When Cal High installed five new speed bumps in the back parking lot last month, the school hoped to improve student safety.

This plan quickly backfired when junior Arjun Dhamrait fell victim to the speed bumps the very first day they were installed.

Dhamrait was biking to school as usual on Jan 27 when he hit the unmarked speed bumps and fell off his bike. He wasn’t aware of the speed bumps as they were brand new and hadn’t been painted yet.

Dhamrait broke both elbows as a result from the fall, and had to get splints on both arms. Though one arm healed quickly, the other is still in a sling.

Injuring both of his arms has created difficulties in completing various everyday activities. When he had both arms in casts, Dhamrait had to duct tape trash bags over the casts so that he could take showers. His injuries had even created problems when doing work for school.

“I can still move my wrist around and write and stuff,” he said. “But during the first couple days I wasn’t able to [do classwork] because it was hurting too much, so I’m making the work up now.”

His mother Sonna Dhamrait was particularly concerned, stating that he had a hard time during the first few weeks following the incident as he wasn’t able to put any weight on either arm.

“I was first worried for Arjun, but after I was almost angry toward the school for their negligence,” she said.

Sonna Dhamrait declined to comment whether the family planned to take legal action against the school.

Although the speed bumps weren’t marked yet, that might not have been the only contributing factor to the accident. Dhamrait said he was not holding the handlebars of his bike when he hit the speed bumps and fell.

According to district spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich, the installation was handled by Cal and not the school district. School officials were not available for comment.

But some students say they see no difference safety-wise.

“I don’t see a point in the speed bumps and I wish they weren’t added to the parking lot,” said junior Ashwin Bhumbla.

Sophomore Stephanie Huang walks through the parking lot area every day after school, and said she feels that they don’t have a big impact on students.

“I didn’t even notice the speed bumps were there,” Huang said.

Dhamrait’s mother stated that the speed bumps could help prevent reckless driving, but also that students should have been notified about the new safety additions.

People may be more indifferent towards the speed bumps because there was no information nor a notification sent out regarding the installation.

“I don’t really know why they’re there,” Dhamrait said. “Especially two of them, within a hundred feet of each other.”