Yellow Bars, Markings, Vibration Make Road To This School Safer

New Delhi: During school hours in Sukhdev Vihar, the road outside Dev Samaj School now moves at a gentler pace. As children with backpacks wait to cross, cars slow down instead of braking suddenly while two-wheelers follow in a steady line.This change was recorded in a recent speed assessment by CSIR-Central Road Research Institute following a pilot ‘school safe zone’ project on the stretch, which connects Okhla Main Road and Mathura Road. The study found that speeds have dropped by 30-52% across vehicle types in both directions.Till Feb beginning, before the intervention, traffic on the stretch behaved differently. There was nothing in the middle to break the width of the carriageway and no marked crossings to point out it was a school zone. The few footpaths in place were mostly encroached upon. Vans stopped where they found room, autos angled across lanes, and parents double-parked while picking up or dropping off their wards.A one-hour traffic survey during morning hours recorded 1,479 vehicles moving in both directions. Speed data collected between 8am and 10.30am, when children were arriving at school, showed that vehicles were moving quickly.

Two-wheelers averaged 44.1 kmph, small cars 42.6 kmph and taxis 40.3 kmph. Vans moved at 37.3 kmph, light commercial vehicles touched 35.5 kmph, and trucks and buses were above 32 kmph. Autos moved at 33.4 kmph and e-autos at nearly 30 kmph. Even cycles and other non-motorised vehicles averaged close to 15 kmph. “Based on our findings, the Sukhdev Vihar road around the school proximal zone was redesigned, conforming to Indian Road Congress standards. The plan included parabolic-shaped transverse bar markings (TBMs) of different thicknesses made of cold applied plastic yellow paint, coupled with markings of 25 kmph, cautionary sign indicating lane constriction, red and white pedestrian markings, zig-zag markings in the school vicinity for 25 metres on either side, traffic delineation using road studs, pedestrian infrastructure improvements and access management measures. This implementation was done with the help of CSR,” said Dr S Velmurugan, chief scientist and head, traffic engineering and safety, CSIR-CRRI. On the approach from the CRRI side, six yellow TBM bars were painted first, followed by another six. Closer to the gate, three thicker bars were added. The same pattern was placed on the approach from the Metro side. As vehicles pass over these bars, reduction in the speed was noted when they were traversing over the thickest TBMs and when they approached the school zone from both directions of travel. Velmurugan said new speed measurements taken during the same morning hours showed a clear drop. “Two-wheelers came down to almost 30 kmph. Small cars reduced to 27.5 kmph and taxis to almost 27 kmph. Vans dropped to 24.5 kmph.”Light commercial vehicles slowed to nearly 22.2 kmph, trucks came down to 19.8 kmph and buses to 17.7 kmph. Autos reduced to nearly 20 kmph and e-autos to 15.5 kmph. Non-motorised transport slowed to just over 5 kmph.Overall, cars and two-wheelers slowed by about 32-35%, truck speeds reduced by 41% while buses slowed by nearly 45%. Most vehicles are now moving at or below 25 kmph near the school during morning hours.The afternoon rush used to be faster. Between 2.30pm and 5pm, baseline speeds ranged between 30 kmph and 41 kmph, depending on vehicle type. After full implementation up to 20 mm TBMs, total reductions ranged between 36% and 52%, with cars and two-wheelers showing the highest compliance. Most vehicles now remain within 30 kmph near the school gate during dispersal hours. The stretch still carries mixed traffic, with two-wheelers remaining the largest group. Experts recommend the model be implemented at other places too.