The Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999

Statutory Instruments

1999 No. 1025

HIGHWAYS, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999

Made

30th March 1999

Laid before Parliament

30th March 1999

Coming into force

28th April 1999

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales, as respects Wales, make these Regulations in exercise of powers conferred by sections 90C(1) and 90D(1) and (2) of the Highways Act 1980(1), and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, and after consultation with representative organisations in accordance with sections 90C(6) and 90D(3) of that Act–

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 28th April 1999.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations–

“the Act” means the Highways Act 1980;

“traffic sign” has the same meaning as in section 64 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(2);

“the Traffic Signs Regulations” means the Traffic Signs Regulations 1994(3);

“20 miles per hour zone” means a zone comprising one or more roads in relation to which the following conditions are satisfied–

(a)

a speed limit of 20 miles per hour applies to each road within the zone;

(b)

a traffic sign of the size, colour and type shown in diagram 674 of the Traffic Signs Regulations 1994 is placed at each entrance to the zone for vehicular traffic; and

“EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(4).

(2) A reference in these Regulations to a traffic sign is a reference to that sign, if used in Wales, with the prefix W as prescribed by the Traffic Signs (Welsh and English Language Provisions) Regulations 1985(5).

Consultation about road hump proposals

3.  Where the Secretary of State or a local highway authority proposes to construct a road hump, he or they shall, as well as consulting the chief officer of police as required by section 90C(1) of the Act, also consult–

(a) where the proposal is by a local highway authority in England which is the council of a County, any district council in whose district the highway is situated;

(b) in all cases, the chief officer of the fire brigade for the area in which the highway concerned is situated and the chief officer of any body providing ambulance services under the National Health Service Act 1977(6) and operating in that area;

(c) in all cases, organisations appearing to him or them to represent persons who use the highway to which the proposal related, or to represent persons who are otherwise likely to be affected by the road hump.

Nature, dimensions and location of road humps

4.—(1) Subject to regulation 7, no road hump shall be constructed or maintained in a highway unless–

(a) each face of it across the carriageway of the highway in which it is constructed is at right angles to an imaginary line along the centre of that carriageway;

(b) it has a minimum length of 900 millimetres measured parallel to an imaginary line along the centre of that carriageway from the point where one face meets the surface of that carriageway to the point where the other face meets the surface of that carriageway;

(c) the highest point on it is not less than 25 millimetres nor more than 100 millimetres higher than an imaginary line parallel to the centre line of that carriageway connecting the surface of that carriageway on one side of the road hump to the surface of that carriageway on the other side of the road hump and passing vertically below that point; and,

(d) no vertical face of any material forming part of that road hump exceeds 6 millimetres measured vertically from top to bottom of that face.

(2) A road hump may be constructed and maintained in a highway so that an imaginary line along the centre of the hump from one side of the road to the other is in the same position as an imaginary line from one side of the road to the other along the centre of the pattern of black and white stripes specified in paragraph 8(1) of Part II of Schedule 1 to the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions 1997(7).

(3) Save as mentioned in paragraph (2) above, no road hump shall be within the limits of a zebra controlled area as defined in regulation 3(1) of the regulations mentioned in that paragraph or within 30 metres from the imaginary line along the centre of the pattern of stripes mentioned in that paragraph.

(4) A road hump may be constructed and maintained in the highway so that an imaginary line along the centre of the hump from one side of the road to the other is in the same position as an imaginary line along the centre of the limits of the crossing from one side of the road to the other as shown in a diagram in Part II Schedule 1 to the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Pedestrian Crossings Regulations and General Directions 1997.

(5) Save as mentioned in paragraph (4) above, no road hump shall be within the limits of a “pelican” crossing as defined in regulation 3(1) of the regulations mentioned in that paragraph or within 30 metres of any part of any such crossing.

(6) No road hump shall be constructed or maintained in a highway:

(a) on a railway level crossing or within 20 metres of any rail forming part of the railway track at any such crossing;

(b) within 2 metres of any rail providing support and guidance for vehicles carried on flanged wheels and running in a carriageway of that highway otherwise than at a railway level crossing;

(c) under or within 25 metres of any part of a structure over a carriageway of that highway any part of which is 6.5 metres or less above the surface of the carriageway; or,

(d) above or within 25 metres of any part of a bridge over which a carriageway of that highway passes or any part of a tunnel, culvert or other similar structure which crosses beneath a carriageway of that highway.

Lighting of road humps

5.  Subject to regulation 7 no road hump shall be constructed in any highway unless in that highway there is lighting for that road hump which is–

(a) a system of street lighting furnished by at least three lamps lit by electricity and placed so that not more than 38 metres separate any of the lamps from the next one to it; or,

(b) a system of street lighting complying with the British Standard for Road Lighting published by the British Standards Institution under number BS 5489 or with an equivalent standard or code of practice published by a national standards body or equivalent body of any EEA State before 28th April 1999; or,

(c) lighting specially provided for the road hump.

Placing of traffic signs

6.  Subject of regulation 7, where a road hump is constructed in a highway the highway authority for that highway shall cause to be placed and thereafter cause to be maintained appropriate traffic signs as prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations in such positions (if such positions are not prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations) as the authority may consider requisite for the purpose of providing adequate warning of the presence of a road hump or series of road humps to persons using the highway.

7.  Where a road hump is placed in a highway which is in a 20 miles per hour zone, the provisions of regulations 4(1)(a), 4(6)(c) and (d), 5 and 6 shall not apply.

Revocation

8.  The Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1996(8) are hereby revoked.

Saving

9.  A road hump constructed in compliance with the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1996 shall be treated as being in compliance with these Regulations.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Larry Whitty

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

29th March 1999

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Wales

Peter Hain

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Welsh Office

30th March 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations revoke the Highways (Road Humps) Regulations 1996 and replace them with new provisions.

The principal changes are:

(a) Lighting for road humps may either be a system of street lighting complying with the British Standard for road lighting under number BS 5489 or a system of equivalent standard published by a national standards body or equivalent body of any EEA State before 28th April 1999. The 1996 Regulations included any system of street lighting which complied with a European standard, published after that Order had come into force

(b) The signing and lighting provisions and certain provisions relating to the placing of road humps do not apply to a road hump in a 20mph zone.

British Standard 5489 may be obtained from any outlet operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI) or by post from BSI at 389 Chiswick High Road, London W4 4AL (Telephone number: 0181–996–9000).

(1)

1980 c. 66; sections 90A to F were added by the Transport Act 1981 (c. 56), Schedule 10.

(2)

1984 c. 27.

(3)

Part I of S.I. 1994/1519, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(4)

Cm 2073 and 2183.

(5)

Part I of S.I. 1985/713.

(6)

1977 c. 49.

(7)

S.I. 1997/2400.

(8)

S.I. 1996/1483.