A sump buster is type of bus trap

Bus trap

A bus trap is a metal grate placed over a ditch or depression in the road with tines are spaced far enough apart that small-diameter-wheeled vehicles fall in between the tines but close enough that larger-diameter-wheeled vehicles, such as buses, may pass....

, a device used in urban area

Urban area

An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...

s to restrict traffic

Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...

 access on various routes. Similar (in use but not design) to rising bollards, sump busters are often used in bus lanes to prohibit their use by car

Čar

Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

s.

Function

The sump buster uses a non-mechanical

Machine

A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...

 solid mass of concrete

Concrete

Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...

 (sometimes other aggregates

Construction Aggregate

Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...

 or metal

Metal

A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...

) to demobilise a vehicle when access to a restricted area is attempted. When (for instance) a car attempts to transverse the sump buster, the device will demolish the vehicle's oil pan (literally "busting the sump

Sump

A sump is a low space that collects any 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....

"). The track (distance between wheels on either side of the vehicle) and ground clearance on permitted vehicles (usually, but not restricted to buses) is such that they may clear the device with ease. In some cases, advisory or mandatory speed limit

Speed limit

Road speed limits are used in most countries to regulate the speed of road vehicles. Speed limits may define maximum , minimum or no speed limit and are normally indicated using a traffic sign...

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 run

Rat running or cut-through driving refers to the use of secondary roads or residential side streets instead of the intended main roads in urban or suburban areas. People do it to avoid heavy traffic, lengthy traffic signals or other obstacles, even where there are traffic calming measures to...

s and, to a certain extent, joyriding

Joyride (crime)

To joyride is to drive around in a stolen car, boat, or other vehicle with no particular goal, a ride taken solely for pleasure.In English law, joyriding is not considered to be theft, because the intention to "permanently deprive" the owner of the vehicle cannot be proven...

. 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

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...

 dismissed an application by the Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach Group

Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...

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

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

. The Exeter Highways and Traffic Orders Committee stated that "...[using a sump buster] is not an option that the County Council could support [as] it 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".

Locations of devices

United Kingdom

• Calcot, Berkshire
  Berkshire
  Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
  
  
  • Pollards Way/The Chase
  • Carters Rise/Underwood Road
• Ipswich
  Ipswich
  Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
  
  , Suffolk
  Suffolk
  Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
  
  
  • Kesgrave guided busway
    Ipswich Rapid Transit
    Ipswich Rapid Transit is a bus system in Suffolk, England. Operated by First Eastern Counties, part of the First Group, it has a short 0.5-kilometre stretch of guided busway. Like its counterparts in Leeds and Bradford the busway was something of an experimental venture. The route was launched in...
    
    
• Bracknell , Berkshire Holly Spring Lane
• Recreation Way, Mitcham, London

Belgium

Sump busters are installed on rural roads in Belgium in order to prevent unwanted traffic by private cars.