Fix the roads, iron out the bumps

Fix the roads, iron out the bumps


Faiza Haneef
First Published : 06 Nov 2008 04:13:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 06 Nov 2008 09:31:09 AM IST

BANGALORE: Shashwath Mishra, a 21-year-old MBA student, hit a speed breaker near Gangenahalli flower market and died due to injuries the next day in a hospital.

November 1 : 21-year-old Yatish died on spot when he hit a speed breaker on Magadi Road. Yatish was not wearing a helmet.

The common culprit in these two recent horrifying accident cases are your not-so-conspicuous, unplanned and unauthorised speed breakers, which blatantly defy the standards of the Indian Road Congress (IRC).

Speed breakers, especially the ones with no reflector paint on them, are turning out to be a killer presence across the city. “These road humps do not stand out from a distance, making motorists apply sudden brakes, lead ing to a loss of balance,” said Vinay Shetty, a traffic constable.

“We have come across several accidents at places where people have got speed breakers constructed in front of their houses, without consulting with the officials concerned,” said Shetty.

However, for a speed breaker to be constructed, the Traffic Police has to notify the Traffic Engineering Cell (TEC) of the BBMP, who will then construct it based on the requirements. But, even the BBMP, which is responsible for constructing humps has failed to follow the IRC rules and thus, not many of them are built according to these standards.

A large number of road humps on the interior roads are unauthorised and the BBMP does not take the blame but chooses to hold the public responsible.

Policespeak

Bangalore City ACP (Traffic and Security), Praveen Sood said, “There are a large number of road humps in the city and it is very difficult to prevent one from constructing a road hump or removing them.” The road humps serve a very limited purpose, but one main purpose is to cut the speed.

“Accidents can be avoided if road-users maintain a constant speed. But, the general mindset is that accidents happen due to road humps.

Just a few accept or realise that accidents happen due to negligent driving,” he said.

“There are people who want road humps and then, there are those who do not want them. This is a difficult situation and we receive hundreds of letters of such requests,” he said. He further stated that about 80 per cent of road humps on the arterial roads have been provided with signboards as per the IRC guidelines and that 20 per cent of pending work in this regard would be completed by November-end. He assured that 40 per cent of the pending painting work on the speed breakers will be completed soon.

“However, this is a continuous process as the paint does not last long because of the friction,” he said.

“We have also proposed the construction of high-ride pedestrian ways and the BBMP is said to have called tenders for the same. This would help avoid the need for more speed breakers,” he added.

... And the BBMP says

“Road humps are constructed after consulting with the traffic police department. But there are several humps in the city that have come up on small lanes about which even the BBMP is not informed.

These are the unauthorised speed breakers,” a senior BBMP official said. “We have called tenders for high-ride pedestrian ways and the work is expected to begin soon,” he added.

BBMP officials requested the public not to construct new road humps in front of their houses without informing the officials.