While your team was surveying the city for road signage, what was your most significant observation?
We were extremely lenient in our study. We ignored several benchmarks such as visibility and make of the signage. We only concentrated on placement of the signage and found problematic results. Of 1,514 road signs, we found that 1,098 were not compliant. If other parameters are also considered, then over 90% of road markings are faulty.
What are the consequences of ignoring correct signage?
Road users are the ultimate victims. We keep blaming commuters for disregarding traffic rules but the truth is that authorities need to make following rules easy.
There are hardly any ‘cautionary’ signs before speed breakers, near schools or hospitals, or even near construction sites.
What are the implications of this on road safety?
How can we inculcate a culture of safety among people if facilities are faulty? The new Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill will bring higher penalties for violations, and people will have to pay for offences that might not be entirely their fault.
What are the recommendations you would like to give to the authorities?
We had compiled a list of recommendations, including holding road-owning and management bodies responsible for placing improper signage. Traffic officials should also be trained. Most officials in the city do not know the meaning of signage. If implementing agencies are not trained well and do not know what each sign means, they will not be able to help people. The city also needs to have more traffic engineering centres, as hundreds of people die every year because of faulty road engineering.
