A recent incident wherein a young woman lost her life after falling out of an auto-rickshaw when its brakes hit a poorly positioned speed breaker has put the spotlight on speed breakers as an intrinsic component of road safety and the need for them to be constructed as per the standards set by the Indian Roads Congress (IRC). In March 2005, the Bombay High Court (HC) had ruled that speed breakers should be erected as per the standards set by the IRC and that those which do not comply with these standards should be removed. More than a decade has passed since the Bombay HC directive but the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is still struggling with compliance.
As per the PMC road department, there are at least over 2,000 speed breakers in the city. While the PMC had constituted a committee to frame guidelines for speed breakers, the situation on ground reflects a general apathy towards speed breakers. Interestingly, the PMC has constructed speed breakers on flyovers and near signals without accompanying warning boards.
Sahebrao Dandge, superintendent engineer of the road department, said, “We are constructing new speed breakers as per the guidelines framed by the PMC road department. We have also started work to remove and redesign old speed breakers which are not compliant with the IRC guidelines. Besides, we are also taking citizens’ views into consideration for removing old speed breakers and constructing new ones as per the PMC guidelines.”
Nikhil Mijar, traffic planner of PMC, said, “We had framed guidelines for speed breakers in 2022. There is an application form that needs to be filled and submitted for removing old speed breakers and constructing new ones. The concerned person has to apply to the PMC, traffic police and only after getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the traffic police, the PMC and traffic police can take the final call.”
{{/usCountry}}Nikhil Mijar, traffic planner of PMC, said, “We had framed guidelines for speed breakers in 2022. There is an application form that needs to be filled and submitted for removing old speed breakers and constructing new ones. The concerned person has to apply to the PMC, traffic police and only after getting a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the traffic police, the PMC and traffic police can take the final call.”
{{/usCountry}}“To remove or redesign old speed breakers or construct new ones across the city, we have decided to make provision in the annual budget. Based on the newly merged villages and new roads, we have decided to carry out a comprehensive survey soon,” Mijar said.
Whereas Prashant Inamdar, convener of ‘Pedestrian First’, a non-government organisation (NGO), said, “The PMC had formed a committee of five experts including me. We had insisted on a ‘traffic calming policy’ of which speed breakers were a significant component. But the civic body never considered our recommendation/s. The PMC is not serious about the citizens’ safety. It is just doing paperwork.”
Expert suggestions
In 2017, road safety experts had suggested that information related to speed breakers such as their size, shape and distance be provided to GPS companies to help drivers know their exact location on city roads. This would help maintain vehicle speed and avoid accidents.