[MadinMumbai]

The justifications offered above boil down to one single thing- abdication of moral, ethical and physical responsibility by the state. This just proves my point.

Policing speed, setting logical limits according to areas, prescribing punishments for violations is all the job of the government. Individuals cannot unilaterally decide to close off roads, build barricades and speed bumps or cause obstructions.

The larger point I made was we are a country doomed to go slow in every sphere. The innocuous speedbreaker is the symbol of our collective failure to unclog our society of unnecessary encumbrances. We must, if we are to be totally honest with ourselves, make the Speedbreaker our national symbol.

[Shiftlock]

I completely understand the need for speed breakers in any city however they can be a big nuisance if placed without any thought.

Let me explain what I mean by this, here in Hyderabad where I live, they have placed a speed breaker 100m from a traffic signal and that too on a curve which is on a mild incline!. Hyderabad being on a plateau has many hill climbs on narrow roads and I have been observing that on some of these roads, there are speed breakers in the middle of a steep incline. All of this translates to more headache for drivers because apart from the natural deterrents, we now have man made obstacles to navigate through on hilly inclines and this can sometimes cause traffic jams.

While I am all for speed breakers, because sadly the majority of Indian drivers have no other way to effectively slow down, if they are placed in such inconvenient locations they only add to the problem.

[MegaWhat]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I don’t think the speed breaker is an Indian thing at all. Look around in any western country and you will find an ever increasing multitude of speed reducing measures being implemented everywhere...

...Hate to tell you guys, but everywhere vehicle speeds are coming down, not up. And speed breakers are a very effective way of ensuring people drive cautiously.

Well, that is an unfortunate reality check . Although based on my short trip to Hengelo, I think the speed breakers in Netherlands are much more considerate towards the vehicles driving over them as compared to their Indian counterparts. I agree that some form of speed restricting device is required in India as well, but the commonly encountered 1 foot hump with a sharp edge is simply a punishment to drive on. Car breaker is more like it. But coming to the OPs metaphorical use of the speed breaker, I believe it is more of a symptom of society than a cause/reason for our pace of progress.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by MegaWhat

Well, that is an unfortunate reality check . Although based on my short trip to Hengelo, I think the speed breakers in Netherlands are much more considerate towards the vehicles driving over them as compared to their Indian counterparts. I agree that some form of speed restricting device is required in India as well, but the commonly encountered 1 foot hump with a sharp climb is simply a punishment to drive on. Car breaker is more like it.

Yes, there is that! Here in the Netherlands we have rules for everything including speed breakers. So if they put a speed breaker on a road with a maximum speed of day 60km/h they have to design it in such a way that an average car can take that breaker at 60km/h!

So the speed breaker needs to match the designated maximum speed of the respective road.

I don’t think this concept has been implemented in India yet.

I would be terrified driving my bullet at night and meeting with an unexpected speed breaker. Could ruin your day.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

. We must, if we are to be totally honest with ourselves, make the Speedbreaker our national symbol.

I would say that the behavior of traffic is really representative of our collective national psyche. With rising fuel prices, may be we should all switch to bullock carts - we are really not achieving anything with our fancy cars that seem to be much too alien for our mindset. With the kind of pounding we take from these bumps and potholes on a daily basis, we should at least have a few local jugaads by now - cars on stilts, or dynamic tyre pressure management systems, or

Now that the government has collected plenty of money from fuel taxes, they should replace some of speedbreakers, especially those on major highways with speed activated ones -
https://www.matfoundrygroup.com/News...id_Speed_Bumps

[Mortis]

Let's not forget about speedbreakers at junctions and turns and diagonally aligned speedbreakers. They are 4 times worse because while turning each of your wheels goes over it at different times leading to 4 times the bumpiness !! Not to mention each section of speedbreaker might have a different amount of wear and tear on them

[charanreddy]

Am no fan of speed breakers but I do appreciate their purpose. In our gated small villa society, we have 200 m long roads at best. A few people used to drive so fast that we were fearful for kids playing on the roads.( not public, private roads). Despite multiple warnings , we couldn’t get any traction.

Solution : a few sharp speed breakers every 50 m that give you a bone jarring thud when crossed. Now no more speeding.

In our country where we can’t get people to wear helmets or use seat belts, it is not possible to expect them to drive at sane speeds or even stick to speed limits. Speed breakers are effective, inexpensive solutions that can be scaled up.

I am ok to live with minor inconveniences if purpose of safety is served!

[IP_Man]

Speed breakers are not to brake the speed, they are there to break the car. They are unscientific and unmarked. Nobody knows the proper specifications. Technically, in-between the the two humps, tyre must touch the road but such scientific speed breakers are non existing, your car/bike takes path of sign wave, breaking back of the riders.

They come up and go on the whim of local Galli Netas. On highway, speed breakers are replaced by rumbler strips but on some highway old speed breakers are still existing like old historical monuments. No body cares to remove them.

[landcruiser123]

I have nothing against speed breakers. But the indiscriminate manner in which local authorities in India 'design' and build them is appalling. Speed breakers are meant to make drivers slow down, not kill people (many incidents) or damage vehicles. Honestly, because of undisciplined drivers, speed breakers are a necessary evil in the streets of India. You don't want a biker at 50 kmph colliding with a kid who is cycling in a residential neighborhood

Originally Posted by Jeroen

We live in a rural part of the Netherlands, along the longest river, and prettiest! Along our dike the speed limit is 60 km/h and in and near villages 30 km/h....There will be speed barriers when you enter the village to ensure you slow down to 30 km/h.

Never seen this in the US. If the undivided highway cuts through a town/village, the speed limits gradually reduce from 55 (or 65) mph -> 45 mph -> 35 mph (-> 25 mph sometimes) without any speed reducing devices. The limit increases after the town/village.

However, there are radar based digital speed read-out boards which flash the "SLOW DOWN" warning at the entrance of a few villages.

[sramanat]

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

The authority we have handed over to random people

That pretty much sums up everything that's wrong with India.
I call it the tyranny of arbitrary laws and enforcement. We as a people don't think through enough in framing laws. This percolates to every walk of life - including the professional sphere.

[maestro]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

I have nothing against speed breakers. But the indiscriminate manner in which local authorities in India 'design' and build them is appalling. Speed breakers are meant to make drivers slow down, not kill people (many incidents) or damage vehicles. Honestly, because of undisciplined drivers, speed breakers are a necessary evil in the streets of India. You don't want a biker at 50 kmph colliding with a kid who is cycling in a residential neighborhood

Never seen this in the US. If the undivided highway cuts through a town/village, the speed limits gradually reduce from 55 (or 65) mph -> 45 mph -> 35 mph (-> 25 mph sometimes) without any speed reducing devices. The limit increases after the town/village.

However, there are radar based digital speed read-out boards which flash the "SLOW DOWN" warning at the entrance of a few villages.

I feel we suffer from an overload of rules, regulations and laws, in every sphere of life in India. Additionally, we see a lot more of people clamouring for even more control and regulations by the government, in practically all aspects of life.
What we lack is discipline and respect for others. If existing laws are enforced sufficiently, there would be no need for coercive measures like speed breakers.
One state recently proposed cancellation of licence for driving on the wrong side of the road. Similar strict measures will largely induce discipline in driving.

[astrodex]

I had a similar discussion about this with my neighbors a few weeks back. We were driving through the backroads of Southern Goa and it is littered with speed breakers. As we slowed down for each of these bumps, our discussions centered around blaming the government for the bad roads, complaining about their unscentific road designs, how these happen only in India etc. Interestingly, all of these speed breakers were removed last year for the BRICK convention when International heads of states had to go via these roads. A month or so after that all of them were back. And worse, many of them are unmarked so nighttime riding can sometimes be like a Disney Matternhorn mountain ride. We were sort of talking about how horrible speed breakers were for the 'common man'.

And the irony of it all is that once we reached our neighborhood, we say some guys riding very fast on our local roads, especially there are a few guys on bikes who apparently suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome and only knows full throttling.. And our meandering conversations ended up about how we should keep the roads safe for kids, install mirrors at intersections, add reflectors and ... wait for it ... add speed breakers. We didn't break a sweat about how much of hyprocrisy was wrapped in that comment. Thankfully by then the tea and biscuits were over and hence we went our ways, leaving installation of speed breakers for another time....

[jagzrk]

I think we also have to consider the environmental and health safety aspect of speed breakers. A vehicle operating in its optimal rpm range and in higher gear just has to maintain momentum which means higher efficiency and lesser emissions. A speed breaker just lays waste to all this efficiency. Now imagine the number of cars that slow down and speed up upon this "one" speed breaker. Now multiple it by number of speed breakers in city. Theoretically speaking, just eliminating all speed breakers and traffic congestions can reduce pollution exponentially compared to replacing all cars with electric cars.

We usually see emissions as Carbon based gases but the more deadly NOx group are cancer causing and honestly, the speed breaker should be an outdated concept by now. Unless, the residents who want a speed breaker also want to invite cancer. A much better option is to install a speed camera and issue challans very diligently like is being done now on the highways, if at all the "speed needs to be broken".

[Slick]

Speed breakers are an absolute necessity, they just need to be used judiciously and designed scientifically, so as not to abuse the vehicle.

Some speed breakers seen in Mumbai seem to be designed with cynicism towards Motorcycles and Cars (especially bikes).

I have jumped my Car/Bike on numerous unmarked steep speed breakers and I am quite sure that my suspension life has been affected by these.


Even Singapore has speed breakers (called speed Humps) and have explicit lettering that, rather funnily, says Hump Ahead!.
But these are the gentlest of speed breakers and not the home made ones we get in India.

I think it's all in the approach.

- Slick

[click]

Instead of Speedbreakers, if they install cctv and speed cameras on most roads most of the speeding nuisance will reduce without breaking car suspensions. Before anyone says costs, think about your own street itself and I am sure that you will agree that any cost would be recovered within few months if not in the first itself.

Number of people driving/riding on the wrong side, speeding, double parking, etc...all can be handled with use of technology. Not unregulated speedbreakers.