Speed Bumps and Speed Humps: Are They the Same?

They can really be annoying. In fact, the worst ones can make you think your butt sideswiped your back and jumped to your skull. Or your car got shredded into pieces. Whatever the case, a speed bump and a speed hump are designed not to make you feel “too comfortable” and “too reckless” on the road. If you look forward to meeting a couple of them, or you feel giddy with excitement just thinking about them, then you’re defeating the purpose as to why they’re really there in the first place.

What are Speed Bumps and Speed Humps?

We often make the mistake of interchanging both of these terms. According to Connecticut’s Office of Legislative Research, a speed bump (or road bump) is measured from two to six inches in height, and one to three feet from front to back. Often found on private roads and parking lots, they’re mostly designed to slow down the speed of vehicles to 8 kph.

Meanwhile, speed humps are usually less than four inches high but 10 to 12 feet from front to back. These humps are normally found in subdivisions and residential areas to accommodate the “Do not exceed 40 kph per hour” rule.

By the way, there’s also a lesser known type called the speed table. This one is similar to speed humps in height, but they’re far longer in width–around 22 feet from front to the back. They  are often found on roads and highways where the required travel speed is slightly higher than 40 kph.

Different Sizes, Same Purpose

No matter how technically different they are in size, all three have one main goal: to keep pedestrians safe. They are designed to slow down traffic down to less than 10 kph when they touch that bump/hump/table. So treat them with respect. Besides, you really can’t do anything about them. The least you can do is brake properly. Otherwise, prepare for a “bumpy ride” ahead.