Social media abuzz with move to use 3D paintings as virtual speed breakers

NEW DELHI — To check rash driving, the government is considering putting up three-dimensional (3D) paintings on major highways and busy roads to create virtual speed breakers, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday.

“We are trying out 3D paintings used as virtual speed breakers to avoid unnecessary requirements of speed breakers,” Gadkari said in a tweet on Tuesday.

The tweet has gone viral ever since the minister floated the idea to curb the menace of rash driving, which has claimed many lives in road mishaps.

India witnesses as high as 500,000 road accidents in a year, in which 150,000 people die and another 300,000 are maimed.

Gadkari’s idea kept the social media buzzing, with some pitching for it, others opposing it and many re-tweeting it.

“Started 14 years back in the US and Canada... finally, we are getting it here in India,” tweeted a follower.

Another asked, “Once the driver knows it is virtual and only a painting, do you think the driver will even bother to slow down?”

One tweet was blunt: “This is a bad idea. The drivers at high speeds may apply sudden brake, thinking that there is an obstruction.”

Another user suggested: “3D visual speed breakers need to be painted in reflecting paint and be of quality.”