Unscientific speed breakers make for a bumpy ride

Many of them are too bumpy and have not been laid in accordance with norms

Several roads in the town and its suburbs have, in recent times, seen the installation of speed breakers to slow down vehicle movement near schools and hospitals and at intersections to facilitate pedestrian/vehicle crossings.

While speed breakers are necessary for road safety, they become counter-productive if they are not laid in a scientific manner.

Only a few days ago, the Public Works Department laid speed breakers on a stretch from Thattanchavady Industrial Estate to a point near Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, following a fatal accident involving a two-wheeler and a lorry.

The victim, a milk vendor, was crushed to death under the wheels of the speeding lorry. The authorities swiftly laid speed breakers on the stretch, but these look like mounds spread across the road.

“It is a good move to have speed breakers installed immediately after accidents to prevent them from recurring. But the bumps were not laid as per the rules. When I was on my way to work in the morning, there were no speed breakers on the road. But while returning in the evening, I noticed that the stretch was riddled with them. I had to apply the brakes suddenly. The car that was behind me almost crashed into my two-wheeler,” said a JIPMER staff. There were neither colour markings nor reflectors on the speed breakers, he added.

According to G. Ragavendra, a resident of Thilaspet, a majority of the speed breakers were constructed unscientifically in Puducherry. “There are dozens of humps constructed on the road connecting Villianur and Murungapakkam. None of them was laid in a scientific manner. Motorists, especially two-wheeler riders, stick to the corner of the road to avoid possible damage to their vehicles and breaking their backs,” he said.

Coumar, a resident of Lawspet, said many of the speed breakers were too bumpy, and the chances of people falling off their vehicles were high. “If the speed breakers are not properly marked, the street lights are not functioning and the visibility is poor, there is a high probability of getting into a mishap,” he said.