PUNE: In the wake of the recent tragic accident involving a minor driving a Porsche Taycan at 160 kmph, city road experts on Friday emphasized the need to focus on static road design elements to physically prevent overspeeding.
Suhrd Joshi, an urban designer, said, “We should control what is static and not dynamic, that is, the nature of the street itself.”
Pointing out the idiot-proof road designs in European cities, Joshi said, “Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW are German brands, but do Munich and Berlin have streets where such cars can express their power? European streets are designed to make it physically impossible to speed, not relying solely on awareness drives.”
He suggested several road design interventions that could effectively curb speeding, such as tyre rumble strips, cobblestone road patches, footpath bulb-outs, trees, BRT/tram lanes, cycle lanes, trapezium flat tabletop speed breakers, regular speed breakers at regular intervals, and congestion pricing for private cars entering downtown areas.
“This makes it physically and psychologically impossible to speed. It applies to everyone, avoids finger-pointing, and is low-cost,” Joshi said. Joshi added that Pune has road design features like tabletop speed breakers and sidewalk bulb-outs in areas like Aundh and Pimple Nilakh, where a car like the Porsche cannot dare to speed.
Ranjit Gadgil, program director, Parisar, said, “This is called safer through design. You design roads that coerce a driver into slowing down, taking slower turns, and having a good line of sight. This doesn’t solve every problem but can help to a great extent.”
Gadgil added that Pune’s Urban Street Design Guidelines were developed with these accepted principles. “In fact, an important speed bump near my residence has been removed, making it a dangerous spot,” he added.
Sandeep Gaikwad, senior program associate at Parisar, said, “The PMC has removed several speed breakers in various areas of the city, like Sinhagad Road, Hadapsar, Kharadi, and parts of Camp. The removal was not proper and haphazard, causing more crashes and inconvenience to drivers. Speeding has always been an issue in Pune. A 2021 survey by Parisar found that almost 75% of drivers here violated speed limits at over 10 intersections. Specific road design features like speed bumps, rumble strips, etc., can discourage all types of vehicles from speeding because speeding on a road with such features will only be counterproductive for the driver and his vehicle.”
Harshad Abhyankar, founder of Save Pune Traffic Movement, said, “Some measures that can be taken to discourage speeding: You need to be confident that if you violate a rule, especially a more sensitive one, you will be caught. Drivers should also be made to know that if they are caught, there is no escape from paying fines or penalties. The penalties must be severe so that they deter them from violating rules in the first place.”
A senior PMC official told TOI, “We had to remove speed breakers from some roads on the suggestion of the traffic police, as people were facing issues, and they were slowing traffic. The traffic police also suggested removing such speed breakers which are not built as per norms and again, putting up a proposal before the Rasta Suraksha Samiti for new speed breakers to be built as per norms in specific locations.”
Suhrd Joshi, an urban designer, said, “We should control what is static and not dynamic, that is, the nature of the street itself.”
Pointing out the idiot-proof road designs in European cities, Joshi said, “Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW are German brands, but do Munich and Berlin have streets where such cars can express their power? European streets are designed to make it physically impossible to speed, not relying solely on awareness drives.”
He suggested several road design interventions that could effectively curb speeding, such as tyre rumble strips, cobblestone road patches, footpath bulb-outs, trees, BRT/tram lanes, cycle lanes, trapezium flat tabletop speed breakers, regular speed breakers at regular intervals, and congestion pricing for private cars entering downtown areas.
“This makes it physically and psychologically impossible to speed. It applies to everyone, avoids finger-pointing, and is low-cost,” Joshi said. Joshi added that Pune has road design features like tabletop speed breakers and sidewalk bulb-outs in areas like Aundh and Pimple Nilakh, where a car like the Porsche cannot dare to speed.
Ranjit Gadgil, program director, Parisar, said, “This is called safer through design. You design roads that coerce a driver into slowing down, taking slower turns, and having a good line of sight. This doesn’t solve every problem but can help to a great extent.”
Gadgil added that Pune’s Urban Street Design Guidelines were developed with these accepted principles. “In fact, an important speed bump near my residence has been removed, making it a dangerous spot,” he added.
Sandeep Gaikwad, senior program associate at Parisar, said, “The PMC has removed several speed breakers in various areas of the city, like Sinhagad Road, Hadapsar, Kharadi, and parts of Camp. The removal was not proper and haphazard, causing more crashes and inconvenience to drivers. Speeding has always been an issue in Pune. A 2021 survey by Parisar found that almost 75% of drivers here violated speed limits at over 10 intersections. Specific road design features like speed bumps, rumble strips, etc., can discourage all types of vehicles from speeding because speeding on a road with such features will only be counterproductive for the driver and his vehicle.”
Harshad Abhyankar, founder of Save Pune Traffic Movement, said, “Some measures that can be taken to discourage speeding: You need to be confident that if you violate a rule, especially a more sensitive one, you will be caught. Drivers should also be made to know that if they are caught, there is no escape from paying fines or penalties. The penalties must be severe so that they deter them from violating rules in the first place.”
A senior PMC official told TOI, “We had to remove speed breakers from some roads on the suggestion of the traffic police, as people were facing issues, and they were slowing traffic. The traffic police also suggested removing such speed breakers which are not built as per norms and again, putting up a proposal before the Rasta Suraksha Samiti for new speed breakers to be built as per norms in specific locations.”
