[MadinMumbai]

It’s my firm belief that India will never break out of its 2nd gear growth potential unless we scrap the concept of ‘speedbreaker’. The speedbreaker applies to much more than just the road. The humble bump is a deeply entrenched part of our psyche. It is a metaphor for all things plaguing India. The authority we have handed over to random people to put speed blocks in our way extends far beyond the roads.

Take the example of Mumbai. I live in the suburbs where it is impossible to find 100 meters of straight stretch of road. In this environment, where cars are crawling anyway, we have a perpetual roadworks/underground cable/ water pipeline/ sewage works to ensure it, the residents feel compelled to put up speedbreakers every few meters. Petitions are made on WhatsApp groups to build more. I don’t know what the thinking is- is it to slow down already crawling traffic? Or is it display of power?

A few years ago I read that the High Court had ordered removal of speedbreakers. I don’t remember the exact reasons the mighty court took up such an insignificant subject for consideration, I suspect it had more to do with passage of Ganpati idols than concern for safety. We applauded, but didn’t contend with the metaphorical speedbreaker that would hit implementation of the order. Since then the court has lost interest in the subject, the local ward councillor has taken it upon himself to order more and more speedbreakers and our motorists have become positively Gandhian by presenting the other cheek.

If the problem were restricted to motorists one could be forgiven for ignoring their whining. Rich guys is expensive cars deserve a little speedbreaker love. Schadenfreude. But lately I have seen many runners tumble on unmarked speedbreakers that have come up overnight. Surely the runners don’t deserve the disdain, especially the barefoot ones who can’t be said to be wearing expensive Nike, we have for motorists.

So, the question is - how do we get out of this self inflicted circle of stupidity? How do we break free from the speedbreaker? Surely someone is government or legal system can be petitioned. Surely we can make them see the deep connection between our economic, social and physical existence and the omnipotent metaphorical speedbreaker.

[DicKy]

This speed breaking attitude can be attributed to the culture of reacting rather than looking at the root cause and being proactive.

A knee jerk reaction to speeding, it brings more harm than the slight shaving off speeds.

Have seen almost the same thing in the NHs in southern Tamil Nadu that were made under the second phase of the NHDP. Instead of slip roads/lanes or ramp designs, many junctions and villages have a 90° intersection. A dangerous thing to have in a highway and ofcourse accidents take place, deadly ones.
The solution? Staggered barricades on the highway to slow the traffic.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

It’s my firm belief that India will never break out of its 2nd gear growth potential unless we scrap the concept of ‘speedbreaker’.

Oh this knife cuts both ways my friend. I live on a busy street (not a properly maintained "road" per se) and I see stupid motorists rushing by at what seems like 60 Kmph on the same street where kids venture out on their little bicycles.

I recall at this time, seeing a similar street in Wethersfield, Connecticut (USA) through which buses would pass by. One of the homeowners along the street had put up this big sign on his lawn - "Drive like your kids live here" was the sign. Notwithstanding roving cop patrols, drivers would drive at 50 mph on what is a 35 mph zone over there.

So - yes, it's not something endemic to India alone. And it definitely cuts both ways when you have unfettered roads left to motorists' volition.

[gkveda]

Stupid laws are made for stupid people. But once law is implemented, everyone suffers.

I remember times in Bangalore, when there was no concept of speed breakers. We were kids of 10-12 years of age and our house was in corner of two main roads junction. Every 30 minutes, we used to hear tire screeching sounds and a street fight entertainment.

At least once in a week, we used to witness an accident. Both paths were BMTC Bus routes. So, most of the street fights and accidents used to involve BMTC Bus on one of the roads. The other road used to be bikes, autos, cars, cycles, matador vans and sometimes bus too.

The point I am trying to make is, every traveller on the road was almost daily driver. Every one knew there was a main road ahead. Almost everyone had witnessed these accidents that used to occur in the week. But still, nobody cared to slow down their vehicles while approaching the main road.

Finally, when Ramakrishna hegde was CM, I remember, they put a big hump on one road to avoid these accidents.

Seeing the ordeal for more than 7-8 years and at least 100 accidents at the junction, I am 100% convinced, speed breakers will reduce accidents and currently the only way to reduce accidents.

I still believe that it is stupid initiative by government to avoid accidents whenever I hop my vehicles every 100 metres. But, it is the evil result of thousands of stupid drivers who never realised their responsibilities when main roads were ahead. And there is no other way around to solve this issue.

Speed breakers are inevitable to our people in our country. But my humble dream and desire is, it needs to be scientific. Should not be laid as backbone breaking hammers that acts as business opportunities for Orthopaedicians

[fhdowntheline]

I totally agree. Speedbreakers are indeed a huge impediment to our progress as a society. Since when have speed breakers caused reduction in accidents as such? If anything, they cause an increase in fuel consumption, increase in travel times, and also wear and tear of vehicles (and people especially two wheeler drivers). They are as bad as potholes in that sense.
In fact those who are irritated by speed breakers are likely to speed up unreasonably at the next open stretch, thereby increasing potential for accidents.They should be set up only in really sensitive areas like schools, for instance.

[saisailendra]

Speed breakers make perfect sense, if laid according to a plan and rule. I am not sure, but I don't believe we have well sorted rules for speed breakers. So the only deciding factor that makes speed breakers either pleasure or pain is planning.

Had planning been a strength of our community, the entire lifestyle would have been much better for everyone of us. But unfortunately, as generations pass, I personally see things going down rather than improving ? Why ? Maybe self interests, maybe selfishness, maybe a loss of wisdom to use intelligence in the right way or maybe greed.

If one is successful in abolishing speed breakers, the Govt and cops come up with other ideas like DicKy suggested, like putting up barricades on a 3 lane highway, leaving only 1 lane open, or rumble strips like in Hyd.

Hyd had very poor roads before last few years. But in the last few years, Hyderabad has been laid with beautiful roads and they're being maintained well, I must say. But with good roads, came what we call rumble strips.

Now speed breakers or rumble strips, if they are of the appropriate size and at the appropriate location, they'd make life much better. But here comes the over anxious nature (+arrogance) of apartment owners as well as Govt officials, that totally ruin the entire experience of millions of commuters. Either half feet sudden rise and fall of concrete or 2 cm thick rumble strips that entirely shake up the car and it's suspension even under the speed limit, is a result of this.

Here's a pic of those half feet tall sudden rise and sudden fall concrete pipes on the road :

I don't know how much profits these bring to orthopaedic doctors as gkveda was saying, but these speed breakers and rumble strips surely bring quite some income to the car companies for the suspension spares and their associated huge taxes mean, the Govt isn't at loss (because Govts don't consider themselves for/by/of the people, rather they're their own organizations).

The roots of these problems are deep. Generations deep. It takes lot more effort to correct these than a letter to some high official. And it involves a risk of losing lives or living the entire life under stress. That kind of risk doesn't go hand in hand with the desires of parents to make their children live a happy and rich life. That is why, many such issues today are being ignored and people are living with it, like covering an ulcer with cloth and pretending it isn't there.

[MadinMumbai]

The path to hell is paved with good intention.

And at least where I live, it’s pretty close of hell. After all these years I am now beyond being angry and see only comedy in the situation. The road opposite our place has been under repair, of some sort or the other, for the last 20 years. The only thing that seems to survive the monsoon rain and fresh pipeline laying work is the speedbreaker built by the local society office. I wish BMC engineers would consult the society members and use the same materials for the rest of the road.

On the aforementioned ‘pipeline’, that has been laid and relaid many times, I can happily report there has been no improvement in water flow or quality, the sewage is as blocked up as ever, the broadband remains poor. So, I sometimes wonder if the pipeline is some kind of MNREGA initiative- dig holes, fill holes, dig holes, fill holes...leave the damn speedbreaker alone because the society guard is watching.

[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.

Every suburb that has been build in the last thirty years wil have speed bumps and all kinds of chicanes and restrictions. Older neighbourhoods are being refitted with them as well.

Many provincial roads have speed restriction measures in place. 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. We have speed breakers all along the dike. Along the stretches, near junctions and exits/entry. There will be speed barriers when you enter the village to ensure you slow down to 30 km/h.

Near schools, churches, old people homes, shopping, hospitals, areas you will have endless speed breakers.

Motor cycles can be banned on certain stretches of road if too many of them are being observed to speed.

The Dutch government is studying plans to reduce the current standard max speed of 50 km/h down to a blanket 30 km/h for all major cities. No exceptions.

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.

Jeroen.

[MadinMumbai]

Bad ideas are like a virus. They spread for and wide. Now if only the Dutch would learn a little from our road builders.

[GTO]

I am against the unduly large & unmarked speed-breakers. However, even as a car lover, I will be the first to say that speed-breakers are one of the most effective ways to curb overspeeding. We live in a little residential lane that ends on the beach. As you would imagine, the evenings are full of couples in cars, Rossi-wannabe bikers etc. Two speed-breakers have all but eliminated 1st & 2nd gear redlining in our lane.

They serve a purpose around residential areas, pedestrian crossings, schools, villages located on a highway etc.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by GTO

I am against the unduly large & unmarked speed-breakers.
They serve a purpose around residential areas, pedestrian crossings, schools, villages located on a highway etc.

Many speed breakers are constructed by the local people, hotels in the highways and other interested parties and often they are crude. I almost broke a car after hitting a 10 inch high bump in NH.
There is another car/back breaker - series of rumblers positioned on highways joining another highway. Illustrations here are from a searchengine.

[TrackDay]

I guess speed breakers are here to stay. In a way there are kind of nice, as long as they are done scientifically. The reason I am saying that is because I have seen numerous ones done by a Jugaad method. They end up harming the vehicle more. Also two wheelers have a way of skipping them by going around its edges where the hump is absent.

Check out the following links too :
https://www.thebetterindia.com/13213...r-human-lives/

These two are from Team-Bhp itself:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...d-breaker.html (Ideal dimensions of a Speed Breaker)

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post2190114 (Art of taking Speed Breakers(humps) without scraping the belly.)

If anyone has travelled on a half empty bus which flies over the speed breakers you can relate to this :

[esoticoreventon]

While unscientific speed breakers are a real pain, I can see no better way to control the speed at which anyone drives. I don't think the Indian population is something I would trust with the responsibility of ensuring safety of other road users and pedestrians. Indian motorists show a lack of self preservation and when one doesn't care about the safety of their own self, they are definitely not going to care about preserving others!

We do not have the law enforcement man-power to police every single motorist. And as for the government, well, a government is something that will only survive if its popular. If any government were to fine motorist heavily, confiscate vehicles, cancel licenses or in other words, implement the law, that would be the last term for that government.

The current government had said in 2014 that the Indian roads would be made safer and after 7 years they have nothing to show but an increase in fines for motoring offences, on paper. We are not a nation that can be expected to act responsibly. It is the absolute truth.

Try driving on the ECR in Chennai on a weekend and you will want that road to have potholes and speed breakers just so that you can reach safely!

I love sedans and the only thing that scares me are the speed breakers but as long as we have a Oprah Winfrey attitude to handing out driving licenses we cannot expect to hold ourselves to the driving standards of developed countries!

[V.Narayan]

I'm no friend of speed breakers. And I'm no friend of speed either, not at least road speed. Allow me to share a different perspective that may not find favour on our forum.

One reason we are driving or trying to drive faster and accelerate faster is the increasingly more powerful cars we buy and drive. I am very guilty on this score of buying powerful cars. Look back at the cars that were sold in the 1920s to 1950s - they often had small engines generating between 15 bhp to 40 bhp - and they worked quite well. That is all that is needed to transport a family of 4 and two suitcases at a reasonable 60 kmph with power to spare. You could cruise along and accelerate reasonably in 30 or 40 bhp. Remember what bhp means - it means the energy of 40 horses. But today we desire, to fill our egos and our senses with 100 bhp or worse 200 bhp {again I raise my hand as one of the guilty}. So it is inevitable that speed and irresponsible acceleration will result. The Standard Herald on which I learnt to drive developed all of 39 bhp theoretically and probably 35 bhp practically. The smaller engine output meant that with four passengers the car could not get up beyond 60 or 70 kmph. Nevertheless I did not have any less fun driving that handsome car than I do moving my 80 kg backside in my 200 bhp Volvo.

The speedbreakers are there not just to break our speed but remind us of our egos too.

[GNG19]

Echoing the sentiments of the posters above me, I think speed breakers are fine and even essential in residential areas. However, they need to be built to a standard that doesn't damage the vehicle if driven at the speed limit & most importantly -- they need to be marked properly.