A sump buster is a device installed within a bus route to limit that thoroughfare to buses. It discourages

traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

from entering a lane by promising to destroy the

oil pan A sump is a low space that collects often undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers. Sump can also refer to an area in a cave ...

of any vehicle with insufficient ground clearance to get over it, making them similar in use (but not design) to rising bollards. A sump buster can also be known as a "sump breaker" or "sump trap". Sump busters were first used in the 1980s.Lodder, Arno R., and Bart Verheij.
13th BILETA Conference:'The Changing Jurisdiction
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Function

The sump buster uses a non-

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

solid mass of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

, or sometimes other aggregates or

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, to demobilise a vehicle when access to a restricted area is attempted. When a vehicle attempts to traverse the sump buster, the device will demolish the vehicle's

(literally "busting the

sump A sump is a low space that collects often undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers. Sump can also refer to an area in a cave ...

"). The track and

ground clearance Ride height or ground clearance is the amount of space between the base of an automobile tire and the lowest point of the automobile (typically the axle); or, more properly, to the shortest distance between a flat, level surface, and the lowest p ...

on permitted vehicles, usually buses, is such that they may clear the device with ease. In some cases, advisory or mandatory

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...

s are given.

Impact on the community

A major purpose of the sump buster is to avoid road systems to be used as

rat run Rat running (also known as rodent running, cut-through driving, or dive-bombing) is the practice by motorists of using residential side streets or any unintended short cut such as a parking lot, delivery service lane or cemetery road instead o ...

s and, to a certain extent,

joyriding Joyriding refers to driving or riding in a stolen vehicle, most commonly a car, with no particular goal other than the pleasure or thrill of doing so or to impress other people. The term "Joy Riding" was coined by a New York judge in 1908. Joy ...

. For this reason, devices have been vandalised (either through annoyance at their existence or to attempt to gain passage), resulting in accidents (and injuries) to legitimate road users. In January 2005,

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

dismissed an application by the

Stagecoach Group Stagecoach Group is a transport group based in Perth, Scotland. It operates buses, express coaches and a tram service in the United Kingdom. History Stagecoach was born out of deregulation of the British express coach market in the early ...

for the installation of a sump buster on Tan Lane (a restricted access road) in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. The Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee stated that "... sing a sump busteris not an option that the County Council could support sit would not differentiate between high clearance vehicles and for example cars and vans that are authorised to use the link under the current Traffic Regulation Order". Sump busters have led to serious injuries to scooter drivers and cyclists who fail to notice them. Municipalities in the Netherlands have been sued for

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

after damage or injuries caused by insufficiently marked sump busters.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Road infrastructure Transportation planning Road transport Road hazards

Function

Impact on the community

See also

References