Deadly speed-breakers spell nightmare for drivers

While officials claim that the speed-breakers were set up as per the Indian Road Congress (IRC) norms,what befuddles citizens is their different sizes and shapes. Some are low,some are high. Many of them are so unwieldy that an unsuspecting driver has no option but to slam the brakes at the last minute. Many have lost their lives due to such bumps.

One such case is of Mangesh Badhane (31) from Panvel,who had come to meet his brother Mahesh Badhane at Padmavati Apartments in Indrayani Nagar. Around 10.30 pm on April 27,Mangesh was on his way to a shop to buy icecream when his two-wheeler hit a speed-breaker. He fell on the road and suffered serious head injuries. He was admitted to Max Neuro Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. “We did our best,but could not save him as his injury was serious,” said Dr Umesh Phalke,a neurosurgeon.

According to police,in the past few months,at least three deaths have occurred in Pimpri-Chinchwad due to speed-breakers. However,civic activists say the number of deaths is higher than the official figures. Such incidents can be easily avoided if the civic officials and the traffic police apply their mind,they say.

Then,there was the case of Shilpa Palaskar,the accounts department head with a private firm in Bhosari whose plight was earlier reported by Newsline. Even four months after her accident,she is not able to walk normally. “I wake up every day with the hope that I will be normal. It is unnerving,I have become irritable. The accident changed my life,and not in a good way,” she says. Dr Suhas Kamble,who runs the Sainath Hospital,Bhosari,said since her injury was serious,it would take time for her to be able to walk normally. Not only did the accident deal a blow to her confidence,but she also ran up a bill of over Rs 1 lakh for treatment. Some of the speed-breakers in Indrayani Nagar have been removed by PCMC,but others remain,posing a danger .

“All over Pimpri-Chinchwad,speed-breakers that do not meet IRC norms of slope,width and breadth have been constructed. They pose a threat to citizens and their vehicles,” says Sachin Godambe in a letter addressed to Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Dr Shrikar Pardeshi.

Godambe says the IRC norms categorically mention that speed-breakers should be only four inches high,one metre broad with 1.25 metres of slope on both sides. “After speed-breakers are built,they should be marked and necessary road signs put up to alert drivers. If these procedures are followed,many accidents can be prevented. A special squad should be formed to repair them within a fixed time period,say six months,” he says.

Godambe has submitted a list of speed-breakers which he says are dangerous. The areas he has cited include Bhosarigaon,the road in front of Philips Company in Bhosari,Gavhanevasti,Dighi-Alandi Road and the road near the Army Institute of Technology,Dighi. He said,“Will the civic body ever wake up to the danger faced by citizens?”

Pardeshi said he recently met the Pune traffic police officials and discussed the issue of speed-breakers. “We will construct proper speed-breakers in the next two-three months,” he said.

When he took over two months ago,Pardeshi had promised to look into the issue seriously. Civic officials said the commissioner was consulting experts in this regard and has directed other officials to check appropriate norms to design speed-breakers.

“Speed-breakers should not harm drivers. Their purpose should be to slow down speeding vehicles. We have submitted details of appropriate speed-breakers to the PMC and PCMC. If they want,we can show them how to set up effective speed-breakers,” said Prashant Inamdar,convenor of Pedestrians First.