Biker Hits Bus! Road Hump is Need of the Hour on Falnir Road near Milagres Church

Biker Hits Bus! Road Hump is Need of the Hour on Falnir Road near Milagres Church

Mangaluru: If you look around the Mangaluru “SMART” City, where you need Road Humps, there is none of them, but where you don’t need a Road Hump, you’ll have a bunch of them- and that’s our so-called Smart City. For example, you will find one road hump on the road from Falnir to Hampankatta across from Milagres Church. Unfortunately, on the other side of the road, going from Hampankatta towards Falnir/Kankanady across from Milagres Church, there is no Road Hump, and the vehicles have been speeding, involving quite a few accidents, but so far, no fatalities nor severe injuries.

Despite constant complaints and reminders made to the area ward corporator A C Vinayaraj, MCC Commissioners and Mayors, by the nearby shop owners and the public no action has been taken in installing a road hump, and in the meantime, accidents continue to take place, just like the one which took place yesterday, where a college student, speeding on his motorbike to be in time for classes, bumped into a school bus, which was making a left-turn to Milagres 1st Crossroad, from Falnir-Hampankatta road. Even though the front portion of the bike was smashed, luckily the rider escaped only with bruises, and the good part is that he was wearing a helmet.

People who frequently make use of the said junction, wonder why only there is a road hump on one side of the Falnir road, but none on the other side, where vehicles have been riding or driving recklessly. This is an area where a large number of students go to the nearby college and also devotees go to Milagres Church. Sadly there is no CCTV in that area in case of an accident or other untoward incidents. Does not make any sense, when a road hump was put on Falnir-Hampankatta road opposite Milagres Church, why did they not put one on Hampankatta-Falnir/Kankanady Road, also opposite Milagres Church. The answer should only come from the concerned authorities either in the Mangaluru Smart City Ltd (MSCL) or Mangaluru City Corporation (*MCC) or the Mangaluru City Traffic Police department.

Frankly speaking, there are not as many humps as there are potholes. Commuters have to find roads between potholes and humps. Potholes happen by themselves while humps are made. The only reason for putting humps is to reduce the speed of the vehicle in junctions and to prevent accidents from taking place. The problem is not with the humps but with the way they are made. Humps are laid unscientifically and are not even painted with white stripes. This makes them invisible and riders get a roller coaster experience. Whenever people complain of repeated accidents or speeding vehicles, the best solution they give is putting up humps! Some are just like a small hillocks!

Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Dheeraj, the owner of Quality Corner Shop near Milagres Church said, ” I have witnessed so many accidents taking place in this area due to the lack of Road Hump, few were narrow misses, with no severe injuries to the motorists. Even though several complaints and reminders were made to the concerned persons including the area corporator, everyone has turned a deaf ear. A road hump is the need of the hour near this spot at the earliest before more accidents take place. With speeding vehicles coming from Hampankatta towards Falnir, pedestrians, including students are facing a tough time crossing the road, since vehicles keep speeding without a road hump to reduce the speed. Hope this report will awaken the authorities or the police to do the needful in putting up a speed breaker at the earliest”.

Also speaking to Team Mangalorean, John Monteiro, the Owner of Milagres Company, also across from Milagres Church said, ” The way the vehicles speed up on this road is unbelievable, and with no road hump, it has been hard for the people to cross the road, since the vehicles don’t slow down. There have been quite a few accidents in this area, but nothing much has been done to put up a road hump to reduce the speed. Another issue is that, even though a new bus shelter exists near the Milagres College/South India Bank, commuters wait for their respective buses right at this spot, and when the buses stop to pick them up, there have always been traffic jams during peak hours. Police should warn or crack down on such bus drivers who make stops at non-designated areas, and fine them. Hope the concerned people will make necessary changes to these ongoing issues”

How often have you been caught unawares by that huge hump on the road without a signboard warning before it? Very often. By an estimate, almost 90% of these humps in Mangalore are unscientific. As per sources, the Indian Road Congress( IRC) standards do not recommend speed breakers at all. The speed limit in an urban hub like Mangaluru is between 25-40 kph. If everyone travels at this speed, there’s no need for speed breakers. And if they are constructing these speed breakers/road humps/speed bumps, then why aren’t they erecting caution signs about these speed controllers?

The image of notoriously bad city roads with potholes, chaotic traffic and omnipresent wandering cows and stray dogs is well-ingrained, and added to that we have unmarked, unwarned, unwanted and unspecific sized speed bumps which create a lot of hassles and danger to motorists. The concerned authorities in Mangaluru may have done meticulous planning to give residents a smooth ride, however, speed breakers have been playing spoilsport. While their usage is only allowed in front of educational institutions, hospitals, churches/ temples and some important places, they are found in abundance throughout the city. Most of the speed breakers in the city are, therefore, illegal.

But frankly speaking, the unscientifically laid road humps across the city are something that Mangaloreans need to complain about, as they not only pose a threat to the spines of motorists, but also to vehicles. The highways department or local body must put up a warning sign 40m ahead of the speed breaker. If the government follows the IRC norms, it will help reduce accidents in the city. Speed breakers should also be painted with the correct yellow and white marks, but that’s what is lacking here in the city. Does anyone care about it? Are our city and traffic authorities waiting for more casualties of motorists or what? It is time for the commuters/motorists to raise their voices against these unsafe “speed breakers” which are ” life breakers” to the concerned local civic authorities. Let us do it for a good cause and the safety of our lives and the lives of the citizens. Safety is much more important than being sorry later. Let’s do it before it’s too late-Thank You!