Govt wants action on speed breakers that kill

Accounting for thousands of deaths each year, speed breakers are under the scanner this Road Safety Week that began Monday. Flagging its concern on a feature that is intended to improve road safety but has become a hazard instead, the government has written to states and union territories on the poor implementation of its directive that speed breakers be removed from highways.

According to the Road Accident Report (2015), published by the ministry of road, transport and highways, speed breakers counted for 2.2 per cent (11,084 road accidents) of the total 5,01,423 accidents, and 2.3 per cent (3,409) of the 1,46,133 road accident fatalities in the year. The report, the latest available, also said that speed bumps contributed to 9,764 injuries of the total 5,00,279 injuries.

In its recent circular, the ministry has not just reiterated its stand that speed breakers have become a major road safety concern but also expressed its dismay at the poor progress of implementing agencies in removing speed breakers on national highways and replacing them with the more 'lenient' rumble strips.

"We have been repeatedly reminding the states and the implementing agencies to remove speed breakers from roads but there has been little progress in this regard," said a top official from the ministry.

The document refers to a circular issued by the ministry on April 11 last year which had stated that in order to check vehicular speed local authorities often construct ill-designed road bumps without following specified guidelines.

State governments and agencies like the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state Public Work Departments (PWD) had been asked to remove all speed breakers from highways as they could lead to accidents when there is fast-moving traffic.

It had also stated that as a traffic calming measure, rumble strips should be put instead at sharp curves on level crossings as well as congested or accident-prone areas after getting the approval of expert agencies.

However, the recent circular states that the ministry has not been receiving performance reports from the implementing agencies.

"It is of great concern and all the Project Zones and ROs and ELOs of the Ministry are hereby directed to coordinate with the implementing agencies and send consolidated reports on the position of removal of speed breakers and approval of location of rumble strips on National Highways without further delay," the circular states.

According to the Indian Road Congress, speed breakers should have a rounded shape with a maximum height of 10 cm, and should be spread over 3.7 metres; the humps should be painted and have reflectors.

However, experts say most speed breakers, under the jurisdiction of state PWDs, do not follow these guidelines.

Often, errant speed breakers come up overnight on highways, especially near villages lining the stretch, said Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) Director Dr Satish Chandra.

"Audits carried out by CRRI on several highway stretches show speed breakers rarely adhere to the guidelines. Even for rumble strips, CRRI has recommended in several cases that their height should at least be 8mm instead of the standard 5mm. This will ensure they are effective in curbing the speed of a vehicle, without causing any damage to it as a speed breaker would do," Chandra told DNA.

The Delhi High Court had last year ordered the removal of unauthorised speed breakers within four weeks.

Road accident data from 2015 reveals that about 1,374 accidents and 400 deaths take place every day on Indian roads, which further translates into 57 accidents and 17 deaths every hour.

As part of the Road Safety week from January 9, the government will be organising workshops in states with different stakeholders to sensitise them about road safety.