Did you know that there were laws governing speed breakers? Very few government officers and even motorists are aware of these laws and design specifications. This article attempts to explain the law on speed breakers in India.
What are speed breakers?
Speed Breakers are traffic management devices which use vertical deflection to slow down vehicles passing over them.
Speed breakers are also known as Speed Humps, Speed Bumps, Speed Ramps, Speed Cushions or Speed tables
Why are speed breakers used?
Speed breakers are used to slow down traffic near schools, hospitals so that children can cross the road more easily or senior citizens can cross at ease. They are also placed near toll booths and entry points of bridges or narrow roads, to ensure that motorists reduce their speed.
Why are unplanned or illegal speed breakers bad?
While speed breakers can help in slowing down traffic and reducing high speed crashes, an unplanned or illegal speed breaker can be as much (if not more) dangerous than the high speed crashes it is trying to prevent. It is very common across India to see speed breakers being laid willy-nilly
- Slows down emergency vehicles like ambulances, police vehicles and fire trucks
- Cause traffic congestion and sudden braking
- Reduces fuel efficiency and increases air pollution of vehicles
- Causes rapid wear and tear of vehicles
- The impact can be harmful for patients in transit, senior citizens and pregnant women.
- Causes an increase in Noise Pollution due to sudden braking, honking, vehicle parts and traffic congestion
- May scrape the under-body of low floor cars
- Can cause vehicles (especially 2 wheelers) to skid and cause a collision due to loss of control
Is there a law governing speed breakers?
Coming soon….
There are various judgements by various Courts, directing the government to formulate rules and policies for setup of speed breakers.
Laws which refer to speed breakers:
- Home Department’s Resolution No. TFC-1092-991-V dated 23rd March 1992
Where can speed breakers be placed as per law?
Speed Breakers must be used only in urban areas for minor roads and residential areas. Speed Breakers are NOT recommended on high-speed roads or highways outside urban limits.
As per the Indian Road Congress guidelines, dated 12 June 1987, speed breakers must be placed on minor roads, only as follows:
4.1 Warrants:
Use of speed breakers is justified only in the following 3 circumstances:
- T-intersections of minor roads with rural trunk highways, characterized by relatively low traffic volumes on the minor road but very high average operating speed and poor sight distances. Such locations have a high record of fatal accidents and as such a speed breaker on the minor road is recommended;
- Intersections of minor roads with major roads, and mid-block sections in urban areas where it is desirable to bring down the speeds; and
- Selected local streets in residential areas, schools, colleges or university campuses, hospitals, etc. Also in areas where traffic is observed to travel faster than the regulated or safe speed in the area.
Other place where these may be used include:
1. Any situation where there is a consistent record of accidents primarily attributed to the speed of the vehicles e.g. when hazardous sections follow a long tangent approach;
2. Approaches to temporary diversions;
3. Approaches to weak or narrow bridges and culverts requiring speed restriction for safety;
4. On the minor arms of uncontrolled junctions and at railway level crossings;
5. Sharp curves with poor sight distances; and
6. Places of ribbon development, where road passes through builtup areas and vehicles travelling at high speeds are a source of imminent danger to pedestrians.
What are the specifications for ideal speed breakers?
The Indian Roads Congress has suggested that speed breakers are formed basically by providing a rounded (of 17 metre radius) hump of 3.7 metre width and 0.10 metre height for the preferred Advisory crossing speed of 25 km/h for general traffic. It is 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.
The “Draft Guidelines on the provision of Speed Breakers for Control of Vehicular speed on Minor Roads” (Highly Recommended read) states that:
1.1 Definition: A speed breaker is a hump surface across the roadway having a rounded shape with width greater than the wheel base of most of the vehicles using the road. When there is decrease variation in sensory stimuli and at locations where speed controls are desired, a speed breaker acts as a strong stimuli to arouse reaction in the brain. Since the driver reaction times are faster in response to audible and tactile stimuli than to visual stimuli, a driver subconsciously reduces the speed.
An ideally designed hump should satisfy the following requirements:
i. There should be no damage to vehicles nor excessive discomfort to the drivers and passengers when passing at the preferred crossing speed.
ii. The hump should not give rise to excessive noise or cause harmful vibrations to the adjoining buildings or affect the other residents of the area.
iii. Above the design speed, a driver should suffer increasing level of discomfort (but without losing directional control and without any vehicle damage) depending on the extent through which design speed is exceeded.
What type of marking and painting needs to be done on speed breakers?
- Drivers should be warned of the presence of speed breakers by posting suitable advance warning signs. The warning signs, should be of the design ‘HUMP OR ROUGH ROAD’ detailed in IRC: 67-1977 ‘Code of practice for Road Signs’. The sign should have a definition plate with the words ‘SPEED BREAKER’ inscribed thereon and should be located 40 m in advance of the first speed breaker.
- Speed breakers should be painted with alternate black and white bands to give additional visual warning. For better night visibility, it is desirable that the markings are in luminous paint/luminous strips. Embedded cat-eyes can also be used to enhance night visibility.
Who is authorized to install speed breakers? Who is responsible for maintaining and installation of speed breakers?
Location of the speed breakers are authorised by the Traffic Police Department on its own or on suggestions received from the public .
The public may send suggestions on placement or requirement of speed breakers to the
- Traffic Police Department or
- Traffic Department of the Municipal Corporation (Eg: MCGM in Mumbai)
The Director General of Police of the state and concerned Municipal Commissioners/ Councillors in charge of Municipal Corporations/Councils are also accountable for the upkeep and maintenance of the speed breakers and to ensure that new speed breakers are constructed in consonance with the guidelines provided by the Indian Road Congress.
The National Highways Authority of India is responsible for speed breakers on the highways.
Landmark Cases on Speed Breaker Law
- J P Sanghi v. State Of MP 1984 – Petition challenging the speed breakers in the town of Jabalpur and also on national highways passing through Madhya Pradesh.
- Kumudben Sureshchandra v. Jamnagar Municipal Corporation 1996 – Death due to unmarked speed breaker and compensation – “The Government, the authority in charge of Highways and local authorities, such as Municipal Corporation, Municipalities, Panchayats, and Urban Development Authorities, within their respective territorial jurisdiction, are duty bound to provide safe and motorable roads without any obstruction and with just and reasonable safety devices. If in law there is no provision for erecting a speed breaker, and if it is found that the speed of vehicles at a particular point of road is to be regulated, then a scientific study of the same keeping in mind various aspects has to be undertaken so as to make the device to reduce the speed just and reasonable, which would not result into causing more unintended harm than intended benefits.”
- Kewal Semlani v. Commissioner Of Bombay And Ors. 2005 – Bombay High Court issues directions for speed breakers in Mumbai.
- N.D.M.C. v. Shri Chander Kishore Aggarwal 2011 – Compensation of Rs. 1 Lakh granted to motorist. NDMC held guilty of negligence for not maintaining speed breaker and thereby causing the accident.
Guidelines on Speed Breakers
- Ministry of Railways: DraftSpeedBreakerGuidelinesIR
Draft Guidelines on the provision of Speed
Breakers for Control of Vehicular speed on Minor Roads
Report no. RDSO/WKS/2016/1 by the Works Directorate of the Research Design and Standards Organization, Lucknow
To which authority do we contact to verify if the speed breakers recently installed in LONAVLA are within the permissible norms ????
Why don’t you write to your Municipal Authority and to the Police Chief of your district? The Municipal Authority is primarily responsible for the construction and signage for the speed breaker.
what distance should be there between two speed breakers.In our residential gated community there are too many and at every 10m distance you find one
I would like to know whether in an apartment complex association has any right to install speed breakers within the gated community. If they have through a general body approval then what is the minimum distance between the speed breakers and should the design be as stated above by IRC as 3.7m wide amd 0.10 m high ?
Can the residents object to if the existing speed breakers do not meet the above specs and can they approach legally to dismantle these speed breakers?
IRC should formulate clear guide lines as where to install speed breaker also proper size should be suggested. and Govt. must make law for the same.
i live in goa corlim village panchayat i request to make speed breaker on state highway from singenta factory to old goa because there is very heavy trafic everyday & lot of children & oldage peoples walking from there so please do this needful
Could anyone confirm/comment on Prabhakar’s comment as similar problems occur in a few more gated complex.
now a days, it has become a fashion to put Speed Breaker to shown importance of the Building/ Structure on the Road side. Many Petrol Pumps, Hotel, Complex etc has suddenly build new speed breakers without safety measures /any road sign,
Where can I request to install or build a speed breaker on a busy, accident prone road?
in small small street lot of speed breakers and very high. its very dangerous for us.
this is not speed breakers, this spine breakers. i am afraid for this. can get any legal action for that.
sudhakar magar hyd
Please file PIL (Public Interest Litigation) to the High court else it will not work in our country.
In out city vizag, the local municipal authorities are not following the guidelines issued by the Indian Road Congress for laying speed breakers. No sign boards are displaying about the speed breakers.
मै ग्राम -पंचायत सोहास, सुमाली उत्तर प्रदेश का निवासी हूं, मै जानना चाहता हूं कि क्या कोई गाँव मे अपनी मर्जी से अपने घर के सामने स्पीड ब्रेकर लगवा सकता है, यदि हाँ तो इसका पैमाना क्या है! यदि नही तो, इसके विरुद्ध कहाँ और कैसे कार्यवाही की जाय जिससे कि ब्रेकर को हटवाया जा सके!
Within an overnite a new series of road breaker has been built 2 days back at SH32 ,(state highway 32) near between shutter kavla and koodaloor kavla .
NO SIGN Boards layed.
Last night when i was coming home after closing my shop, a biker just missed from an accident with this stupid and unwanted speed breaker.
A school is near, but its busy only at around 9am and at 3.30pm . A zebra crossing line and police on duty is always present during this time .
If this speed breaker is not removed soon , very soon new accidents will occur during evening and night hours.
Also this is a place away from main town.
information is goodn hlpful but not complte as three four day we faced humiliation into hands of a shopkkeepr who syad to be prdhan of market.senior citizen faced humiliationn was forced to sign compromise.fault due to making fo too much high ramp he wa aksed to remove.what to do
Mai Up ki deoria district se hu. Mai ye janna chahti ki kya speed breaker apni marji se ghar ke samne banwaya ja skta hai. Agr ha to iske condition kya hai. Mere ghar ke samne kuch logo ne jabrdsti speed breaker banwa diya hai ar sara village unlog ke sath hai taki hamlog ko shrminda kar sake qki av hmlog thode ache life bita pa rahe hai wrna iske phle ham bahut garib the. So
Mere ghar ke samne ek breaker banaya gya hai aur ek ghar se 20 kadam pe aur ek 40 kadam pe.
So plz sir help me ki mujhe kya karna chahiye. Mai boli ki breaker mere ghar se thoda aage bana lo but wo log jid me aur pas banaye hai. Ar thekdar ne nahi banaya to jabrdasti khud hi bana dale. To thekdar aur chairman ne paper pe unke khilaf v likh ke sign kar ke diya hai…
So plz help me sir …it’s very urgent
hi.. please support this petition for stircter laws… please do share it…!!
petition link :
https://www.change.org/p/rto-law-to-build-sceintific-speedbreakers-every-where-and-making-road-safety-everywhere?recruiter=595612079&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-no_msg
Sir I am resident of sector in Gurgaon. Someone has made illegal speed breakers and they are not upto the specification. I wanted to know is a person residing in the sector can make speed break in front of his house? If not to whom should I approach to remove it?
sir how to controll speed of vechicle in street rods, how to measur speed braker dimenctions
sir namasthe this is Vinay Dasarahally and I have an two Wheeler.
daily I’m facing tooo much of risk while crossing the speedbreakers in state highway of 30km. 30 speedbreakers when going to work feels fully tired
when I back to home in this winter I seen hell everyday I don’t know How do I book an case about this illegal speedbreakers and I don’t know the laws about of speedbreakers in state highways
I believe I get an a good reply from you
thank u
Vinay Dasarahally
Tumkur New entertainment Media
Tumkur-572103
contact mail
dsvinay3@gmail.com
Sir I am resident of Alampur Gadiya, Suti Mill, G.T Road, Aligarh-202001 (U.P) Someone has made illegal speed breakers and they are not upto the specification. I wanted to know is a person residing in the sector can make speed break in front of his house? If not to whom should I approach to remove it?
Please any one can inform me what should be the dimensions of Speed Breakers as per the governing laws ?
Sir I’m smriti bajpei from village katra p. Janakpur dist. Panna mp Sir m ye janana chahti hu k kya ye speed breaker koi v kh apni ichha k according bnwa skta h kya ydi nh to iske against koi action to liya jata hoga na cz sir m na in speed breakers s bhut preshaan ho gyi hu jiska jha mn krta vh apne ghr k samne bna deta h vo v 1 ya 2 nh 5 or 6 or width km hight jyada kr dete h PLEASE SIR I REQUEST YOU THAT TAKE any solid ACTION AGAINST THEM..?
Speed beakers are used by hotels etc for their interest.. if one accident occurs due to rough driving by any drunk or irresponsible person, thousands of innocent people face daily problem and meet an accident due to improper bumps and missing sign boards… Also the size of bumps are not maintained properly… The guidelines must be strictly followed..
I am a resident of DLF Phase 3 in Gurgaon. Here some people have constructed speed bumps which are very sharp and cause belly of cars to scrape and also pose accidental threat to two wheeler drivers.
The people who have made it are nobody but self styled leaders of the timepassing senior citizens group here.
Where/ which department can I lodge a complaint regarding unauthorised speed breaker on newly constructed road in jaipur
Yes Mamta Sharma i have a same question but i am from Punjab. My neighbour village newly constructed road makes speed breakers against rules. that create problem and dangerous for luxury cars for crossing. Please help us lawgic
What should be minimum distance between two speed breakers in a village ???
I am writing this comment from a medical as a patient who injured last hour.The reason of my accident was speed breakers.It is damnably to say these obstacles as speed breakers, because those who construct these ,they don’t know the rules about speed breakers
It is better to say that event which was occured.After a long time interval i came to our village yesterday.To meet my friends I go to nearest village .I came back at 9 pm .When I entered to our village , I switch off my torch because street lights are there,but there are some humps are there which are in totally dark place .These can be identified by experience or for strangers they can ,like me……
Those persons who construct these speed breakers ,they bring raw materials freely at the time of road making and they did the humps as they like.They follow no rules.If one will measure the height is about 20-25 cm and distance between two is about 20-30 meters of these humps.This is not only a problem in our village but in all over India also..so it is necessary to take action against those who construct such type of humps and should be set in proper position where required. Thank you….
as per indian law nobody can palace speed breakers in front of there house and anywhere without a permission of traffic police and related department . if anybody does this type of work they are punishable as per indian law .
As per the Law we have to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations in providing the speed breakers. one cannot change the design and colour of the speed breakers.But in Trichy the corporation has put up some speed breakers against the basic principles and design.As we are not supposed to change the colour of our national flag and the colour of the Automatic signal from RED and Green we are not supposed to change the colour stripps of the speed breakers.Hoe that the corporation will realize and change the colour wich they have painted in white and red If somebody met with an accident nor any damage to his vehicle and if he goes to court and claim compensation the corporation has to pay for the compensation and on enquiry if it it is found that it is being done by instigation of an official he has to bear the cost of compensation.
Sir Iam aresident of village Ziagachhi Po Jagadishpur ps Dalkhola Dist Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal namely Md Faiyaz Alam of the same address installed an illigal speed breaker on newly constructed road at Ziagachhi Hat and also in some other places from Dalkhola to Chakulia which is hazardous and troubling to the two ,three wheelers and other vehicles as well aspassengers travelling for their purposes .How it can be removed with the help of concerns authorities
Erecting speed humps tumblers at 12 feet after 12 feet is the pass time with works deptt in odisha. in a year the deptt showed expenditure of staggering 230 crores towards election demolition of these hence such money minting formula by few officer engineer politician nexus needed to be exposed as after all these are public funds !
Dear respected Sir,
Recently my village main road has expanded so we need speed brake.
what is the procedure and we need take any permission for this issue
please help on this
Appropriate speed breakers are essential where educational institutes are functioning like university, colleges and schools on highways having the decision of removal of speed breakers because there is a question of the life of the human being. Ultimately the responsibility goes with school authorities if any otherwise.
Dr S.M.Rokade
Which law defines the restriction of speed breakers across a sub road from a minor district road having moderate traffic. Is there any govt. order regarding this in Kerala. Who will give permission to provide speed breakers across sub roads. What are the procedures for it. Can any local government department be provide speed breakers without permission in its jurisdiction ?
A speed breaker installed near my residence in Kolkata with very faint white markings that is almost invisible to the drivers, is causing the heavy weighted trucks to jump and create a huge thudding vibration that is damaging two very old buildings just by the side of the road. The buildings are getting heavily damaged, one of which is already in a quite shabby condition. The tenants of the building are at great risk due to the same. Can the speed breaker be shifted ?
will authorities consider forSPEED BRAKERS OR ATLESAT WHITE LINE DEMARKING OR ELSE SIGN BOARDS HOSPITAL AHEAD FOR SAFE COMFORTABLE RIDING SAFE CROSSING FOR THE ELDERLY DEBILIDATING PATIENTS WHO VISIT CHRISTIANFELLOWSHIP HOSPITAL ,ODDANCHATRAM
Every Speed breaker in the city of Surat is different from other, causing great damage to vehicles. Has there been any update from IRC on the design norms for speed breaker?
Hi,
I live in South Delhi and live in a gated society. We want to install few speed brakers and turns and T points for slowing the vehicles and safety of kids who cycle and play on these internal roads.
Do we have to take any permission from Traffic police dept. for installing Speed breakers within our appartment roads.
Leagal conultancy should be available to those who find too many speed brakwrs in a gated residential societyb These are placed at an interval of 10 mtrs. Total of 6/7 speed / spine brakers within a distance of 100 mtrs.
These are not speed breakers, actually these are back bone, spine breakers. More particularly for senior citizens, ladies & pregnant women.
Suitable breakers should be designed for the citizens.
meri colony me bhut jyAda speed breaker ha main unko hatana chahta hu plz help
It is experienced that speed breaker on highway leads to damage of vehicle or accident since it is very difficult to anticipate a speed breaker and reduce speed suddenly.
If a speed breaker is a must, authorities should make it compulsory to put 5 rumblers 100 m before major speed breaker so that driver can expect it and controls vehicle speed before reaching speed breaker. This shall reduce unnecessary damage to vehicle or not lead to accident.
Please implement above suggestion. I have just saved my life by jumping over a speed breaker but could control the fall and a major accident.