Drivers Slowing Down Excessively Over Bumps

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May 10, 2005
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Location
Toronto, Canada
More specifically, bumps with a sharp ninety degree edge, created by the asphalt being cut and 2 to 4 ins of ashphalt removed on one side of the cut. Drivers will slow to a crawl and gingerly drive over the bump. I will drive over the same bump at 8 to 10 mph without giving it a second thought.

I am guessing these drivers have had bent or cracked rims by drivng over these bumps. Low profile tires and alloy rims lead to costly damage.

I have never owned a vehicle with tire profile lower than 70. I have had trucks for the last forty years and, prior to that, had VW Beetles and 411s and buses with high profile tires. These bumps have never bothered me.
 
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There's just a lot of folks out there that seem to be sort of in a trance, driving around very oddly. I see them everywhere, every day and they seem to be multiplying.

One of the most bizarre is the person "in a hurry" that zigs through traffic then sits still way after a light turns green and the traffic in front of them has left them sitting, and they pass you several times while trying to get ahead of traffic. You eventually leave them so far behind, at your moderate rate, that you can't even see them anymore. They're back there somewhere, zigging in and out of cars, sitting at traffic lights 10-15 seconds after it's turned green... then hurrying again.

What do these people do for a living? Could they possibly be of any positive use to society?

There are strange sub levels of "human" being forked off the legitimate line of humans.
 
More specifically, bumps with a sharp ninety degree edge, created by the asphalt being cut and 2 to 4 ins of ashphalt removed on one side of the cut. Drivers will slow to a crawl and gingerly drive over the bump. I will drive over the same bump at 8 to 10 mph without giving it a second thought.

I am guessing these drivers have had bent or cracked rims by drivng over these bumps. Low profile tires and alloy rims lead to costly damage.

I have never owned a vehicle with tire profile lower than 70. I have had trucks for the last forty years and, prior to that, had VW Beetles and 411s and buses with high profile tires. These bumps have never bothered me.
The guy behind you in a truck thinks you slow down excessively, because he was going to drive over it at 20MPH.

He‘s wondering why and why you didn’t buy something with better tires.
 
Wheels, suspension components, and the 5th alignment in a year is not cheap to fix.
 
Some people complain about others slowing down too much for bumps.
Some people complain about others slowing down too much for the curves.
They seem to be different people driving different vehicles, complaining about each other.
 
And everyone complains about crossovers? At least I can drive over without scraping.

I slow down to a reasonable speed to avoid breaking something but I’ve seen people crawling over bumps and still bottoming out.

The ones that get me are those in pickups and large SUVs that stop and creep over speed bumps.
 
OP, let me give you a different perspective on it: If you have back problems like I do, every bump or pothole is like a knife to your spine. If you take them slow enough they are like a pinch to your spine. The amount of jolt they generate to the back is related to the speed you take them at. And something that people without back pain do not often understand is that many times once something aggravates a bad back the pain stays with that person for several hours, and sometimes even until the end of the day and they have have time to lay down for several hours. There is a reason why people with severe back pain have a high rate of suicide. This is some very painful stuff we are dealing with.

When I buy a vehicle the number one concern is how well it rides over bumps and potholes and isolates the bumps from the road for me so my back is not abused any more than it has to be. I also chose vehicles with tires rims that are small compared to others so there is more rubber between the rim and the road to help absorb bumps in the road.

Slow down for a speed bump, you bet you, that is me. And while I am doing it I am cursing the bureaucrats that put it there. I know there is a need to keep traffic at a slow speed on streets that kids play on. But there are smart speed bumps that do not jolt a slow vehicle. But no one around here will shell out the extra cost of them. They just put in the cheap speed bumps, and torture everyone with a bad back.

So the next time your behind someone who goes super slow on some kind of road bump, maybe you could consider that that person might have serious back pain and is just trying to make it through each day for their families sake, and that speed bumps can generate a lot of pain for some people if taken fast.

I understand your rant, and I hope you can understand mine.
 
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I slow down for parking lot humps mostly to save stress on the suspension bushings. My Kia Soul has plenty of ground clearance, I just prefer to articulate the suspension instead of pound it. In the bigger scheme of things does it do any good? Probably not.
 
I like to listen when running suspension parts through their range.

Brother in law (great guy) went out to show off the new Genesis G80 on "Saturday #1".
He destroyed 2 wheels 45 minutes apart. Yup, 45 minutes after finishing changing his first destroyed wheel, he hit another hole.
Wheel insurance is a good thing. He did it a 3rd time.

He doesn't have a bad back but he slows way down for things; believe me!
He says he wants something with taller wheels.
 
My problem is with those in pickup trucks and SUVs who expect me to drive my Mini over speed bumps going more than the speed limit. With a sport suspension and low ground clearance I simply can't do that without causing damage. The suspension will hit the stops and the car may bottom out. I have to slow down to 25 and others often pass me going 60 - in a 30 mph zone. With the Aviator I can go over speed bumps without slowing down but I don't expect the person in front of me to do the same just because I can do that.
 
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