Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Out of Town

Use Your Illusion II: Virtual Speed Humps Coming to Philly

spe404_679869c.jpg

Desperate times call for desperate measures. As part of a city-wide campaign to reduce speeding, Philadelphia is marking 100 intersections with painted-on faux speed humps, like the ones pictured above. Britain's Telegraph reports:

"The goal is to change the mindset," said Philadelphia's chief traffic engineer Charles Denny.

"The driver sees this in the roadway, and they think that it's some protrusion up out of the roadway, and not a perfectly flat surface. So they slow down before they drive over it."

Accident data will be collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to see if the pioneering scheme actually does make the roads safer.

The virtual humps are the latest innovative measure adopted as an alternative to traditional "sleeping policemen", which have been criticised for damaging cars, slowing down emergency vehicles, and lowering fuel economy.

We admire the Engwichtian spirit here, but it's not immediately clear how much of an impact virtual speed humps will have on drivers who, for example, pass over them more than once. And they don't sound nearly as much fun as the laser crosswalk wall, or this one:

Rubber speed humps that inflate only when a speeding vehicle approaches have been successfully tested in London.

Streetsbloggers, what say you? 

Photo: Telegraph

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Earth to Albany: Don’t Pander to Every Driver in the City with Toll Exemptions

Two-dozen of the state's leading good governance groups demanded that the legislature reject bills that would gut congestion pricing.

February 5, 2025

The Explainer: What To Know About The MTA’s New Congestion Pricing-Backed Debt

You asked for it, you got it: a 2,000-word explainer on municipal bond sales.

February 5, 2025

Wind in their Sales: Congestion Pricing is No ‘Toll’ on the Broadway Box Office

Despite doom prognostications, congestion pricing has not hurt Broadway's bottom line a bit — and, in fact, may be boosting it.

February 5, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: Tin Cup Edition

Road safety wasn't on the agenda for Mayor Adams in Albany on Tuesday. Plus more news.

February 5, 2025

Kirsten Gillibrand Trots Out Bogus FDNY ‘Toxins’ in Quest to Weaken Congestion Pricing

Gillibrand's solution to potential toxins in the subway is more automobile toxins in the air.

February 4, 2025
See all posts