NOIDA: Traffic police officers in Noida have flagged concern over the tyre killers installed recently on a stretch between sectors 74 and 77, pointing out they could result in fatal accidents, especially for two-wheelers.The officers pointed out that the stretch where the tyre killers had been installed was near a junction that sees more bikers than people using four-wheelers. They cited the example of Pune, where tyre killers were taken off within days of being installed. Tyre killers act a speed breaker for vehicles travelling on the correct side of the road. For those travelling on the wrong side, the protruding spikes puncture the tyres. The device can pose a danger to bikers, who may lose balance after hitting the spikes.“A similar plan was implemented in Pune last year. But tyre killers had to be removed from the spot soon after. These can be fatal, especially for those riding two-wheelers. The protruding spikes can seriously injure the commuters,” a senior traffic police officer said.Anurag Kulshrestha, president of TRAX, a society that works for road safety, said even the way the tyre killers had been installed initially were wrong. “The Indian Road Congress says the width of speed breakers should be around two metres and its height four-five inches only. These tyre killers were about five inches high and 15 inches wide till Wednesday. On Thursday, they made slopes with charcoal and the width is now increased,” he ssaid.The Noida Authority has blamed the wrong installation on tampering. The Authority plans to install more tyre killers in the Sector 77 North Eye junction, Sector 76 metro station, Sector 61 Sai Mandir U-turn and Sector 16 A flyover. “We have spent over Rs 1.7 lakh on this installation, so the cost is Rs 17,000 per metre. This is the cost of an 11-metre strip placed on the road between sectors 74 and 77. We have now fixed the problem with sloped bitumen,” said Rajeev Tyagi general manager Noida Authority.Police officers in Delhi pointed out that if a car got punctured by a tyre killer, it could lead to snarls on already congested stretches. Once the device punctures the tyre of a violator’s vehicle, it will require traffic police to remove the damaged vehicle before the owner can repair the tyre and drive away. “This will result in a bottleneck until the vehicle is removed,” said a senior police officer.Delhi police officers vouched for other plans to prevent wrong-side driving. “We feel other technologies can be used to control wrong-side drivers rather than installing tyre killers, at least in the form that it is available in the market right now. We will focus on prosecutions than installing them on busy stretches. Studies can be conducted about other technologies that can be used,” said joint commissioner (traffic) Alok Kumar.Senior principal scientist at CRRI, S Velmurugan , said that tyre killers can be installed after conducting a traffic volume study in areas where the average speed is low. “The device has proven to be successful internationally, but in a city like Delhi where most drivers do not follow traffic rules it needs to be used cautiously. The spikes can also disbalance three-wheelers, like autorickshaws and e-rickshaws. The traffic police and road-owning agencies should conduct a survey before permitting this device,” he added.Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of Save Life Foundation, said the device poses a challenge if it is made of steel. “The spikes can be a threat to other road users. Since there are no definite design parameters, a driver or a motorcycle rider can get hurt in case of an unlikely fall on the device. Options of plastic spikes or other materials should be tried before allowing installation of such devices,” he added.In Noida, commuters expressed fear because of the spikes. Some, however, pointed out loopholes in the way they had been installed. “While the two-wheelers are managing to pass through the gap between the spikes, the car drivers are hardly using the stretch,” said Vimal Jain, a resident.Within a day of being installed, the tyre killers on the Noida stretch had come loose in the morning. Police said the idea behind installing tyre killers was to instill discipline in rogue drivers. Officials had said the decision to install tyre killers was taken after thousands of challans issued over last year had failed to prevent wrong-side driving.The Noida Authority has installed street lights at the spot where the spikes are installed and also placed banners to raise awareness among commuters.A team has also been deployed to inform commuters against driving on the wrong side.

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