Though the Ministry of Road transport and highways has banned the construction of speed breakers on highways, the practice continues unhindered.

Nowadays, there is also the practice of setting up speed barricades at very frequent intervals on national highways. These barricades are set up with no scientific basis whatsoever and hinder movement of vehicles as well as pose a serious threat to the safety of road users.

In the state of Tamilnadu, the local police have taken to placing barricades at almost every place even a minor road cuts into the highways. They have also placed barricades on the highways in front of select hotels and other commercial establishments - forcing people to slow down so that the establishments may get business. This, we suspect is done in cahoots with the police and the commercial establishments.

To quote the ministry of road transports circular dated 11th April 2016  - “It has come to the Ministry's notice that at many places on National Highways, local authorities are constructing road humps i.e. speed breakers, to check the speed of vehicles despite Ministry's policy of not providing speed breakers on National Highways. This is undesirable, as the function of National Highways is to facilitate movement of through traffic and not to hinder it. Speed breakers can be a source of serious hazards and accidents to the fast- moving vehicles.”

National highways are now plagued with unscientifically placed speed breakers and barricades. This is hampering the smooth flow of vehicular traffic and is also a major safety hazard with many accidents being caused, many of them also fatal. 

With ever increasing toll rates, and even otherwise it is unacceptable that we face such hindrances and safety hazards.

We, hereby demand that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways take immediate action and removes all speed breakers and barricades not approved by the Chief Engineer (National Highways) / appropriate authority NHAI/NHIDCL.