CANACONA: In spite of the Supreme Court (SC) judgment and a subsequent order from Union Road Transport Ministry way back in 2016 to remove all speed breakers from the national highways (NH), the National Highway of India (NHAI), in their own wisdom has not removed even a single of these illegal speed breakers, which in turn, are causing grave discomfort to the commuters on Goan roads.
For instance, it is a horrible journey for the commuters traveling from Polem the southern border of Goa, towards Margao, as there are 33 speed breakers, which they have to negotiate, till they reach Arlem in Margao by the eastern bypass road.
It is too much to bear for the about 54 km stretch journey, say locals from Canacona. The situation is no different on the other stretches of the national highways well and other major district roads in Goa.
As per the old school of thought, these speed breakers were constructed and are even needed today to avoid accidents at that particular spot; but most of the commuters who belong to the new school of thought say that almost all of these speed breakers are non-conforming to the specifications and or are unauthorized.
The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) has suggested that speed breakers are formed basically by providing a rounded (of 17 metre radius) hump of 3.70 metre width and 0.10 metre height for the preferred advisory crossing speed of 25 km/h for general traffic. It is also mentioned that more humps be constructed at regular intervals depending on desired speed and acceleration/deceleration characteristics of vehicles and that the distance between one hump to another can vary from 100 to 120 metres centre to centre.
Most of these speed breakers commonly called spine breakers or vehicle breakers are against engineering standards stipulated by the IRC and the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC), say people with road engineering knowledge.
Commuters have complained about how some of these speed breakers, are so big, that the underbody of cars brushes against them.
“There are innumerable petitions filed across the length and breadth of our country regarding these ill-designed speed humps, which are constantly causing physical harm to commuters and vehicles,” Anil Bhagat a senior citizen from Canacona, pointed out.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of speed breakers across the State that does not conform to the engineering standards laid down by the IRC and the UTTIPEC. While the IRC has given particulars of sharpness, thickness, slope and indicated how many rumble strips must accompany a speed breaker, the NH authorities have not followed it, making it dangerous for commuters,” said Bhagat.
The road transport ministry in 2016 had asked State governments and agencies like NHAI, and State Public Works Departments (PWDs) to remove all speed breakers from highways, which hinder smooth movement of traffic apart from being a safety hazard on NHs,” said Diogo Da' Silva, an activist from Canacona.
"From what I know, after the SC judgment regarding the removal of these speed breakers, the ministry had sought details of action taken by these departments but the speed breakers on Goan roads have not moved an inch. Is this not a contempt of court? he questioned.
According to the Road Accident Report (2014), published by the union transport ministry, 4,726 lives were lost in crashes due to humps while 6,672 people died in accidents caused due to potholes and speed breakers.
A look at the scratches and damage to the road on either side of the speed breakers is enough indication that the devices, which are supposed to reduce accidents are in fact resulting in more mishaps some time even fatal.
Many regular commuters from Canacona speaking to Herald complained of neck pain, coupled with other ailments related to the spine due to these speed breakers.
"Just imagine a person with a fracture being shifted from Canacona to Margao for further treatment or for that matter a pregnant woman shifted to Margao Hospicio Hospital, it's really painful,'' said Satish Paiginkar, a social worker.
Laxmikant Naik, NH Executive Engineer said his department has done an financial estimate to replace all the speed breakers with rumbler strips on the NHs. He added that his office has sent the file to Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and that they will be taking up the work once the dept gets sanctions.
When Herald contacted the PWD minister Deepak Pauskar, he said he will track down the file related to the speed breakers and follow it up to its logical end. "Believe me, all, these speed breakers non- conforming to the specifications on NHs in the State will be removed within next six months" assured Pauskar.