Ah yeah, humps make perfect sense, but what about chicanes?  The HWC
has a picture of a chicane by the rule and clearly indicates that you
should slow for chichanes.  Maybe it does just mean humps?

I get a lot of speed cusions around here which I have mentioned
before.  They can't be negotiated comfortably at any speed.  I find
that the best thing in my car is to drive between the humps in the
middle of the road, with some roads you won't even touch the bump, but
with most you just get slight bump.  I find that with speed cusions
faster is almost always better, for a few reasons.  I'll take the
chance with wearing out shocks etc, I just find that a slow speeds
(<25mph) my back starts to ache after about 20 of them.  I have some
on the way to work though which are so bad that my wheels spin as I go
over at just 30mph :-o

In Reading the IAM technique would probably cause a lot of road rage,
although it is a very good technique.  I'm far too impatient though
when I've got more than 20 of them ahead of me.

Can never understand why speed bumps in a 30 limit aren't designed to
be taken at 30. Or for that matter, there's one in Rotherham in a 40
limit thats 15mph max....

Ian

I hate those things.
Most speed bumps are just annoyance. But those things are garaunteed to
knock my exhaust off it's mountings, everytime.

Kind of undignified driving a Saab, then getting out crawling
underneath, and come out with your hands covered in thrown up road crap.

I couldn't do that with some humps, believe me it would take me more
than twice as long to get to work!  However some are a first gear job,
like the massive one at the bottom of my road and in car parks, like
the ones you mentioned.

The speed limit does not give a proscriptive speed at which it will be
safe to drive.

On many roads, you will need to slow down below the speed limit for
bends, blind crests, junctions, speed humps &c., even though for
*most* of the road the speed limit is appropriate and sensible. In
these situations, I think recommending "Reduce speed" is a perfectly
reasonably thing to do.

The technical name for these is speed cushions.

It will depend partly on your car. Some cars are not wide enough to
straddle them, so you will always get a bump. Some cars are too low to
straddle them - especially when heavily loaded - so you will have to
bounce one wheel over them.

I used to drive over a long run of these at 30-40mph on a regular
basis, and on my car there is just the faintest of touches doing that.
The tracking was still spot on afterwards.

Conor, I think it is a fair question.
In a 20, when it tells you to reduce speed, yet if you do, you may
conflict with other road users by causing an obstruction impeding their
progress?

So pretty much, you break one highway code rule/suggestion or another.

Can't be our council then. Usually its them holding the rest of the
world up. 15MPH below the limit no matter how low that limit is seems
to be the order of the day for E.Yorks council workmen.

The obstruction's on your side of the road, so you're meant to give way if
there's no room. There's no point trying to squeeze through most of the
time, particularly not quickly as you've no idea what could be behind the
car. Even if you knock down someone's dog, you'll need your bumper fixing
and AFAIK it has to be reported to the police.

I'd say keep going if possible, but keep the speed down, to a crawl if need be, as
a tight gap is usually safe at a very low speed, but a lot depends on the speed of
the oncoming vehicle, as sometimes they make no attempt to keep over or even slow
down even though it's clear that it's a tight squeeze, which I guess they are
entitled to do, but if we all drive totally selfishly then things could get pretty
miserable in busy traffic where a bit of give and take is required to keep things
moving.

When I was an impressionable youth (hell, that's going back a while) I used
to be very impressed by drivers who could whizz through narrow gaps at a
brisk pace, and I used to feel quite inferior because I didn't have the
confidence to do it.  I now believe it is very unwise to shoot through
narrow gaps, so that particular shortcoming of mine seems much less
important.

One thing I do find a bit irritating is where my side of the road is
partially blocked by a parked vehicle, and the driver coming the other way
goes straight through the middle of the remaining gap.  What he ought to do
(IMHO) is move over closer to the kerb on his side, and leave me room to go
through the middle at a sensible pace and with reasonable clearance all
round.  However, I would not expect an oncoming vehicle to move too far to
his left if it meant him coming too close to hazards on his near side, such
as pedestrians walking close to the pavement edge.

If there is any doubt about sufficient space being available for me to be
the meat in the sandwich and go through the middle, I prefer to slow down
early so that by the time I reach the parked vehicle the fellow coming the
other way has passed that point and is out of the way.  In that case I can
often carry on without needing to stop, it just means hanging back a bit.

Another 'trick' I find helpful in this situation is to move out early on the
approach to a parked vehicle on my side, and indeed to move out a bit
further than is strictly necessary.  This gives a better view past the
parked vehicle, and if anyone is coming the other way it also encourages
them to think about moving over a bit more to their left.  I try to ensure
that if they don't take the hint and move over, there is plenty of time for
me to stop and wait until they are clear.  In any event this 'moving out a
bit too far' should be done early, clearly and positively  -  shall we say
with a bit of assertiveness  -  but not in a pushy or aggressive style.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes all,
Dave  -  alias TripleS.