Road speed limits may be upped

[mithun]

The Ministry for Roads & Highways is planning to amend the archaic Motor Vehicles Act to increase the permissible highway speed limits for all kinds of vehicles.

Under the Motor Vehicles Act, the maximum highway speed for two-wheelers is 50 km and it is 65 km for buses and trucks. As for cars, different states have varying speed limits.

While Haryana and Rajasthan have fixed a limit of 90 km on highways for cars, the UP government has not specified any limit. In Maharashtra, the maximum speed limit is around 80 km.

Under the planned amendment to the Act, the government is considering raising the speed limit for two-wheelers to 60-65 km and fixing the limit for cars at 90-100 km.

There will be no change in the speed limit for trucks and buses.

Says Vijay Singh, secretary in the ministry, "We are planning to amend the Motor Vehicles Act to ensure uniformity in the speed of passenger cars and up the limit for others."

The move is in sync with the fact that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has been constructing highways and expressways over which vehicles can travel at 100-120 km.

High-speed highways require proper access controls (barricades on the roadside), which are being built by the Ministry for Roads and Highways, so that villagers and cattle do not stray onto roads.

Singh further points out, "Though the design speed specifications of highways and expressways are such that vehicles (typically cars) can ply at speeds of 100 to 120 km per hour, driving at such speeds is not advisable. Considering the safety aspect, and the fact that highways pass through various states, it is state laws that apply on cars." He said the government will also look into increasing the penalty for overspeeding.

Road speed limits may be upped

[v1p3r]

Maybe they should have a minimum speed limit too. For all the old people in the right lane, who refuse to give way.

Originally Posted by mithun

In Maharashtra, the maximum speed limit is around 80 km.

What is AROUND supposed to mean? So a cop can pull you over for doing 74 kmph, because it's somewhere in the region of 80?

[chanapli]

No use if there is no strict rule enforcement. I mean without hightech devices and force, people travel in whatever speed they want!. Look at those volvos ( speed limit 65kms!!) and new gen cars!!

[benbsb29]

No use having higher permissible speeds, when all of a sudden out of nowhere you have a tractor coming bang at you on the wrong side of the road. Ensure that highways are safe from such lunatics first.

[suman]

Originally Posted by mithun

While Haryana and Rajasthan have fixed a limit of 90 km on highways for cars, the UP government has not specified any limit.

Just FYI, the speed limit on the spanking NEW Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is being REDUCED to 50 km/h for cars.....whats the point of having expressways I ask ??????

You have a valid observation though Benny!

[bottle]

i remember there was this fiasco last time in chennai where they conducted speed tests for cars all over the city with the radar gun.. if i am not mistaken speed limit was 40 kmph and i was fined for going at 62kmph :| then later i guess it was discontinued after too many ppl started making a fuss and now they only target bikes

[theMAG]

Speed limits in India dont make sense. The police force is so stretched and there's abundant grassroots corruption to make exact speed limits non-enforcable. Not to mention the lack of motoring etiquette in both vehicle users and pedestrians. There's an irony to all this too - do we want to go any more faster on killer roads?

They should make lane systems functional first.

[vid6639]

yeah tell me about it. On sirsi circle flyover to mysore road the speed limit is 35km/hr.

the cops usually are there with speed guns to catch speeding cars. My driver was fined Rs.500 for over speeding. he was doing 140km/hr instead of 35km/hr.

[GTO]

Under the planned amendment to the Act, the government is considering raising the speed limit for two-wheelers to 60-65 km and fixing the limit for cars at 90-100 km.

Instead of having a fixed speed limit, what they should have is variably speed limits; limits that vary according to the road conditions. So the expressway section can have a 100, while the ghat section can have a 50 kph limit.

[noviceDriver]

Originally Posted by suman

Just FYI, the speed limit on the spanking NEW Delhi-Gurgaon expressway is being REDUCED to 50 km/h for cars.....whats the point of having expressways I ask ??????

You have a valid observation though Benny!

Ha ha Suman..........but no point in breaking our heads over this....it's a precautionary drive with approvals for CCTVs too for the Gurgaon traffic police. Though we enjoy driving on this stretch, some idiots do go overboard and cause lot of accidents while overspeeding with little control. And as we know India, road rules are not made for good drivers!

[suman]

Originally Posted by noviceDriver

Though we enjoy driving on this stretch, some idiots do go overboard and cause lot of accidents while overspeeding with little control. And as we know India, road rules are not made for good drivers!

Yah but if only the cops dedicated themselves to outdoor duty and enforced lane discipline on the expressway, a number of the accidents would not happen. I mean, if you look at it at any hour of the day, you have the four lanes occupied by ALL conceivable forms of two, three & four wheelers - you have long-distance buses on the extreme right lane, you have those three wheeled commercial vehicles moving along at 40kmph on the second from right lane, you have bikes moving across from the extreme left lane to the extreme right & the call center cabs fishtailing from one end to the other - two weeks of spot fines and you'll see a remarkable improvement, believe me. But are they interested? I don't think so.......

Of course, I agree that idiots who are not in control of their vehicles should not be driving fast but the problem needs to be narrowed down further.

[salilpawar1]

In a country where buses like Volvo B7R travel at speeds over 100 kph irrespective of road surfaces..... I wonder to what extent does the law make sense if there are no cops to enforce it...

Dear Hon'ble Minister, please check T-BHP photo gallery..... Over half the members have displayed their rides with their speedos ticking over 150 kph....
How about moving this thread to the Official Joke Thread?

[noviceDriver]

completely agree with you Suman (nice visualization of NH8 ). But deep in our minds we all know that workable solutions are not the ones which actually get implemented in India. And we have to leave with it, I don't know for how many years more.....

[spadival]

Its only going to generate some (toilet) paper work for a few bored to death bureaucrats.. makes no difference, real or virtual, on the road.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by salilpawar1

Dear Hon'ble Minister, please check T-BHP photo gallery..... Over half the members have displayed their rides with their speedos ticking over 150 kph....
How about moving this thread to the Official Joke Thread?

You are sounding as if Team-Bhp supports driving at such speeds. No i dont think so. Unless ofcourse its an open highway.