gjm 3191 Report post Posted March 5, 2016 It's a BAD thing. Some of you will know of the near financial destitution we've encountered as a result of paying for operations for our cat after he was hit by a speeding car outside our home. It's a nice, long straight piece of road with good visibility, but also with a number of small children and many animals living on either side. The incident happened in very early January, the first weekend (incurring even more expense), and he is only now returning to his normal self. Gerard is much better now, recovering from several operations. He had a jaw broken in three places, broken nose, broken mandible, collapsed lung, the other lung at least half-full of fluid, and when we found him, blood coming from mouth, nose, ears and eyes. His claws had been ripped from his paws where we can only assume he was trying to stop sliding on the road. He's had wires inserted in his jaws to hold them together, but the blood supply through his jaw did not resume in time so he subsequently had to a piece of jaw and one of his lower canines removed. Not everyone likes cats. Fair enough. And let's be dispassionate about this one cat - we could have bought dozens of pedigree kittens for what it has cost. (We don't want dozens of kittens, so no thanks, before anyone asks. ) However, this could have been any other animal, or a child. Or an adult. We're all in a hurry sometime, but arriving late is better than not arriving at all. Or causing someone else to not arrive. On a lighter note, I've spent some of the intervening time coming up with a way to sort this issue. Speed bumps. Yes. I know, cars zoom between them, braking hard at at the last second to ease over the bump, then burning rubber on their way to the next one. Still, it's worked in trials. https://youtu.be/vuunB0XGQPs 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eliongater 718 Report post Posted March 5, 2016 Poor kitty We have a similar problem with drivers speeding along my street, which is narrow and has poor visibility. There be been a couple of accidents and many close calls, yet people still drive it like a race track (probably doesn't help its smoother than some state highways). It's totally unacceptable how some people drive in residential areas. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MLM 57 Report post Posted March 5, 2016 I like those speed bumps! In my street we have speed bumps however they do not always work. On occasion they are deliberately used as launch ramps or as a leading car slows for the bump the following car overtakes on the ramp, this usually incites a drag race to the next bump on a blind crest...our street is full of young children. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matth5 471 Report post Posted March 5, 2016 (edited) Speedbumps suck, more and more of them have been appearing over the years and you can barely drive anywhere without dealing with them... Just an annoyance making you brake and accelerate unnecessarily, and they affect lower sports cars much more than high clearance vehicles so the moms in their oversized shopping carts can still blast over them while I have to slow to a crawl... Traffic island chicanes seem less annoying and affect all vehicles in the same way... http://www.sfbetterstreets.org/find-project-types/pedestrian-safety-and-traffic-calming/traffic-calming-overview/chicanes/ Much more fair solution than bumps, but more expensive I guess. Edited March 5, 2016 by Matth5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_ethrty-Andy_ 2122 Report post Posted March 6, 2016 I have speed bumps around my house never bothered me much but my new turbo diesel transit doesn't like them as its off boost in third or revving too much to do them in second. Annoying every morning and every night. Still. Too much traffic the other way so I live with it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FIAT 131R 223 Report post Posted March 7, 2016 Seems a bit weird to me. Sorry about your cat but how do you know they were speeding. I ran over someones cat because it shot across the road and then turned around and ran under my car. I spent bloody ages finding whose cat it was and checking it was OK. I was not speeding. Seems like you want judder bars at every place a cat gets run over. Hardly logical to me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HaNs 226 Report post Posted March 7, 2016 What speed was the cat doing? 4 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeff002 23 Report post Posted March 7, 2016 launch machine to be a flying hero.save time save traffic Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gjm 3191 Report post Posted March 8, 2016 Seems a bit weird to me. Sorry about your cat but how do you know they were speeding. I ran over someones cat because it shot across the road and then turned around and ran under my car. I spent bloody ages finding whose cat it was and checking it was OK. I was not speeding. Seems like you want judder bars at every place a cat gets run over. Hardly logical to me. Slight circumstantial, to be fair, but we now know who did it since the spunkbubbling cockwomble told several people in the pub. He drives a white and carbon fibre (look) Skyline R34, and has regularly boasted of the speeds he has 'achieved' along the road outside our house (and other people's houses, obviously). Police aren't interested since they've not caught him. What speed was the cat doing? Must've been fast, since all that was heard was "Meeeooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww......................" 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
my_e36 43 Report post Posted March 8, 2016 I like those square camel hump (is there a proper name for them?) rather than the one across the whole width of the street. Regular car drive thru at reasonable speed and lowered cars has to slow right down for them and larger vehicles like buses with wider track are unaffected. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eliongater 718 Report post Posted March 8, 2016 I like those square camel hump (is there a proper name for them?) rather than the one across the whole width of the street. Regular car drive thru at reasonable speed and lowered cars has to slow right down for them and larger vehicles like buses with wider track are unaffected.But busses need speed bumps the most 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted March 8, 2016 The traffic island chicanes are the best. If you can do double the speed limit through them you're doing pretty good. The speed bumps at Bunnings te rapa are horrendous, it's like driving over a cinder block. I can't even get my car car over them, I had to turn around and go back the other way. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toast 117 Report post Posted March 9, 2016 But busses need speed bumps the mostCan I just echo this x9000, West Auckland busses hooning on nearly 1way streets are terrifying. Plus if you're on a bike they cut corners coming at you expecting you to yield. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matth5 471 Report post Posted March 11, 2016 Can I just echo this x9000, West Auckland busses hooning on nearly 1way streets are terrifying. Plus if you're on a bike they cut corners coming at you expecting you to yield. And in the city they're the worst for running red lights. Busses be crazy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
