Below is a list of the most common questions that we have been asked in the last few years. If you have a question and it is not answered below, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We’d love to hear from you! You can drop us a mail or use the contact form… in any case we’d be happy to talk to you. Our contact mail is: contact@smartbumps.com
Q: How does your product work?
First, we measure your speed before you pass over the speed bump. Then, depending on your speed, we either leave the Smart Bump down, so you go over a flat road, or we raise the Smart Bump, so you have the similar experience as going over a regular speed bump. It is that simple.
Q: How do you measure the speed of the vehicles?
We put sensors on the road, just before the speed bump, so we practically measure your speed over the speed bump.
Q: Are your Smart Bumps effective? On the videos, the fast vehicles don’t seem ‘shaken’ as with regular speed bumps.
The ‘warning’ that you get from our Smart Bump is shorter than what you will get from a regular speed bump, but it is very unpleasant. This prevents the drivers from speeding the next time they go over the same Smart Bump.
The old speed bumps have typically 5-10% speeders. On one place where we are logging the vehicles, our statistic shows that the number of speeders dropped to 3% after several months of use. So, we may say that our Smart Bumps are even more effective than regular speed bumps.
Q: Does your product need electricity? Can you use alternative power supply?
Yes, we need electricity for the electronics, and for the Smart Bump actuators. However, we do not spend a lot of electricity, typically about 10 kWh/month, so we can use renewable sources.
Q: Where do you put your Smart Bumps?
Our smart bumps are used at the same places where you use old speed bumps, mainly where you need to slow down vehicles. However, we can use Smart Bumps on places where use of old speed bumps is not practical, like on bus routes, and also for higher speeds.
Q: Is installation of your Smart Bumps complicated?
Short answer: No. To elaborate, you need to make a prismatic hole on the street, and three lines for the sensors, and to connect the equipment to the central control cabinet with cables. Our product will be shipped to you ready to operate and easy to Install.
Q: Do Smart Bumps need a lot of maintenance?
No. We’ve made our Smart Bumps to be robust and to work in any environment, from -25 to +45 degrees, and to be water and dirt resistant. A regular checkup once or twice per year is advised to prolong the working life of our product.
Q: How does your Smart Bumps lower pollution?
Installing a Smart Bump on a street ensures a constant flow of traffic and avoids the typical behavior of most of the drivers, when they almost stop before the speed bump, and then accelerate back. Cars use most fuel on acceleration, so by avoiding this, we reduce acceleration and fuel waste. Also, lately, there are many studies which show that big part of cars PM particles pollution comes from braking (up to 50%), so by avoiding unnecessary braking, we also reduce the PM pollution.
Q: At what speed you can use Smart Bumps?
We can use the current model for speeds from 5-40km/h. We can use our Smart Bumps for higher speeds of above 60 km/h with small tweaks on the design.
Q: You claim that we can use Smart Bumps on some places where speed bumps are not practical, like bus routes. Can you elaborate?
Speed bumps are typically not allowed on bus routes because of inconvenience and passenger safety. However, there are many streets with bus routes next to schools, and this causes serious safety concerns. Our Smart Bumps are level with the road for slow drivers, so there is no need to be concerned about bus drivers and passengers, providing that the buses go within the speed limit.
Q: Are Smart Bumps cost effective?
Initially, the Smart Bumps cost more than old rubber or concrete speed bumps. However, these speed bumps cause a lot of pollution, and waste a lot of fuel. An average old speed bump actually costs about EUR 10,000 per year only from the fuel waste it produces. Our Smart Bumps avoid this cost, which comes as saving.
So, to answer the question, YES, our Smart Bumps are very cost effective.
Q: Are Smart Bumps safe in case of malfunction?
Malfunction of any system is undesired. We experienced more malfunctions in the beginning, during the test period, and we removed the causes for malfunction. There are two cases of malfunction: when the Smart Bump is ‘down’ (if the sensors are broken or other malfunction), or it is stuck in the ‘up’ position. We have a lot of security systems and checkups to prevent malfunction, and the malfunctions happen very rarely, but the effects of malfunction are following:
- If the Smart Bump is stuck in the ‘down’ position. In this case, it does not warn the fast cars. However, our experience shows, that he drivers still drive slowly.
- If the Smart Bump is stuck in the ‘up’ position. This is the worst-case scenario, and we have many mechanisms to avoid this from happening. In this case our Smart Bump is actually like an old regular speed bump, as it will affect all vehicles.
Q: What is the working life of the Smart Bump?
We are designing our Smart Bumps to have a target of at least 10 years life span.
Q: Are Smart Bumps resistant to the environment, like snow, rain, dirt…?
Yes, we designed our Smart Bumps to work in the harshest conditions. They can work even if they are flooded, and they are resistant to dirt. If the dirt enters in the Smart Bump it has a container where it is funneled, and if too much dirt is accumulated, there is a procedure to clean it in few minutes. However, in the time we are using our Smart Bumps, we haven’t reached a point where we need to clean any Smart Bump.
Q: How are the Smart Bumps treating two wheel vehicles?
All vehicles are detected and treated the same. However, we typically leave a passage for the bicycles on the right side of the lane.
Q: How do you control the Smart Bumps?
Currently, we are controlling and operating/maintaining Smart Bumps directly on the site. However, we are developing a connection module, so we can remotely access and operate the Smart Bumps over any type of connection (Wi-Fi, mobile…).
Q: How do you treat the emergency vehicles differently?
There are two main ways to do this: the first one is to have a transponder, and to communicate directly between the vehicle and the Smart Bump, and the second is to control the Smart Bumps from a central traffic control system that most big cities have.
Q: Can you integrate your Smart Bumps with a central traffic control system?
Yes, we have option to control our Smart Bumps from a central system. We can provide APIs to control our microcontroller.
Q: Do your Smart Bumps damage vehicles’ suspension?
The ‘hit’ from our Smart Bumps on a vehicle is not bigger than a hit it will get from a regular speed bump. Although passing over a Smart Bump in UP position is very unpleasant, especially if a vehicle does it with a very high speed, a proper vehicle will not be damaged.