SAFETY GROUPS SLAM SPEED BUMP REMOVAL PROPOSAL

Proposals to remove speed bumps in a bit to cut air pollution have been branded “irresponsible” and dangerous by safety campaigners.

As part of the Government’s plans to improve air quality across the UK, Environment Secretary Michael Gove last week told councils to consider “improving road layouts and junctions to optimise traffic flow, for example by considering removal of road humps”.

The suggestion has been branded “nonsense” by safety groups, which say such a move would put vulnerable groups at greater risk of injury or death.

Studies suggest that speed bumps cause an increase in pollution such as nitrous oxide and CO2 emissions as drivers repeatedly brake for and then accelerate away from them.

But Rachel Maycock, head of public affairs for Living Streets, said the idea was “irresponsible”. She told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Where they are talking about taking away these speed bumps are not the streets that are causing the pollution hot spots.

“It’ s absolute nonsense if we’ re trying to prevent all of those deaths [from pollution] that we’ll be causing another problem with road safety.”

The charity has now written to ministers warning against removing traffic calming measures.

In a joint letter with campaign for better transport and cycling Uk, the charity says :“removing speed control measures such as speed bumps from local streets would be at best an expensive diversion from addressing air quality and at worst a dangerous and retrograde measure.

“It is not acceptable to reduce safety in order to improve air quality, nor is it necessary. Air pollution hotspots arise from high volumes of traffic on major routes, not traffic calmed neighbour hoods .”

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents also criticised the idea. Its head of road safety, Kevin Clinton, said: ‘Removing speed humps, which are proven to bean effective way of reducing casualties, would increase risk to all road users, but especially pedestrians, cyclists and children.”

However, roger lawson of the Alliance of British Drivers told the Today programme: There’s very definite evidence on the additional pollution you get with speed humps.

“Evidence from Imperial College shows you get 50 per cent more particulates and 64 per more cent nitrous oxide so the damaging effect regarding air pollution have been clear for many years.”