|
|
Post by sid on Sept 18, 2018 13:45:31 GMT
Very true - The front axles on the SENs are already suffering. Several of the speed tables on Herbert Road have collapsed on the approach side. There are also speed humps on hills at the Woolwich end. These should not be there. Research suggests that speed check displays result is most drivers slowing down if they are over the limit. I used to hate taking 36555 out on the route as it would scrape in so many places if you wernt careful If I had my way there wouldn’t be a speed bump in London and roads would be fixed rather than patched That's just it, no driver likes them but they are effective. |
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 18, 2018 13:50:30 GMT
It annoys me how many roads have been ruined by planting speed bumps down them that do little to deter speeding in the same way that cameras do not make roads safer. Not only that but Southwark went one step further and made sure their roads humps are like mountains causing buses to slow right down just to go over them  Some councils are worse than others, The humps are not meant to be more than 10cm high or 10% gradient IIRC. Most meet the spec, while others are horrific and do damage vehicles or you would notice scraping of the hump itself where it doesn't meet the criteria and vehicles grind it. It is also made worse when councils just decide to install a hump on a road without resurfacing and either side of the humps sinks after so this then makes the hump steeper than when originally installed and damaging vehicles. Any modern car that doesn't have low profile tyres you can take speed humps at speed without any damage or major feel in the car and maintain the speed you were currently doing - i.e. no need to brake for them. Its only buses and maybe some HGV's that needs to slow down or it would toss people up to the ceiling.
|
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 18, 2018 13:54:04 GMT
It annoys me how many roads have been ruined by planting speed bumps down them that do little to deter speeding in the same way that cameras do not make roads safer. Not only that but Southwark went one step further and made sure their roads humps are like mountains causing buses to slow right down just to go over them Wasn't it in Southwark a few years ago where the slope on the cushion was so steep, it damaged the front sills on a couple of buses and damaged a Ferrari? This has happened recently in Broadwater farm estate area in Tottenham. The council had changed some speed humps and then they started to damage the engine sumps on some of the ENN's on the W4. Four of them IIRC had get their engine oil sumps cracked, so now the route is not serving that part of the estate until the council redoes the road. Been nearly 2 months now. |
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 18, 2018 14:04:20 GMT
Wasn't it in Southwark a few years ago where the slope on the cushion was so steep, it damaged the front sills on a couple of buses and damaged a Ferrari? This has happened recently in Broadwater farm estate area in Tottenham. The council had changed some speed humps and then they started to damage the engine sumps on some of the ENN's on the W4. Four of them IIRC had get their engine oil sumps cracked, so now the route is not serving that part of the estate until the council redoes the road. Been nearly 2 months now. When Hackney Council was getting carried away a few years ago for the Olympics, they had install some humps in Homerton Road with paving slabs at the approaches near hackney marshes. This resulted in a few DWL's on route W15 being damaged. The gearbox return feed pipe was split on a few. There was also a few that ended up with engine bonnet hinges sheared off due to the catapulting action the humps did to push the rear of the bus after coming off the hump. First also had significant damage to the DML/DMV's on these very humps to the nearside rear overhang skirt. Eventually the council had put tarmac at the approaches and exits of the humps to smoothen out the angle.
|
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 18, 2018 14:06:26 GMT
The only issue I got with speed bumps is that a lot of bus drivers will not care for the bus and just go over it at 20mph which just by the sounds of it going over it you can tell it's damaging the bus slowly, as well as reduces comfort for passengers. You are looking at this the wrong way, it should be possible to drive at the permitted road speed over the hump. If not, an unsuitable vehicle for the route with the humps is being used. If it damages the vehicle then you should be wondering why a vehicle with weak or inferior suspension has been allocated (inevitably will be cost cutting and choosing optional basic suspension when ordering the vehicle, rather than optional heavy duty suspension). Reducing speed is a bodge to get around a problem, not tackle the poor ride at source. Surely this cannot be true. I do not know much of them you can keep the same speed limit of the road and go over them without causing damage or significant in-comfort of the ride. Most roads with a 30 limit you had to go over the hump around 10-15 mph in a bus or around 20 in a car. |
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 18, 2018 14:15:53 GMT
The only issue I got with speed bumps is that a lot of bus drivers will not care for the bus and just go over it at 20mph which just by the sounds of it going over it you can tell it's damaging the bus slowly, as well as reduces comfort for passengers. Perhaps you should be asking why companies expect drivers to keep to grossly inadequate schedules. That might explain why you don’t always get as comfortable a ride as you might want. Drivers do not go out of their way to damage vehicles or make their passengers uncomfortable, I can assure you. The schedule is a guidline, it is not expected to be 100% adhered to. I am sure most companies do not expect you to and know it would be near on impossible to have every bus run dead to the schedule. |
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Sept 18, 2018 14:18:43 GMT
Wasn't it in Southwark a few years ago where the slope on the cushion was so steep, it damaged the front sills on a couple of buses and damaged a Ferrari? I often wonder why councils don't consult with bus companies when they plan changes like that along roads where low floor buses run along. On the flip side there was the issue of the 'new' SOEs which for a while couldn't be used along Martin Way for the 164 because of that present road infrastructure. That made me wonder why a test bus/demonstrator (if one then existed) wasn't used along route before placing orders for that model. Essentially there needs to be more communication between bus companies and the councils on the matter. They do consult the companies. As TfL in London is the main operator they do get the info and then relay it to the bus companies. As usual with these consultations they are a 99% done deal regardless of TfL or bus companies opposing. |
|
|
|
Post by cl54 on Sept 18, 2018 16:29:06 GMT
Very true - The front axles on the SENs are already suffering. Several of the speed tables on Herbert Road have collapsed on the approach side. There are also speed humps on hills at the Woolwich end. These should not be there. Research suggests that speed check displays result is most drivers slowing down if they are over the limit. I used to hate taking 36555 out on the route as it would scrape in so many places if you wernt careful If I had my way there wouldn’t be a speed bump in London and roads would be fixed rather than patched I always avoid sitting at the back on the 386 if I can. Many of the drivers hit the speed tables with such force that you bounce off the seat (and again on the other side). |
|
|
|
Post by schedcomp on Sept 18, 2018 17:13:11 GMT
Perhaps you should be asking why companies expect drivers to keep to grossly inadequate schedules. That might explain why you don’t always get as comfortable a ride as you might want. Drivers do not go out of their way to damage vehicles or make their passengers uncomfortable, I can assure you. The schedule is a guidline, it is not expected to be 100% adhered to. I am sure most companies do not expect you to and know it would be near on impossible to have every bus run dead to the schedule. I agree capitalomnibus. Furthermore in London all running time data for new/amended schedules are gleaned from the actual times that IBUS detects. No London schedules department will be able to add time until drivers start slowing down as necessary to negotiate humps/20mph limits etc. Only then can they add the time needed as the evidence for more will exist. Of course then there will be complaints about slow buses and being held at stops! |
|
|
|
Post by M1104 on Sept 19, 2018 8:01:24 GMT
I used to hate taking 36555 out on the route as it would scrape in so many places if you wernt careful If I had my way there wouldn’t be a speed bump in London and roads would be fixed rather than patched That's just it, no driver likes them but they are effective. Unfortunately they also often cause emergency services to be less effective in response times. |
|
|
|
Post by cl54 on Sept 20, 2018 18:12:53 GMT
I'm wondering if somebody from Go Ahead has been reading this thread.
Drivers on the 386 are now slowing right down for the speed tables on Herbert Road. Much more comfortable.
|
|
|
|
Post by RandomBusesGirl on Sept 27, 2018 6:25:06 GMT
When Hackney Council was getting carried away a few years ago for the Olympics, they had install some humps in Homerton Road with paving slabs at the approaches near hackney marshes. This resulted in a few DWL's on route W15 being damaged. The gearbox return feed pipe was split on a few. There was also a few that ended up with engine bonnet hinges sheared off due to the catapulting action the humps did to push the rear of the bus after coming off the hump. First also had significant damage to the DML/DMV's on these very humps to the nearside rear overhang skirt. Eventually the council had put tarmac at the approaches and exits of the humps to smoothen out the angle.
That road has got to be have one of the dumbest speed bump placements I've seen in London (other than top of the hill on the 386 also), like what's the point of buses coasting at 20 and bouncing up and down when there is literally no pedestrians about? And certainly not crowds running across the road! Is it because it's adjacent to a park? Shame it takes a genius to figure out that humans would rather walk on the surrounding grassy parts instead… I bet these bumps slowly mess up the suspension of 308's MVs too |
|
|
|
Post by Madstuntman on Oct 2, 2018 18:23:16 GMT
I don't think any drivers, myself included, particularly like speed bumps/sleeping policemen but they generally do what they are supposed to do and reduce speed. On the original point I agree that the 336, well at least the section north of Bromley, is a particularly arduous route for drivers and I don't suppose many tears were shed amongst MB drivers over losing it. I never drove the 336 when I was at MB but I was there when they found out they were losing it to SC, Whenever I was waiting to take over my 126 and chatting to a 336 driver they were all pretty much delighted they were losing it and couldn't wait to see the back of it. Never counted them but I'd say the 284 was pretty high on the speed bump count, which was made worse by the stupidly rattly Scania OmniTown. (So much smother with an E200) |
|
|
|
Post by redbus on Oct 3, 2018 23:09:47 GMT
That's just it, no driver likes them but they are effective. Unfortunately they also often cause emergency services to be less effective in response times. They are very crude and impact all vehicles, so the slowing down of emergency vehicles is just thought to be acceptable collateral damage. |
|
|
|
Post by sid on Jan 7, 2019 15:39:27 GMT
At a grand total of 63 (I was bored when doing my 3 rounder second half, and counted), I’d like to put forward the 336 as the route with them most speed bumps in London, and I challenge you all to come up with another. Bonus interesting (by interesting, read boring) fact - only 3 of these are within the London Borough of Bromley, the remainer being in Lewisham, despite the route being split pretty evenly mileage wise between the two. There is a video by single decker Michael of the 336 route for anybody not familiar with it. The first part is fairly straightforward but the fun starts around the 28 minute mark and includes a road blockage and a pavement manoeuvre! m.youtube.com/watch?v=nwif549YxXU |
|
