Smart Hump's A Squash Hit

It's taken five years of tests, but finally this clever new 'variable' speed bump is going on sale. The Transcalm is a hollow rubber cushion that squashes flat when cars drive over it - but only if they're travelling slower than 20mph.

Auto Express Car Reviews

27th April 2005

If they go faster, it stays rigid and gives a nasty bump. It was trialled in the City of London, where the highways boss said it was the best he'd seen.

Inventor Graham Heeks explained: "This is the first traffic calming solution to offer drivers a carrot and stick approach. It doesn't penalise those motorists who stay at a safe speed, as conventional humps do."

The calming device also squashes flat when heavy vehicles pass over it - a deliberate effect to allow ambulances, fire engines and buses swift passage. "I felt there had to be a way of slowing speeding vehicles without delaying ambulances or fire engines," said Heeks, from Wakefield, W Yorks. A squeaky rubber toy belonging to his daughter was the inspiration for the air valve-controlled pneumatic hump.