Will Speed Bumps Hurt My Car? How to Drive Over Speed Bumps

Speed bumps and potholes often get in the way of a smooth drive, although most vehicles are designed to handle them. The key is to drive through speed bumps safely so that your car will not get a beating.

Basically, speed bumps are a necessary feature on the road for traffic calming measures in a particular area.

Knowing how to properly drive over speed bumps to protect your car first needs you to know its different types (See Speed Bump Kits).

The Different Types Of Speed Bumps and Their Purposes

Typically, speed bumps are made of rubber or plastic. You’ll find paint markings on them so that you can be alerted of their presence. If, in a certain area, cars tend to speed up, they will slow down when they approach speed bumps. Drivers have to decelerate their average speed to be able to safely drive through these features.

What about speed humps? They are similar to most speed bumps, but they stretch from one end of the road to the other. Road humps have asphalt or tarmac covering, and although raised, they look like they are an aspect of the road.

Then there are speed cushions, which is another speed inhibitor for drivers. Cars are bound to slow down when driving over them.

Speed cushions are also speed humps that are split into two or three pieces of rectangular bumps. Emergency vehicles that are somewhat wider do not need to slow down when running over speed cushions whereas regular cars have to reduce their speed while going past them.

Another road traffic feature is speed tables that taper themselves to compel vehicles to slow down. The hump essentially elevates to an even top. You’ll often see them at some pedestrian crossings.

Finally, there are Chicanes. These units are constructed to design the road to look like the shape of a snake. Dangerous roads such as those used for racing usually sport them to prevent cars from speeding over 250 mph.

Can Speed Bumps Damage Your Car?

For the most part, speed bumps as road features may damage your car, especially when you’re driving at decent speed them suddenly hit them. 

So when your car happens to propel forward then hits something while moving at a speed, it will be forced to slow down. The internal parts of your vehicle will be jolted, particularly and including the suspension. 

The blow isn’t apt to be pacified, plus, the other parts become stretched further than their capabilities.

Bumps likewise affect the tires of cars, with car repair shops citing that half of the work that they do consists of tires getting damaged following hitting a bump. The exhaust pipe succumbs as well, often getting knocked down by the speed bump and eventually dangling to the ground.

A really hard hit on a speed bump can also screw up the steering wheel of your car. It’s quite precarious because your car can skew over to one side of the road even if you didn’t steer in that direction.

This can happen afterwards your hitting a speed bump. In this case, the repair necessitated will be on the front-end alignment of your vehicle.

How Do You Properly Handle Speed Bumps?

At its worst, you might not be able to see bumps (because they are inconspicuous) that do not give you the leeway to slow down and safely drive through them. You should know how to handle this situation to prevent your car from getting damaged.

Thus, if you see it and are approaching a speed bump, start slowing down. Inch over the raised feature, and once you have gone past it, you can begin to increase your speed. 

A warning is necessary, otherwise, it won’t be easy. There are vehicles designed with extra-performing suspensions that can quickly take a bump, but it isn’t that much.

The best alternative by far is to drive according to speed limits and be attentive on the road while doing so. You’ll tend to be fine if you cross a bump in this manner. Generally, bumps as speed inhibitors are situated in parks, parking lots and residential areas.

Requiring drivers to slow down, speed bumps aid in preventing road accidents and injuries. You must pay attention while driving over speed bumps.

Nevertheless, if you don’t pay careful attention and quickly drive over a bump, you can end up damaging your suspension or shock absorbers. Your vehicle isn’t likely to get by if you drive over a bump too fast unless your suspension is sturdy and you have high ground clearance.

Why Should You Not Drive Fast Over Speed Bumps?

Speed bumps, as well as humps, are commonly found on the road, in parks and neighbourhoods. These traffic control devices have been placed to slow vehicles down like many other traffic calming measures.

If you’re driving at a high-speed rate and come across a bump, it’s akin to having every part of your car being struck by a hammer. 

Cars may have been built to withstand certain abuses on the road, but their parts are inclined to wear faster if they are frequently and hardly struck by bumps and humps.

Even if you have a bigger vehicle, do away with habitually flying over these road features. Or else, you’ll be besieged by unpleasant squeaks and rattles of it, especially if the hits are constant. The parts of your vehicle can loosen and drop along the way.

It will be very smooth and easy on your car if you go very slowly over a bump. With this, you’ll allow its springs and shocks to compact gently, take in the bump, and then properly wind down.

Conclusion

The roads become safe for all because of traffic control devices such as speed bumps. They help slow the traffic. Fundamentally located in pedestrian-heavy traffic, these road features are useful in encouraging safe driving.

Where traffic has to be regulated because pedestrians and vehicles share the road, bumps and humps let traffic move at a safe and reasonable speed.

You should not think of speed bumps and speed humps as a nuisance on the road as long as you know how to drive slowly and safely over them.