Kirkop speed humps (1)

Frans Buhagiar (The Sunday Times, September 9) wrote about the newly installed speed humps in Triq il-Lewziet and Taz-Zebbiegh Road, Kirkop. I will not argue that speed humps cause motorists to slow down or that they may be a nuisance to those passing over them, but I will clarify some facts.

The two roads form a single stretch of road around 380 metres long. For years I have been complaining that the speed of vehicles driven through exceed the 35 km/h limit of these residential roads. On my own initiative I have undertaken a study to determine the actual speeds of motorists passing through these roads and the results speak for themselves. The average speed was found to be 58 km/h, with the minimum speed measured that of 44.4 km/h and the maximum 88.6 km/h. The study also showed that the majority of motorists drive between 46 and 75 km/h.

Even though the residents most probably can read simple traffic signs, they are surely not following them. The use of speed humps as an effective control for excessive speed is unquestionable and is also confirmed by Mr Buhagiar when he stated that vehicles have to slow down to go over them.

Such speed humps allow vehicles to pass over them without reducing speed only if the vehicle is below the speed limit, which in this case is 35 km/h. These speed humps should only be removed if a suitable alternative, such as speed cameras, is used. Otherwise these roads will return to being very dangerous to the residents who have to cope with speeding vehicles passing by.