City Humped-Don’t Get ‘Bump’ on a ‘Hump’? Caution-The New Unmarked Road Humps are Death Traps
Mangaluru : If you have noticed in the City since few days, a bunch of new speed breakers/road humps have been laid, but none of them have been painted with white strips, which has been causing a safety hazard to motorists, especially two-wheeler riders. Finally after numerous complaints from the residents and other citizens, after a woman lost her life in a tragic accident, and few others on other instances have been severely injured or escaped with minor injuries near Kadri Kambala Road junction- now we see two road humps are laid. Also after two deaths and other accidents near Kanara Club, finally road humps have been laid. And it has been the same cases at other locations, that after numerous complaints and accidents, finally the authorities have woken up to install these speed breakers/road humps.
This morning, a mother taking her son to school was knocked down, while she didn’t notice the new road hump near Kadri, which didn’t exist earlier. Luckily she and her son escaped with few bruises. So whose fault is it? Not the two-wheeler rider, but the people who had laid this new road hump, but never marked it with black and white strips. But if you look at some of the new road humps, few of them are not of the specified height- some are simply flat and vehicles are just flying over it-so what’s the use of having these unscientific road humps- one such road hump is right in front of Jimmy’s Super Market, Kadri. And with these new road humps being not marked with white strips, and also those existing speed breakers/road humps with their white strips worn out, they have been like death traps, especially for two-wheelers- and they are a nightmare when it gets dark outside.
The unscientifically laid road humps across the city is something that Mangaloreans need to complain about, as they not only pose a threat to the spines of motorists, but also to vehicles. It is necessary that the local body should 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 or white marks, but that’s what lacking here in the city. Does anyone cares about it ?. Are our city and traffic authorities waiting for more causalities 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 for the safety of our lives and for the lives of the citizens. Safety is much important than being sorry later. Let’s do it, before it’s too late-Thank You!
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 a urban hub like Mangaluru is between 25-40 kmph. If everyone travels at this speed, there’s no need for speed breakers. As per IRC standards, only narrow roads can have scientifically built parabolic humps and not main, wide roads. Then why do we have so many speed humps in the city ? Then why aren’t our city officials not following the rules ? And if they are constructing these speed breakers/road humps/speed bumps, then why aren’t they erecting caution signs about these speed controllers ? These humps are hazardous especially to two-wheeler riders, who fall of their bikes/scooters every single day- and since none of them are complaining- the police have turned a blind eye against it.
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, un-warned, unwanted and unspecific sized speed bumps which create 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. Nearly all of the speed breakers constructed on internal roads of the city are unauthorized and illegal. While there are strict regulations about the height of the speed breakers,according to the road laws, there is no limit to the ones in the city.
A speed breaker is essentially constructed on a road where excessive speed is the cause of accidents. They are supposed to be at places where traffic policemen cannot man the roads to ensure that driving is within the stipulated speed. Also, they are supposed to be on roads where fast driving is not feasible. But if you look around the city, speed bumps can be found every where, and without any caution signs putting the motorists, especially two-wheeler riders life in jeopardy. The authorities have constructed many speed breakers on various roads in the city. But the height of these breakers do not conform to norms that have been set by the Indian Road Congress (IRC). Two-wheelers and three-wheelers frequently lose balance due to the height of these breakers.
Commuting has become very dangerous at night due to this, and especially for out-of-town motorists these speed breakers are very dangerous without any warning signs. A speed bump should be indicated by a warning sign just before the driver reaches the bump. Speed bumps are usually painted with black and yellow stripes to draw a driver’s attention before he reaches the bump. Without these indicators, drivers would hit the speed bump at higher speeds, resulting in a jolt to passengers and potential damage to the vehicle. When vehicles pass over these humps, the spine is hurt, and speeding vehicles often meet with accidents if they fail to slow down at these humps.
While constructing these humps, the bad part is while some of them are marked with white stripes, many have been left unmarked. And that’s common, with our City or any government authority which undertakes a new project, they don’t do it right the first time. They wait for a casualty and then rectify their bad work ? But even though the present humps are much better than the unscientific plastic/fibre black and yellow speed breakers, which are hazardous, but the concerned authorities have not taken the initiative of painting white stripes on them. Many motorists not knowing of these new road humps have been facing hurdles- some even losing balance. The humps should have been painted as soon as they were constructed- why wait for days and weeks to paint them with stripes? Guess, that’s our district administration way of doing the job their way, I guess?
Seems like these road Humps/Speed -breakers are a bane for motorists in the City. The construction of humps is not only illegal but purely unscientific. The MCC and the traffic police, who are caught in the blame game, are completely oblivious to the plight of motorists. When questioned about the presence of unauthorized road humps, the officials say that they were erected in response to public demand. Riding a two-wheeler on these streets with humps is a traumatic experience. In addition to negotiating with traffic, the number of humps, its height and the short distance between them accentuates the problem. Motorists losing balance, sustaining injuries is a common feature due to these humps.
Although the motorists, if they are alert, they may see the humps during daylight, but at night it is a safety hazard. What the officials waiting for ? Are they waiting for motorists to fall of their two-wheelers and get injured. An answer yet to be solved. Minor accidents like motorists falling off their two-wheelers often take place in the city on these unmarked speed humps, but since no one reports of these accidents due to speed humps to MCC or the traffic police, the accidents still continue. Commuting has become very dangerous at night due to this, and especially for out-of-town motorists these speed breakers are very dangerous without any warning signs.
In conclusion, the speed breakers should be parabolic for smooth road crossing and should be painted and properly illuminated. Sign boards should be erected to warn the drivers/riders- well ahead of a speed hump. Speed bumps are usually painted with black and white stripes to draw a driver’s attention before he/she reaches the bump. Without these indicators, drivers would hit the speed bump at higher speeds, resulting in a jolt to passengers and potential damage to the vehicle. When vehicles pass over these humps, the spine is hurt, and speeding vehicles often meet with accidents if they fail to slow down at these humps. I will say it again, 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 for the safety of our lives and for the lives of the citizens. Safety is much important than being sorry later. Let’s do it, before it’s too late – Thank You.
