BANGALURU: Driving on the road, if you cannot spot a speedbreaker until you are right in front of it, it does not satisfy the guidelines of Indian Road Congress (IRC). If you do not see signboards of a speedbreaker ahead, if it causes damage to the vehicle, causes discomfort to passengers while passing over it etc, the speedbreaker is laid in an improper manner.
While experts say that this is the case in most of the speedbreakers in Bengaluru city limits, authorities state that such issues are restricted to the outskirts of the city.
While there are different set of guidelines for major roads and minor roads with regard to speedbreakers, certain aspects are common. The length of the hump should be same as the road width, it should be painted with alternate black and white bands or luminous paint should be used to ensure better night visibility, providing signs in different distances alerting the driver about the hump are among the common guidelines.
Commenting on this, Ramesh Babu, Senior Transportation Planner, Centre for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning, Indian Institute of Science, said that while a few were laid scientifically, it was not the case in others.
The speedbreaker on New BEL Road, in the stretch between Sadashivanagar Police Station and Ramaiah Hospital is an example, he said. Even though there hasn’t been a study yet on the percentage of unscientifically designed speedbreakers, most of them are not designed as per IRC guidelines.
Engineers employed by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike should guide and give specifications in tender documents regarding the speedbreaker and ensure that they are met. A lack of checking mechanism of the works done has caused problems, he said.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), M A Saleem said that the Palike had to consult with the traffic police before laying the speedbreakers. To a question, he affirmed that certain speedbreakers were not scientifically designed, thereby causing problems to motorists.