india

Updated: Jan 07, 2020 14:37 IST

The Union government on Tuesday initiated a special drive to remove all speed breakers along national highways to ensure hassle-free traffic movement, especially on toll plazas, after bringing the FASTag system.

The ministry of road transport and highways said speed breakers will be removed from all national highways, which are designed to cater to high-speed traffic without any hindrance, under the jurisdiction of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

“With the effective implementation of FASTag on toll plazas and conversion of cash toll lanes to FASTag lanes, the speed breakers/rumble strips constructed at toll plazas are being removed with immediate effect for smooth vehicular movement,” the ministry said.

It said the speed breakers cause delay and significant discomfort to vehicle occupants, damage vehicles and add to more fuel consumption due to acceleration and deceleration.

“This initiative will save time, money and facilitate smooth vehicular movement, especially to ambulances, elderly and unwell people commuting on National Highways,” the ministry said.

The Centre had mandated all lanes of national highways toll plazas to be declared as “FASTag lanes” by December 15, a move aimed to reduce bottlenecks at national highways, extending its initial deadline by 15 days.

“Positive effects of ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) are being realized by the commuters on toll plazas. Introduction of speed breakers-free highways is another step in commitment to provide a safe, smooth and seamless journey to commuters on National Highways,” the ministry said.

HT had reported on December 17 that the day of the implementation of the FASTag programme, the average waiting time of vehicles increased from 10 minutes and four seconds the date previous year to 12 minutes.

The average waiting time of vehicles on December 14, a day before its implementation, stood at 10 minutes and 57 seconds.

On an average, nearly six million vehicles cross toll booths daily, as per the data monitored by central toll plaza traffic monitoring system, which is currently live at 488 plazas mapping traffic conditions.

According to the monitoring system, there is an approximate yearly loss of more than Rs 12,000 crore due to fuel wastage at toll plazas.

“In the larger context, this will also ensure avoidable wastage of transportation fuel for which country is heavily import-dependent, and will also result in lesser pollution,” the ministry added.