PROPOSAL OF REDESIGN OF SPEED HUMP NEAR EDUCATIONAL ZONES: A CASE STUDY OF BILIMORA

Abstract

Speed hump is one of the most popular and economical traffic calming devices used globally. Speed humps are typically used in local streets of residential areas, school, college or university campuses, hospitals, etc. Speed humps are mostly designed to reduce speed of motorized vehicles. However the impacts of speed humps on nonmotorized users have not been taken into consideration while designing and installing speed hump. The bicyclists suffer from discomfort, vibration, low back pain while daily passing over hump. This study aims to reduce the discomfort caused by different geometry speed hump on bicyclists. In this study, a questionnaire survey of bicyclists was conducted at four schools of Bilimora city. A questionnaire was prepared and only bicyclists were interviewed. Variables such as height of hump, age of participant, gender of participant and frequency of using hump were used to predict discomfort level. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to develop a statistical relationship between the variables. Discomfort model was successfully developed and validated with the help of SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software. Results of questionnaire survey have shown that 86% of bicyclists feel discomfort while passing over hump and hence it is necessary to enhance riding comfort of bicyclists. Hence this study proposed a redesign of speed hump to reduce discomfort to bicyclists.