Gurugram, March 3 -- Around 60 crash barriers made of stacked tires on the city's key roads were found broken, misplaced, or missing during a spot check conducted by HT on Thursday. Sixty three of the total 98 hazard markers checked, which are used as stacked tyres with reflective tapes to prevent low-to-moderate-speed collisions, were found in poor shape The stretches and intersections where the majority of damaged barriers were found include Z Chowk, Signature Towers, Jharsa Chowk, Millennium City Metro Station, Atul Kataria Chowk Underpass, Southern Peripheral and Main Gujjar roads, DLF Pirvana South in Sector 77, Arya Samaj and Ambedkar Marg, from Iffco Chowk towards Sector 56, and from 32nd Avenue towards Kheki Daula toll plaza along the Delhi-Gurugram (NH 48) expressway. At MDI Chowk near the Crowne Plaza Hotel, a crucial intersection marked by steep curves and heavy traffic between Gurugram and Delhi, six of the eight crash barriers were found damaged. Another eight were found broken in a no-parking zone outside the Millennium City Centre Metro station. The 2.83-foot collision cushions with reflectors are used to reduce the impact of collisions at major junctions, sharp curves, roundabouts, flyover ramps and blind spots. During the spot check, nearly 90% of them either had faded or lacked reflective tapes to enhance nighttime visibility. In September 2025, the traffic police had identified 45 dangerous spots and sharp curves between Signature towers and Kherki Dhaula toll plaza as part of Phase-1 of the hazard prevention exercise. The following phases focused on expressways and arterial roads. However, the spot check found that safety cushions were present only at 28 locations along the 12km stretch of NH 48 and many were damaged. According to the traffic police's data from December 2025, around 400 such barriers were installed based on geo-tagging across the district. A majority of those spotchecked were either found dislodged or placed on footpaths instead of at designated impact points, compromising visibility and posing a danger to commuters. According to traffic police officials, crash tyre barriers are procured through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds. "The on-ground officials ensure that missing or broken hazard markers are replaced timely as part of the routine road safety and accident-prevention exercises held in their jurisdiction. To improve visibility on vulnerable stretches, reflective tapes are installed on barriers to improve road safety features, along with installing signages, cat's eye road studs, delineators and median markers," said deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Dr Rajesh Mohan. The barriers are required to be maintained by the road infrastructure maintenance bodies, such as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on expressways, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and the Public Works Departments on internal sector roads within their jurisdictions, officials said. According to Mohan, letters are issued to the civic bodies in urgent cases when hazard markers are found damaged and require replacements. The GMDA recently floated two tenders to improve the city's road safety features from Sectors 1 to 57. The tenders include installing metal grills and dividers along the footpaths for pedestrian safety. A GMDA spokesperson said the newly floated tenders will include adding safety features on master roads aimed at enhancing visibility, regulating traffic movement, and ensuring safer road conditions. "The authority routinely replaces damaged barriers," the spokesperson said....