AHMEDABAD: Speed bumps have always been cursed by motorists for reducing vehicle efficiency and wasting petrol. But not any more. Eight engineering students of the state have come out with small speed bumps that can generate electricity through electro-spinning wheels installed beneath roads in heavy traffic zones, thereby powering streetlights and traffic signals.

A conventional speed bump wastes a huge amount of kinetic energy when a car is forced to bring itself from a more efficient cruising speed to almost zero. Vicky Vyas, one of the students, explained: “A rotary is beneficial when the proportion of the right-turn traffic is extremely high; typically if it is more than 30%. They’re suitable when there are more than four approaches or if there aren’t separate lanes for right-turn traffic.” 

By placing electro-mechanical units beneath speed breakers, we can conserve this energy. When vehicles pass over the spinning wheel, power is produced by the motion of wheels that is saved in a generator installed under electro-spinning wheels.