Road Safety Week Concludes; Concern Remains

Road Safety Week Concludes
CONCERN REMAINS :

The A&N Police along with the rest of the country observed 24th Road Safety Week in the islands (from 1st to 7th Jan, 2013) by indulging in various activities namely Educational classes for (motor vehicle) drivers, Free Eye test camp for drivers, Road Safety Walk, Police Band Display at Children Traffic Park and Painting competition for school children. Also lectures on Road Safety were delivered at various schools and Educational pamphlets on traffic rules distributed to promote road safety.

According to A&N Police release carried in local newspapers during the recent road safety week, the year long enforcement of relevant rule provisions (during 2012) saw impounding of 575 drivers found intoxicated while driving. Such offenders were arrested, their vehicles seized and their name recommended for cancellation of driving license.

Also during the year (2012), challans were issued to 1436 drivers for dangerous driving, 1113 for over-speeding, 2,396 for obstructive parking, 89 for driving without helmets (Note : this figure is surprisingly much lower than expected), 926 for driving without uniform, 336 for not fastening seatbelts, 355 for using mobile phones while driving, 678 vehicles were fined for tinted glass, 2,592 for stop line or traffic signal violations, 1,208 for driving without licenses, 820 Auto rickshaws fined for plying with faulty or meters that were not working and 266 defective number plates were detected.

In the above enforcement activity during 2012, a total of 28,322 challans were booked, against 27,499 in the year 2011. Consequently the fine amount realized gone up from ` 61,92,100 (in 2011) to ` 64,99,300 in 2012. The Director General of Police, (therefore) lauded the Dy SP (Traffic) and those Policemen, Policewomen and Home Guards, posted in the Traffic Branch who spent long hours standing in hot sun or pelting rain, to ensure safety of road users.

The A&N Police indeed did a commendable job, but restricting itself to one aspect of the issue ie., enforcement of MV Rule provisions, motorists and for that matter the pedestrians did not see much of a change vis-a-vis road safety. Leaving the much talked about issues (such as potholes, poorly built/badly lit roads, non-existent or encroached foot path, stray dogs and cattle roaming, ruminating and defecating on the streets) this article intends to highlight presence of a large number of defective speed breakers on the islands roads that pose a threat to the safety and well being of road users.

According to Indian Road Congress (IRC) guideline, an ideal speed breaker should be parabolic in shape with height not exceeding 4 inches (10 Cm) at the center and at least 11.5 feet wide. It must be painted in a ‘V’ shape (in Yellow and White paint) for visual identification and illuminated by Cat’s Eye device. Also retro-reflective warning signs are required to be placed 40m ahead of the speed breaker, indicating the desired speed at which the speed breaker can be negotiated.

Looking at the kind of speed breakers that dot our islands roads (with reference to IRC standards), it is indeed a horrible story. Leave alone complying, I am yet to find one that comes anywhere closer to specifications laid down by IRC. Readers would agree, except a couple of speed breakers on each of the road culminating at Goal Ghar crossing, almost all other speed breakers in the town are a motorists nightmare.

Situation in rural areas are further worse. Not only they are defective in terms of shape and size, the (retro-reflective) warning sign (40m ahead of the speed breaker), marking with (yellow and white) paints which serve as a visual warning are rarely seen. Poorly lit roads and absence of such mandatory safety features take motorists by surprise. The non-suspecting ones often encounter these surprise elements (read defective speed breakers) with a large “thud” resulting in damage and discomfort to the vehicle and its occupants.

So tardy is the built quality of some of the speed breakers that even alighting out of the vehicle does not help escaping the thud. Loosing control of the vehicle while overcoming such faulty speed breakers leading to increased chances of accident is also not ruled out. Auto rickshaws, small passenger cars, two wheelers and those not familiar with local road conditions are the worst affected.

Here it is worth quoting the tragic death of Tamiz Mani (27), son of State Cooperation Minister in TN, who died after his motorbike hit a speed breaker on NSC Bose road near Madras High Court on 25th June, 2012. Chennai Corporation launched a massive survey and found that there were over 400 speed breakers within the city limits that were badly designed and do not adhere to IRC standards. Those defective speed breakers were therefore redesigned so as to comply with IRC standards and the unauthorized ones removed forthwith.

It is true speed breakers play an important role in controlling vehicular speeds, hence considered a necessity at some of the roads. But failure to design them properly raises safety concern. Islands roads which are already overcrowded with ever increasing population of vehicles and the fact that the same road is used simultaneously by all kinds of vehicles, lack of safety features combined with defective speed breakers hampers smooth flow of traffic besides posing a safety threat for road users.

Incidentally it took Chennai Corporation only 3 days after the tragic death of Tamiz Mani, to redesign or remove over 400 defective speed breakers within its city limits. A&N Islands with a total road length of 1075 Km and 80200 vehicles, which is only a tiny speck compared to a buzzing city like Chennai which has over a crore vehicles, what would it take for the islands authority concerned to act ... ? ... certainly not a repeat of another Tamiz Mani type mishap!

This post was carried in Echo of India dated 22/01/2013