Smarter speed bump using non-Newtonian liquid

It looks like a great MVP, and within car parks would guarantee an almost predictable max load weight.

as such, they experience lots of freezing and thawing, experience high traffic from lots of tractor trailers and snow plows, and get coated with de-icing materials (salt, or more recently sand-based grit in some areas). synergistically, these conditions are extremely rough on paved roads, so potholes are ubiquitous and painful.

When I was living there, road signs saying "Steel Plate on Road" were a common sight. I remember the city fixed a water pipe and instead of re-paving the street, they just left several giant 4ft x 8ft steel plates with corresponding sign for over a year.

Yeah I've always felt like speed cameras should have been the "disruptive technology" for speed bumps but we're lagging behind for some reason, instead choosing to penalize everyone using the road.

How often are speed bumps not doable at the speed the street allows, e.g. having to go 15-20kmh over the bump in a 30 zone, or more extreme, 5kmh in a 50 zone when they want you to watch out for drunk pedestrians during events when said pedestrians aren't there (or drunk) yet/anymore...

Even old-fashioned speed bumps get severe ridges worn into them by vehicles that go too fast. They need to be repaired after a year or two. And even if that doesn't happen, they experience severe forces from wheels, every single day.

You (and the non-newtonian bump mentioned in the article) suggest basically a rubber bag filled with fluid. Instead of getting ridges worn into them, they're going to get punctured and destroyed.

There's a reason the system mentioned in the article is only shown in parking garages. It only works indoors (because of UV), and it only works at relatively low speeds, where the forces are lower, and the risk of undercarriage hits is very small.

I hate speed bumps, but it's extremely hard to find a workable alternative. Personally, I prefer chicanes.

Or more common, people will speed towards the bump and again, brake right before it.

Apologies if joking about it is too soon =P

Unsure how this fluid bump would affect bikes - maybe it has too much traction and you get launched over the handles at certain speeds?

Obviously obnoxious SUVs and the like are impervious to this, obliviously driving over. Conversely, a chat with my local mechanic turned up an issue with unprotected engine underside (like with most cheap to mid-range cars) means there's a sufficiently higher chance to rip the oil drain plug, meaning slightly increased tow-in rates with each new speed bump. Nasty, although more recent cars have undersides now in an effort to reduce drag and improve compliance with emission regulations.

At least I haven't seen speed bumps in 50 km/h roads just to slow people down.

Tie rod ends, bushings, etc can all wear out from uneven suspension load.

That if it wasn't super hard to change suspension properties on the fly.

A well-setup conventional suspension system works nearly as well for anything you would encounter in the real world, and it's a lot less expensive. Even Citroën (the kings of hydropneumatic active suspension) will be going with traditional suspension only from their next generation C5, despite being stalwarts of active suspension tech since the 1950s.

Having driven a C3 through southern Germany on vacation recently, I see their point. That silly little car was significantly more comfortable than my older, larger Peugeot sedan, and more comfortable than even the 1st-gen C5 my parents drive.

Conventional suspension tech has come a long, long way.

But speed advantage over other cars on the road is a mostly emotional desire that matters to human drivers. Cars with speed advantage are marketed as such right now. I do think that marketing will disappear when cars go driverless.

And don't forget we are in this case talking about people illegally speeding. You are not legally entitled to use your speed advantage to drive at twice the speed limit in a neighborhood with a school zone, even if there's a smoky pickup in front of you. And yet, if we don't put speed bumps in the way, some people will choose to do so anyway, putting others at risk. A kid in my neighborhood was killed just a couple of weeks ago by someone speeding, and there are several speed bumps near me that were installed immediately after children were hit.

Speed bumps are common in places like huge parking lots where reasonbable varies wildly throughout the day.

Bumps are also used to bring traffic down well below the posted limits.

Well, maybe not all drivers, but one driver who hates that damn speed bump that he has to drive over every day is enough to make that baby bleed. :)

I'm just being realistic. I've lived in an impoverished area all of my life and I know how things here work. I'm saying what I honestly believe would happen with these.