I suppose, once upon a time, someone realized that cars had necessarily to go slower over a bump on the road…and “speed bumps” were born.

Certainly, I have seen such “speed bumps” and “rumble strips” in other countries too…but there is a world of difference between those and the ones we find in Bangalore.

Speed bumps are mandatorily preceded, in other countries, at a reasonable distance for the motorist, by a traffic sign warning that it is coming ujp ahead. And also, the bumps are clearly painted in highly visible stripes.

The main thing, of course, about speed bumps abroad is that the REST of the road is smooth and in good condition.

Not so in Bangalore.

Here, speed bumps actually add to the danger that the road poses for the road-user. Speed bumps are generally not scientifically designed, and could even be a line of bricks that have been tarred over. They jar unsuspecting road users terribly, and in Bangalore, where there are large numbers of two-wheelers, they are terribly dangerous and they can make the unsuspecting scooterist lose his balance. Also, very often, the bump is just an addition to the other potholes on the road as a hazard that road-users must navigate.

Instead of getting the information that a bump is coming up ahead, and slowing down, what happens is that a vehicle keeps going at speed, hits the bump and struggles to keep control while the surprsed drivers swears and suffers another bout of road rage…or a back injury, depending on how fast s/he has been going. Vehicles behind also can be put into danger when this happens.

Nor do the bumps always serve their purpose of slowing down the traffic at busy junctions. Sometimes they are constructed too far ahead of the junction, with the result that traffic, after having negotiated them, actually speed up again. And of course no one needs to be told the danger quotient of an unexpected road-bump for a two-wheeler, late at night when there is no traffic and the two-wheeler is doing much higher speeds than usual.

And sometimes they seem to be a kind of status symbol too. I remember, many years ago, UB constructing a speed bump outside their offices on Vittal Mallya Road which was later removed by the BMP. I can understand bumps before school gates or hospitals…but still cannot understand why they are laid only on one side of the road divider, direction of the traffic and not in the other. What is the logic behind this? And why should there be such bumps at each and every street corner, and on roads, like the Ring Roads, that are supposed to facilitate fast and smooth traffic? And why are they constructed, sometimes, high enough to scrape the axle or petrol sumps of vehicles, particularly low-slung ones? I used to joke that the speed bump near NIMHANS was actually the mountain that Hanuman had brought back to cure Lakshman!

I feel that road dividers without warning reflectors and such badly-designed and constructed speed bumps just make it more dangerous for people who use Bangalore roads. Is there someplace we can protest against them, and have illegally placed bumps removed, as they once were following an outcry?