumps seem like the kind of thing you’d get used to — the novelty would wear off, and you’d know the design means nothing before you even get close. But, to that, Danny Keillor (a spokesman for Transport for London) says: “Even if some drivers become accustomed to 2-D road cushions, if one driver slows for the 2-D cushions, they will help slow all traffic behind them.”
Perhaps, though, the most brilliant — and unnerving — road trompe-l’œil isn’t a fake speed bump. In 2010, it was in front of a school in West Vancouver, Canada: A mirage of a young girl chases a pink ball in the middle of the road, named “Pavement Patty.” An eery warning of the risks of mindlessly speeding while driving.
