By definition speed breakers are meant to slow down traffic for the safety of road users. But some of these on city roads give one the impression that they have been put up to break the vehicle itself or even the back of the driver.
For, many of them were constructed in flagrant violation of the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress (IRC) about where and how speed breakers should be built. They could lead to accidents, which they are meant to prevent, not to mention the damage caused to vehicles while passing over them.
IRC specifies that speed breakers should have 3.7-metre width and 0.10-metre height for limiting the crossing speed to 25 km per hour for general traffic. Speed humps can be constructed at regular intervals depending on the characteristic of the traffic at a distance varying between 100 to 120 metres. Public Works Department (PWD) officials complain that often they are forced to build humps at places as demanded by the local people and at their specifications despite knowing that they may cause accidents. Though drivers are supposed to be warned of speed breakers through warning signs at least 40 metres in advance, these signs are conspicuous by their absence at most places. The standard black and white stripe markings on speed breakers are also missing at most places, forget markings with luminous paint for better visibility in the night.
Deadly game
A five-second act of fastening the chinstrap of a helmet may prove to be a deadly move. The findings of a survey of victims of two-wheeler accidents conducted by the road safety wing of the Rotary International in consultations with the neurosurgeons of five hospitals in and around Kochi confirm this.
The survey found that of the 18 deaths reported in these hospitals during the period between 2013 and May 2014, at least eight could be attributed to the non-compliance of the simple act of fastening the chin strap or not doing it the right way. “In all these cases, the helmet had dropped off from the heads of victims even before they hit the ground,” said George John, chairman, road safety wing of Rotary International.
While the strict implementation of law has made the usage of helmets near total among two-wheeler riders, in many cases they are deprived of the benefits because of not fastening the chin strap. In fact, as much as 80 per cent of those who wear the helmet do not bother to fasten the chin strap.
On a larger scale, at least 600 victims out of the 1,400 two-wheeler riders or pillion riders, who died in accidents in the State during 2014, would have survived if they had fastened the chin straps.
M.P. Praveen
