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Comment by philip1209 | Hacker News Reader

there's a reason speedbumps are called "silent policemen"

I call them SUV/pickup truck sellers or reasonably-sized-vehicle killers.

Alternatively, greenhouse-gas bumps.

Dunno which genius in my town put them on a road riddled with potholes, poorly filled road cuts and marsh-related unevenness.

We should return to the original double-humped design from Compton:

https://libanswers.wustl.edu/faq/76174?ref=contraption.co

Or non-newtonian fluid speedbumps that are soft when hit with light stress and hard when hit with a lot of stress

https://www.jalopnik.com/these-speed-bumps-only-turn-solid-i...

Probably highly temperature dependent or get stabbed with a knife in 2.3 hours depleting its reserve of non-newtonian goo.

the SUV/pickup culture is bad enough here in the South but they place speedbumps aggressively all over the place here.

Like 4" tall ones with no curve so that it absolutely slams the shit out of your small car if you're doing anything over 3mph. And they place them like every 8 feet. If you're in the lifted trucks most people drive here you can't even tell.

But if you imported a lifted truck, or another daft US vehicle like the Cybertruck into another country it would probably not be roadworthy and the traffic and speed calming measures are more appropriate.

Bullbars used to be a trend in the UK, for example, until they were band in the late 90s/early 00s because they were fatal to pedestrians.

We also don't have pedestrians here and deer are everywhere -- bullbars are great here.

I once counted over 100 deer on or next to the road during a 20 minute night drive...

Some of the speed bumps-like techniques here in Sweden will do more than just be a bump, it will severely damage the tires if you don't slow down. Curbs that require the driver to make very tight turns for example can be made from fairly sharp stone with an clear edge. A SUV/pickup truck can speed over it, but the trip to the repair shop will make it less fun.

They added some square-like flower pots in the middle of a lovely road next to where I live in order to force drivers to make a double S turn. Those are made from sharp rust-painted steel, and most of the corners are now painted with other peoples car paint. The only way to make it through is to drive at walking speed, which basically everyone do.

That’s not how speed bumps work. You can drive over a speed bump in a sports car. It’s just uncomfortable and potentially damaging to do so at speed.

Most SUVs ride poorly compared to cars due to solid axles and huge unsprung weight. If you took a speed bump fast you would be very shaken up and possibly launch into the air or tip.

TLDR. Speed bumps aren’t “invisible” to SUVs unless you are in a competition pre-runner or a monster truck.

if you live next to one they're not very silent.

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