HYDERABAD: How many speed breakers are there in the city? Certainly, the city civic authorities seem to have no clue whatsoever. However, they are equivocal in admitting that a large percentage of them are illegal.
Authorities maintain that denizens often install speed breakers on their own on their streets without informing authorities, which is illegal. The GHMC and the city traffic police are clueless about how many such illegal speed breakers are littered across the city.
The city traffic police is the nodal agency for giving permission for a speed breaker. They will survey the spot and take a decision depending on the accident history of the road.
When asked as to how many such requests have come in the past year, a senior traffic police official said, “The rules exist but we do not get many requests from the public.” Most of the speed breakers illegally constructed do not adhere to any scientific process of installation. The GHMC has no idea on how many of them exist nor do they have any plans to address the issue.
“When there is an accident, people get agitated and a speed breaker gets erected on the street. Requests are made at the local level and there are guidelines that need to be followed. It is usually made on the recommendations of community welfare and local associations,” said B Janardhan Reddy, GHMC commissioner.
“The argument can be made on both sides. On one side we should not construct speed bumps and on the other, we need to control rash driving. As it is difficult to monitor the construction there is no data on how many speed breakers are there in the city at the central level,” he added.
Speed breakers across the state, in 2015, have taken lives of 145 persons, reveals latest road accident data compiled by Traffic Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.