I had the hump today – literally. At last, today was the day my committee held the first of two sessions on road humps which I first mooted about 18 months ago.

There certainly seems to be a real mess going on. Barnet taking them out – but virtually every other residential road it seems at times wanting them. There are good humps, bad humps, unnecessary humps and cushions and tables.

But it is undisputed that since their introduction there has been a reduction of around 60% in road deaths and serious accidents.

Weighing in in the other corner are the emergency services in the form of the police and the ambulances who both claimed that humps were slowing them down to the point where lives were equally being lost. There are also issues about noise, pollution and vibrations.

Judgment of Solomon required for this one!

What was clear from this first session is that while ‘strategic’ roads are meant to be hump free, there is a bit of a muddle about what constitutes a ‘strategic’ road. It was clear that roads which are not officially designated ‘strategic’ are actually strategic but are having humps on them. I am pretty sure we need to recommend an audit of roads, agree a hierarchy with the boroughs and a mechanism for consultation with

emergency services that is actually listened to and acted on.

The other think that is clear to me is that the ambulance service needs to look at putting its paramedics on motor bikes – they can be much quicker to arrive.

Anyway – the second session is after the Christmas break when the boroughs come to give evidence – so I don’t want to delve too deeply yet into solid recommendations. They will have to wait for the report from my enquiry.