I think speed bumps serve a great purpose considering how people speed on inside streets, but I hate how in Kuwait majority of the speed bumps have no visible markings and just blend in with the streets at night.
With my FJ I don’t really care much because if I miss one it’s no big deal, I can just fly over the bump and its a bit of discomfort for a second. But with my Lotus its a completely different story. I can’t just fly over the speed bumps accidentally, I actually missed a speed bump last week and it was the scariest thing ever with my front spoiler lip digging into the tarmac and throwing up little pebbles in the air. I thought for sure I broke something but luckily nothing happened.
Can we get clear white stripes on the speed bumps? I know majority of speed bumps start life off with white stripes, but once they start fading they should be remarked again. It’s not that complicated a problem to solve…
33 replies on “Invisible Speed Bumps”
Near my area they are pretty invisible too. I only slow down by seeing the sign or other people slowing down.i have it memorized by now but if you driving there for first time you won’t see it.
Even worse, they pop up then disappear in a few days, then reappear in a different spot 15 meters away from the original spot almost randomly. Ask anyone who drives on street 101 in Jabriya.
I live in Jabriya and have to pass by 101 street daily.. these speed bumps are getting on my nerves! One day theyre there, then theyre not, then suddenly there are 2 speedbumps 3 meters away from eachother and then the the next day, theyre gone again. And i’m just talking about the area infront of the U-Turn! Whats going on????
sounds like some kind of social experiment lol
Tell me about it! Jabriya is a nightmare. An unmarked speed bump was installed a couple of months ago on the road coming off 5th. I understand the purpose of having the bump there. It’s a residential area and because it’s right off 5th, most of us were still doing 120 on this road, but still. Cars were flying off the bump for a few days before we got used to having to slow down for the bump.
I literally just messed up the bottom of my car this morning thanks to an unmarked speed bump on street 104 next to McDo. This is getting ridiculous – they really need to mark the speed bumps with fluorescent or white paint.
exactly!
A very valid point. I hope this gets the same attention as the spelling thing on the e-visa site. Fingers crossed. 🙂
i use the app DEERA and report the one infront of my house every 3 months ;p they actually come and repaint them!! hehe
there’s also an account on Instagram called “q8needsyou”, it literally posts ANY kind of problem and they mention the specialized authority and they fix it asap as well.
finally someone is talking about this topic you can hardly see them during the day
Not only stripes, but they should also have a sign attached to the pole before the breaker.
They’re invisible everywhere! Just two days ago I was doing around 50 in a street and I hit a fuckin huge bump with the chrysler, I heard the loudest bang I’ve ever heard just under the center console and the car behind me told me that I made some sparks, thankfully the chassis did not break or something just a little scratch. Please guys if you could mark the bumps and make em more visible that’d be great cause I have a relatively low car and I hate the fact that there are huge potholes everywhere, let alone unmarked bumps.
well actually
*brings the mic closer*
every 10 years your cells in your body actually completely change, this is why your eyes cannot see those bumps properly at night as they are not adjusted to that yet.
I was reading this article about how DMT can actually advance this process into only taking 6 years because your pineal gland- Jamie could you get that up? Yeah but it’s because your pineal glands can actually make your cells rejuvenate faster. Yeah, here we go.
*looks over at screen*
Yeah, look at that. Yeah, that chimp must be what? 400 pounds? Jesus those things will tear you to shreds. A mountain lion ate my dog once, fuckin’ crazy, huh?
lol nobody will get this
i need a young jamie in my life
I can fill that role if you plan on starting your own podcast. But knowing Kuwait, we’ll probably get in alot of trouble from Episode #1 onwards..sad
In Dubai they actually have these small poles (red & white stripes) right next to the speed bump, on the sidewalk/island. This way they never have to be painted over or worry about the stripes fading.
Yea we have warming polls too in Kuwait… But only for some bumps
Warning*
*Driving alone, midst of the night, when suddenly a wild speed bump appears and fuck my car up*
I also like to live dangerously
I cringed and grimaced when I read that Lotus incident
*with Scottish accent*
you carre me lad cause of yer car, its new and expensive, but i dun blame ya, better memories all the speed bumps, or focus on thy car ahead of ya.
is therre Haggis in Kuwait?
No, you can’t buy it in the shops or anything.
But if anyone has any to sell please get in touch, my Scottish husband would really love some!
Take this as a rule of thumb. If you’re in a shitty area speed bumps are invisible, worn out and have holes in them. If you’re in an upscale area, they will be clearly painted, marked with reflective markings and you will be warned about their presence with a sign. Good luck.
Maybe driver education and police enforcement of speeding and dangerous driving habits and we wouldn’t need so many speed bumps.
Most speed bumps are undetectable, especially at night. For such issues and others you keep on posting on your blog such as neighbourhood cleanliness etc., a friend once suggested that neighbourhood maintenance should be decentralised and managed by the coop. The current system is horrendous. If you need a road fixed, you call MPW. If you need a tree cut, you call another Agricutlral authority or municipality (NOT sure). If you want A road sign to be fixed, dedpending on the sign, you either call MOI or municipality. Need the area cleaned, call the municipality
It is much easier to decentralise this whole process. Let the coop, which already has elected board members representing the neighbourhood, manage all of the above for its neighbourhood.
Each coop can have it’s own hotline for neighbourhood maintenance and for suggestions and ideas. It is much easier getting access to the management of a coop than having to deal with the bureaucracy of government entities.
Speed Bump/breaker issue is becoming a common addressing issue which leads in itself to a core problem, that we are discussing it this frequently and that too about with some painful experiences.
Speed bumps subject belongs to Ministry of Public Works – Maintenance Engineering Affairs Sector – Maintenance Engineering for Roads and Networks (which handles NON Highway, NON Rainwater Drainage Network and NON Sanitary Drainage Network. – Then each governorate has a department under it. (6 Governorates)
Speed Bump has design issues. (height and length of the bump)
Speed Bump has Maintenance issues – Especially as International standards state that in general 9 months duration is the time in which the speed bump should get a Recolouring done as FADE OUT sets in.
Speed Bump warning signs – Poles & cat eyes/reflectors (various kinds)
The topic can keep going on… WAITING for a CLASS A Action lawsuit on MPW for damages to vehicles and others to WAKE THE MAINTENANCE DEPT and Project dept to consider QUALITY.
Thank you for starting to write about some of the annoyances we all want solved. Like this article about invisible speed pumps. I was impressed with the visa website article and how it led to fixing many of the typos on that website.
Maybe you can update the post with some of the suggestions mentioned by your readers such as the DEERA app and Instagram account q8needsyou to report problems like this.
The only area where you find clearly marked speed bumps is Yarmouk, their mayor is great and really cares about the area. They even have standardized shape for the ones on the main roads.
If I was mayor of Salmiya I would make it a better place than Yarmouk!
The lack of lane markings and painting of speed bumps are two of my biggest gripes with Kuwait roads – it is a disgrace – yes people don’t know how to drive, on their phones, babies on laps etc.. but lane markings and speed bump painting go a long way and I think are the easiest to address and maintain a standard on. The solution is not rocket science. Paint them, and maintain them.
There are roads that have been resurfaced for months and still lack markings – the curve approaching the airport for example. Why the delay? Give me one good reason.
As a sweeping observation about Kuwait’s approach to maintenance of pretty much anything – there is none. Once its built the responsibility is gone – the attitude is ‘well it was brand new 5 years ago, whats the issue?’.