Act now to reduce speeding vehicles (Poll Inside)

YY Tan (left) and Mat Sepia inspecting one of the speed bumps built on Jalan USJ 3/4B.

RESIDENTS in several Subang Jaya neighbourhoods say there is a need for speed bumps or other safety measures to slow down speeding vehicles in housing areas.

They say there have been several accidents and near-misses with people and pets being hit or nearly knocked down.

Some also question the effectiveness of having speed bumps that do not seem to be doing their job in slowing vehicles down.

Two incidents on one streetEven though it has been a few months, USJ13 resident Jeff Lee still mourns the loss of a beloved pet and recalls the trauma of witnessing his cat being run over by a speeding car.

“My cat Marcus was killed in late January by a driver who drove too fast in a residential area,” said Lee, whose house is located on Jalan USJ13/5G, Subang Jaya.

Some residents question the effectiveness of several speed bumps in residential areas, especially when they are of poor quality or become too low due to road resurfacing works.

“I happened to witness the incident because I was going out for dinner and saw the whole thing happen in front of me.

“The driver didn’t even stop to see if Marcus was alright, but sped off.

“I tried to give chase but lost sight of the SUV (sports utility vehicle.

“I then rushed Marcus to a veterinarian in Subang Jaya but it was too late,” he added.

Coincidentally, the same SUV that knocked down Lee’s cat also nearly hit a woman who was crossing the same road that night.

She is the daughter of Lee’s neighbour, NL Phoon, who also lives along Jalan USJ13/5G.

“My daughter was crossing the road to unload items at my house.

“When she saw the speeding car, she hastened her pace.

“If she had been slower, she could have been knocked down. It was a traumatising experience for her.

“After hearing about Lee’s experience, we believe the car was rushing off after hitting his cat,” said Phoon.

She said there were similar incidents of stray animals dying or cars being scratched, believed to be linked to vehicles speeding in the neighbourhood.

Although there are existing speed bumps along Jalan USJ13/5G, Lee and Phoon want Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) to either instal additional speed bumps or signage to remind motorists to drive carefully in a residential area.

“Similar to driving near schools, motorists should not go above 30km/h in residential areas. This is to avoid injuring children or pets,” said Lee.

Phoon said the additional safety measures were even more urgently needed because the locals go to and from the park located in Jalan USJ13/5G.

She added that people also walk through this park as a shortcut to nearby schools and the LRT station.

Lee says motorists should not drive above 30km/h in residential areas to avoid injuring or killing people and pets.

Lobbying for years

USJ3 Four Kawasan Rukun Tetangga (USJ3 Four RT) committee members and some residents have been lobbying over several years for MBSJ to build additional speed bumps along Jalan USJ3/4B, as they say the long straight road is accident-prone.

“We hear of accidents or near-accidents happening to both people and animals along this road almost every other month.

“Because it is a long road, some residents or outsiders will speed through without caring for other people’s safety,” said USJ3 Four RT committee member Alice Soon.

“In late March, our area’s security guards informed the RT committee of a utility worker on a motorcycle who was knocked down by a speeding car.

“The worker had to be taken to hospital for treatment,” she said.

Soon said she personally tried to warn children to be careful, especially when they were playing along the roads.

“Jalan USJ3/4B is about 1.2km long.

“It is almost like the backbone of our neighbourhood, as it is the main road for us to get in and out of USJ3/4,” said USJ 3 Four RT chairman YY Tan.

“There are two existing speed bumps on this road but they are not enough.

“We need at least three more, with speed bumps built two to 3m apart, to ensure motorists slow down.

“This is necessary because most people don’t respect the speed limit in a residential area.”

Tan, who said his car’s side mirror was knocked by a speeding vehicle, felt that the authorities were unlikely to act until a tragedy occurred.

“We will continue calling for MBSJ to take action.

“If building additional speed bumps is not possible, we will ask for convex mirrors to be installed at major intersections in USJ3/4 as a safety measure,” he said.

USJ3 Four RT deputy chairman Mat Sepia Mohd Raji said: “The attitude of drivers also matters. They should follow the rules when in a housing area, and not drive as if on a highway.”

Questioning effectiveness

SS 17 residents AB Naicker and K. Wong questioned the effectiveness of having speed bumps in residential areas, especially when they were of poor quality or had become too low due to road resurfacing works.

“There is a speed bump on Jalan SS17/1D, near my house.

“It doesn’t appear to be effective as some drivers don’t bother slowing down when passing over it,” said Wong.

“I have seen near-misses several times, where some vehicles pass very close to residents exiting their homes.

“One time, a small pet dog was nearly hit by a car on Jalan SS17/1D.

“The dog could have been killed if the driver hadn’t spotted it at the last minute.”

Wong observed that out of every 10 cars that drove along Jalan SS17/1D, seven were likely to speed and only three would slow down at the speed bump.

Naicker, a civil engineer by profession, said speed bumps were useful if built properly, with the height and quality of materials important factors to be considered.

“Speed bumps are built to manage vehicle speed.

“Drivers also have to remember that they must adhere to speed limits under the Road Transport Act,” he said.“MBSJ needs to remind its contractors to be mindful of speed bumps when resurfacing roads.

“It defeats the purpose of having such structures if the resurfaced road is almost the same height as the bump.

“The quality of material and paint also matter when building new speed bumps,” he said.

Naicker suggested that MBSJ consider using speed bumps made from vulcanised rubber, which are more durable and visible compared to the asphalt version.

Feedback from councillors

MBSJ councillors Lee Jen Uyin and Kamarul Hisham Yeop Hashim said they had not received any requests for speed bumps on Jalan USJ13/5G and Jalan USJ3/4B.

Kamarul said: “MBSJ wouldn’t normally allow too many speed bumps on a single road.

“If there is a request for one, the city council’s Engineering Department will send its officers to inspect whether it is technically possible to build one.”

Lee said that for any requests for speed bumps, consent from all residents of that particular road was needed, as not everyone might agree.

“There are also other factors to be considered. If a speed bump is built on a slope, the next possible complaint would be water pooling at the structure,” she said.

“In places where speed bumps are not suitable, a speed breaker would be considered instead.”

If a road was resurfaced, Lee said the contractor would have to ensure the speed bump on it was rebuilt according to the council’s specifications.

She added that pets were not allowed to roam freely outside houses, and that MBSJ would remind residents to keep their pets within their compounds.

MBSJ’s response

When contacted, MBSJ said there were several criteria and conditions to be considered for the construction of a speed bump. “It must be in a public area such as a playground, hospital, school, house of worship and other public facilities,” said an MBSJ spokesperson.

“It could also be a busy road that connects two residential areas or a road that is accident-prone and deemed a black spot by the authorities.”

If there were existing speed bumps along one road but residents felt there was a need for more, the spokesperson said MBSJ would assess the need to build such a structure.

“If our officers feel there isn’t a need to build additional speed bumps, we will consider putting in other measures such as installing traffic safety signs or painting road lines (speed breakers),” he said, adding that the speed limit for residential areas is 35km/h.

On measures taken by MBSJ to ensure standardisation of speed bumps, the spokesperson said: “There are parameters (standards) for the height limit of speed bumps.

“If road resurfacing work is involved, it includes paving over the speed bumps to ensure the height of the original structure is maintained.”

He added that residents could submit an official request for the construction of a speed bump either through the Sistem Pengurusan Aduan Awam (Sispaa) website or app, or their area’s councillor.