Speed breakers threat to every vehicle

Speed breaker is an ever-present danger one encounters when traveling through the city’s streets. In by-lanes, roughly every house has a speed breaker in front. The dimensions are no one’s concern. Just heap some gravel and make it as bumpy as possible so that every driver chickens out and slows down.

“When will we be free of back-breaking speed breakers? The numerous badly-designed and unmarked speed breakers are seen all over the city streets. Are they legal? Are there any standard specifications to which they should conform? Should there be signboards depicting the speed breakers,” asks Captain Murad Ali from Street III behind Butt Market, Fazal Town Phase-I.

“I drive only on known streets for the daily commute. If I have to drive on the streets new to me, I very keenly observe them to warn me of the convex and concave deviations of the street surface. If I forget this, I end up braking hard before a speed breaker, “says Amjad Naqvi from Faisal Town.

Sadaqat Rizvi of Mangraal Town recalls: “I remember there was a speed breaker for no reason in the middle of the newly renovated lane near DHA. I managed to put on the brakes to keep away from the Alto in front which had slowed down suddenly, but still, I couldn’t avoid giving a kiss to the rear of the Alto.”

“I have been a victim of these speed-breakers. I am not sure if they are meant to break the speed or the vehicle or the pedestrian’s legs. Bikers and car drivers never bother about pedestrians,” says Binte Zahra, from Dhoke Hafiz.

“The other day when I was returning from my office in Saddar, I was trailing behind a car. The speed was about 30-40 km. The car could not see the speed breaker and screeched suddenly but could not avoid scraping the bottom. Since I maintained a good distance, I could go over the breaker without any hassles,” recounts Professor Feroze Hasan, resident of Gulzar-e-Quaid.

“Let’s talk about the crude speed breakers that are manufactured by the mohalla guys. They are created using concrete mixtures in the form of a small hill. Every time I pass these speed breakers my car bottom gets scrapped. Every two months I end up checking the underbody of the car for any telltale signs of damage,” says Shabbir Hussain, a businessman.

“Still the dangerous thing is that if it is night time then you will be shocked to see the biker’s two wheels flying above the street. There is also a danger of potential accidents due to slipping off the handlebar after the bike lands. For cars it will be like shaking up the entire system if it jumps on an invisible speed breaker.” says Farman Naqvi, a trader.