Curtains for speeders at Curtin University thanks to Actibump

Curtin University in Perth, Australia, is rolling out more Actibumps for slowing traffic after what is says has been a successful trial of four systems. “We expected the same effect as in Sweden,” said David Eskilsson, general manager at Edeva, the Actibump manufacturer based in Linkoping. “But the decrease in the percentage of speeding drivers from over 70% of all drivers in January to below 25% in October last year on the most difficult site has been better than even we expected.” In January 2018 Curtin
June 10, 2019 Read time: 3 mins
Actibump successful in Australia
Curtin University in Perth, Australia, is rolling out more Actibumps for slowing traffic after what is says has been a successful trial of four systems.


“We expected the same effect as in Sweden,” said David Eskilsson, general manager at 5190 Edeva, the Actibump manufacturer based in Linkoping. “But the decrease in the percentage of speeding drivers from over 70% of all drivers in January to below 25% in October last year on the most difficult site has been better than even we expected.”

In January 2018 Curtin University installed four of the active speed bumps to reduce the number of speeding drivers, particularly on semester week days when there are a lot of pedestrians and vehicles on campus. Each day around 2,000 vehicles use the street which has a speed limit of 40km/h.

“The use of the smart speed bumps also provides a steadier flow of traffic, which makes it easier for pedestrians to judge the speed of the approaching vehicle,” said Graham Arndt, director of operations and maintenance at Curtin University. “Additionally, the units have been maintenance free and operated continuously for a year without the need for any intervention.”

Arndt said the university will be installing another set of two active speed bumps on Townsing Drive and another active speed bump will replace a so-called dumb bump - a moulded black plastic bump near the Manning Road entrance. The Actibump traffic safety system allows full accessibility for all vehicles driven at, or under, the set speed limit. Speeding vehicles are physically reminded of the speed limit by an inverted speedbump. A radar measures the speed of the oncoming vehicles and speeding vehicles activate a hatch that is lowered a few centimetres into the road surface. Drivers were surprised to see the road “disappear in front of them” and this made them slow down, said Arndt.

For non-speeders the hatch remains level with the road surface. Edeva says that  independent evaluations have shown that the system decreases the noise, improves yielding behaviour and decreases the speed to that of the speed limit of around 3km/h, regardless of speed limit or previous speeding behaviour.

Speed limit and other variables are set through a web-based interface that also presents the statistics collected by the system.

Edeva says that around 50 Actibump units have been installed worldwide, with most of them in Sweden including in Linköping, Malmö, Helsingborg, Karlstad and two of them are installed in Ystad, on the European road network E65 owned by the Swedish Transport Administration.

Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Roo'd Awakening and BMW Drivers
    June 29, 2018
    A rider amongst a group of cyclists on a training run in Australia had a rather unpleasant experience. The man was cycling along a road with his team mates when a young kangaroo jumped out from the road side and collided with him, knocking him from his bicycle. Although he was riding at speed at the time, he was not seriously hurt and as one of his team mates filmed the incident, will have video footage to better remember the incident by. The feelings of the kangaroo over the incident were not recorded.
    Read More
  • Road safety challenge for Europe
    December 3, 2012
    Europe’s road safety drive is highlighting key issues - Mike Woof reports In Europe there is a growing understanding that alcohol use amongst drivers still has to be tackled effectively. Accident data reveals that safety standards are improving across most European countries, with steady reductions in numbers of serious injuries and fatalities. But there remains a problem with alcohol use amongst many drivers and it is amongst this group that accident levels have not fallen. In Spain in particular, there ha
    Read More
  • Traffic control solution manufacturers win key project works
    September 26, 2013
    Traffic control system manufacturers have recently supplied some of their cutting-edge technology to major projects in Europe. Meanwhile, in southern Asia, another leading firm in the sector is helping reduce chronic traffic congestion in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. Guy Woodford reports Solutions supplied by Siemens Mobility & Logistics (M&L) are helping the Rijkswaterstaat improve traffic conditions at the Coentunnel in Amsterdam, one of the most heavily used traffic arteries in the Netherlands, used
    Read More
  • Technology to ensure continuity and quality for asphalt production
    June 4, 2019
    A variety of complex factors are involved in the production of hot asphalt mixes, with the process vulnerable to sudden stoppages of the equipment. The problems caused by a need for unplanned maintenance are high, as the cost of a plant stoppage is high. In order to minimise disruptions to production, new technologies can be used for wear components. Electronic monitoring of asphalt plant motors during production can boost efficiency, replacing corrective maintenance with preventive and predictive maintenan
    Read More

Highlighted Content