Perth’s Curtin University has become the first location in Australia to install radar-activated speed bumps that only appear when motorists are speeding.

The Actibump system, developed by Swedish company Edeva, allows full accessibility for all vehicles driven at, or under, the set speed limit, rewarding safe driving.

A radar measures the speed of the oncoming vehicles; when a speeding vehicles is sensed, a hatch is lowered a few centimetres into the road surface, creating an inverted speed bump to slow the car down.
 
Curtin University has installed and will be testing two systems, in an effort to dissuade lead foots around campus.

“We will be looking at the behavioural change it causes,” Graham Arndt, Director of Operations and Maintenance says.  

“About 70% of the vehicles on this street are speeding. There are around 2000 vehicles per day and the speed limit is 40 kph. We needed to do something about it.

“We chose the Actibump because it only affects drivers that are speeding and because the system is so flexible. We can set speed limit and other variables via software, which increases flexibility and the system is also programmable for other applications.”

Arndt observed that drivers were “surprised to the road disappear in front of them,” and said it had been effective in reducing their speed.

The system also collects speed data on each passing vehicle, and the company claims Actibumps have already successfully improved traffic conditions throughout Sweden.