“Speed bumps and slowdowns, intervene before it’s too late.” It’s the appeal of Asso-Consum Taranto to the Prefect and to the Mayor of Taranto.
“In the urban streets of the Municipality of Taranto and in the extra-urban ones of the province it is now a very bad habit to encounter speed bumps and bumps, placed with the aim of inducing drivers of every type of vehicle and motorbike to “slow down” their speed, as they are not both the danger signs and the speed cameras are sufficient (evidently); the aim is correct, also because speed is responsible for a large part of road accidents – as underlined in a letter sent to the Prefect and Mayor – in Taranto there are hundreds of speed bumps and “outlaw” speed bumps; let’s take for example two large road arteries, Avenue Great Greece and especially, Viale Virgilio which then turns into Avenue Unification of Italy and road to San Vito: there are now worn retarders for the passage of vehicles which have become real “steps” which produce considerable damage to the tires and suspensions of the vehicles, when they do not cause falls for cyclists and motorcyclists. Always hoping that “no one dies”.
It is the same bodies responsible for the protection of citizens who are at fault – that is, who do not respect the law – and possible contributory causes of the accidents themselves and Taranto and its province are no exception – continues the letter – let’s see the characteristics: artificial speed bumps: the measures . Provided for by article 179 of the Highway Code, they can only be installed on residential streets, in public and private parks, in residences. They can be installed in series and must be pre-signaled. They consist of prefabricated raised elements or corrugations in the convex profile flooring. Depending on the speed limits in force on the road concerned, they have the following dimensions: for speed limits equal to or lower than 50 km/h, width no less than 60 cm and height no more than 3 cm; for speed limits equal to or lower than 40 km/h, width not less than 90 cm and height not more than 5 cm; for speed limits equal to or lower than 30 km/h, width not less than 120 cm and height not more than 7 cm.
Are ambulances passing by? The use of artificial speed bumps on roads that constitute preferential routes for vehicles normally used for emergency or emergency services is absolutely prohibited. The reason is obvious: an ambulance transporting an injured person must travel on perfectly asphalted roads. If you encounter artificial speed bumps, we add, you are not in a civilized country. Some Municipalities place hybrids between speed bumps and crossings, so as to want to be in compliance. From PoliziaMunicipale.it: “Many Municipalities think of disguising a speed bump as a raised pedestrian crossing and avoiding the stringent regulations regarding the installation of speed bumps. There are so many of them on our roads that we are all led to associate them with a raised crossing and believe that they can be found freely anywhere.” This is not the case! We therefore ask – the letter concludes – that there be an intervention to resolve the immediate problem, because the flow of vehicles and motorbikes naturally tends to increase in the summer period towards the roads towards the sea. The consequences could be very serious.”
