Many cities are concerned about using physical traffic calming devices to slow cars down. Slower cars may mean safer roads, but what happens when an ambulance or fire truck has to slow down too? At the higher speeds these vehicles travel at, slowing to 15-20 mph is significant, and can have tragic results. Whether the safety concern is on a primary response route that is often used by emergency vehicles as they head to the closest medical facility or simply on ordinary neighborhood streets, response time is an obstacle that often prevents cities from using speed humps on their roads.

And rightfully so.

In many emergencies, the difference of an extra minute, seconds accrued as a vehicle slows to traverse each speed hump, can mean the difference between life and death. That’s where speed cushions come in.

Speed cushions are a series of small speed humps installed across the width of the roadway. While the diminished need for materials with speed lumps or cushions translates into decreased cost, price is not usually the key reason that cities or communities choose them.

Speed cushions are designed to be precisely narrow enough that emergency vehicles, with their wider axles, can drive over them without slowing. For cities concerned with emergency vehicle response time, these are the ideal traffic calming devices that keep firetrucks and ambulances moving while still protecting local roads.

Cars, with their narrower wheelbase, have no choice but to drive over the speed cushions with one or both wheels on the traffic calming device. This causes them to slow down, reducing speeds and preventing crashes and injuries.