KRS Road which was closed for more than a year has been finally reopened for traffic after major upgradation. An unwelcome feature of the upgraded road is the road hump between the Railway Museum and the LIC building.
The Indian Roads Congress (IRC), a consultative body consisting of the top experts on the subject has published the definitive guidelines (IRC: 99-1988) on the construction of road humps. These guidelines say that road humps are meant mainly for residential areas and minor roads. Their use on major roads is not considered good engineering practice and IRC explicitly discourages it. So one probably should not have a road hump on KRS Road.
According to the guidelines, a driver should not lose directional control when crossing the hump. But auto drivers tell us that several two-wheeler drivers are losing control over this hump. The reason seems clear. The guidelines suggest a design with a height of 4 inches and a width of 12 feet for controlling the speed of two-wheelers and cars to 25 kmph. This can be used on roads on which heavy traffic is very rare. If there are many busses/lorries plying such roads, they will feel a fairly severe jolt at 25 kmph and so the vehicles will cross the hump at lower speeds forcing the following traffic to speeds much less than the safe speed. For roads on which lorries and busses are the dominant traffic, the width of the hump must be increased to 16 feet to limit the speed of such traffic to 25 kmph.
It is seen from the photo that the hump on KRS road is about 6 inches high and only 5 feet wide. It is no wonder two-wheeler drivers lose control over the vehicles when crossing it. Busses and lorries almost come to a stop while crossing it, causing more accidents.
It is not clear who is in charge of laying road humps in Mysore, the Corporation or the police. Whoever it is, it is clear that the IRC Guidelines are not being followed. It is doubtful if any of the road humps in Mysore meet the above specifications. Badly designed road humps instead of reducing accidents, worsen the problem.
D.V. Dayanand Sagar, Mysore Grahakara Parishat