Bromley Transport

The legal basis of traffic slowing

The Legal Basis of Traffic Slowing

Like the rest of London, speed humps are dotted throughout the streets of Bromley borough.

This article explains the laws by which speed humps are regulated in England and Wales. The Secretary of State has powers under the Road Traffic Acts to set Regulations in respect of traffic calming measures and the relevant ones are as follows: 

The Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations 1999 (and a subsequent amendment in 2000) can be found on the HMSO web site on the internet (see www.legislation.gov.uk – use their site search function), plus also the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999 on the same web site. These regulations specify what traffic calming devices are permitted and where, what public consultation is required, what street signs are required, and in the last case, the maximum dimensions of speed humps. It is important to note that speed humps are therefore expressly permitted by law and therefore if a hump meets the regulations, you are very unlikely to have any case in law against the local authority for any damage or injury caused by them, with a few minor exceptions. 

Consultation

Under these regulations there is an obligation to consult various people about traffic calming schemes.

Under the Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations they must consult the police and “such persons or organisations representing persons who use the highway or who are otherwise likely to be affected by the traffic calming work as the authority thinks fit.” Clearly local residents or businesses should therefore be consulted.

Under the Highways (Traffic Calming) Regulations they must consult the police and “such persons or organisations representing persons who use the highway or who are otherwise likely to be affected by the traffic calming work as the authority thinks fit.”  Clearly local residents or businesses should therefore be consulted.

Similarly, and even more specifically, under the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations the council must consult “in all cases, organisations appearing to them to represent persons who use the highway to which the proposal related, or to represent persons who are otherwise likely to be affected by the road hump”. In addition they must consult local fire and ambulance services. Organisations such as B.B.R.A.G. who represent road users must clearly therefore be consulted.

Permitted Traffic Calming Devices

These can be almost any features included in a traffic calming scheme such as humps, lighting, paving, grass, pillars, bollards, walls, fences, trees, and many more. 

Required Street Signs and Lighting

There must be “adequate warning of the presence of traffic calming works….” and likewise for speed humps. In the specific case of humps, there must also be adequate street lighting (the regulations spell out the specific requirements here in some detail).

Hump Dimensions and Location

Speed humps must be at right angles to the carriageway, be at least 900mm long, be less than 100 mm high and more than 25mm high and not have a vertical face exceeding 6 mm. Note that most speed humps in the UK are now constructed at 75 mm height due to grounding on higher ones, and there are other guidelines on their use and such measures as leading and trailing slopes which are given later, but these do not necessarily have the force of law.

Road humps may be constructed under Zebra, Pelican and Puffin crossings, if centrally located under them. However, they cannot be placed near bridge supports, or near tunnels or culverts beneath the road.

Other Restrictions

There are specific regulations on the construction of overrun areas and rumble devices which limit their height for example. But one interesting point to note is the rule that “No traffic calming work shall be constructed or maintained in a carriageway so as to prevent the passage of any vehicle unless the passage of that vehicle is otherwise lawfully prohibited”.  This was probably designed to avoid such measures being used to prohibit heavy goods vehicles for example, without a more specific regulation being invoked, but it may be relevant in other ways if you own a vehicle that has difficulty in negotiating speed humps.

Removing humps

When the public demand the removal of humps, you sometimes hear it argued by councillors or council staff that there are legal difficulties in doing so – for example that councillors might be personally liable if accidents subsequently occurred. This is nonsense. The possible legal liabilities and obligations of councillors and local authority staff are fully spelled out and quite simple.