Challaning in Delhi these days

[vebmetal]

Seems like there is some sort of drive going on today / these days. Unfortunately got my first speeding ticket today (Rs. 900 ).


Just letting others know - they were there with the interceptor at Raj Ghat, and at Purana Qila among other places. And usually they look for people who are at the front of a red light as they tend to accelerate fast when the light turns green. Unfortunately that was me today. Still kicking myself about this.

So yeah, if you travel these areas, watch out. The speed limit is 50. (In related news, I am selling the 5th gear of my car).

Stupidly, what these traffic cops do is jump out on the road and try to flag you down (literally - they have a red flag!!). I told them that they were unnecessarily putting themselves in danger. If someone is just distracted for a second, there goes the cop, and possibly the car driver as well. Very very stupid of them. But the main inspector just dismissed it sheepishly as "jawaanoan ko josh aaja ta hai kabhi kabhi" meaning that the lower level hawaldar types doing the actual flagging off get excited. Great. I think one of these days one of them will get run over, and some poor dude will find a simple speeding offence being upgraded to a homicide charge.

[simply_sunny001]

you are right,VEBMETEL

yesterday when i coming back to Noida from Rohtak,i survived at 2 places and thats just plain luck as speed limit of 50 is too low to be surpassed.

i once paid 900 bucks last year for overspeeding and i was doing only 54 at that time.

then i came to know that its 50 KMPH speed limit in delhi not 60

[Nitin]

Boy! Looks like the cops have this urge to tighten things once in a while. I would have expected this to be more of a 'end of the month' tactic, but they might actually be making things a bit more strict with respect to the speed.
Watch out guys..

[setuniket]

Just saw today speed gun guys in Noida too. Just after the newly constructed Amity flyover while going towards sec-37 crossing. I guess noida police is more active after the recent incident on the expressway. Thankfully i ride slow on empty roads too, so was within the limit, anyways speed gun guys rarely trouble bikers. But beware dont speed up after seeing empty roads or else time to get challaned in noida too.

[eclectix 1st]

Originally Posted by vebmetal

Stupidly, what these traffic cops do is jump out on the road and try to flag you down (literally - they have a red flag!!). I told them that they were unnecessarily putting themselves in danger. If someone is just distracted for a second, there goes the cop, and possibly the car driver as well. Very very stupid of them. But the main inspector just dismissed it sheepishly as "jawaanoan ko josh aaja ta hai kabhi kabhi" meaning that the lower level hawaldar types doing the actual flagging off get excited. Great. I think one of these days one of them will get run over, and some poor dude will find a simple speeding offence being upgraded to a homicide charge.

Recently there've been a couple of instances where cops got bumped off in Bangalore.

after these incidents cops have become clever & have been (supposedly) advivsed not to go in front of the cars. They target only the bikes. endangering both their life & the riders.

[woof]

There were cops near Punjabi Bagh flyover as well in the morning. Luckily, I spotted them beforehand, and immediately applied brakes to bring down my car's speed from around 65-70km/hr to below 50km/hr.

But, seriously, 50km/hr speed is ridiculously low. Should be around 60-65km/hr IMO.

[susan3004]

@Vebmetal. Do you have a white M800?
I travelled on the same road at around 1500h to ISBT from Noida and back. I saw plenty of drivers stranded in the clutches of the cops.

On the lighter side, if you speed up, you spend less time on the road as you reach your destination earlier. So lgically there are less chances of meeting with an accident, as you are spending lesser time on the road!

On the serious note, it is high time that speed limits for urban areas be reconsidered.
It is difficult to drive at 50kmph in the 5th gear!

[sanjayatarizona]

Originally Posted by woof

But, seriously, 50km/hr speed is ridiculously low. Should be around 60-65km/hr IMO.

Buddy, 50km/hr is sort of a uniform speed limit within cities worldwide(there are a few exceptions), so i have no problems in being governed as such. Of folks in countries worldwide driving their V8's and V12's daily do not have a problem with this, i guess we should not either.

The cops jumping in front of vehicles, that is another story alltogether...

usually you have a grace of 8% within cities and this should be allowed so...

[vebmetal]

Oh. I don't have a problem with getting challaned. I was speeding and was caught. Not much you can say in defence for that. Annoying though.

But now that we are discussing that anyway, I do think that some roads can be made 60Kmph. The problem is the sporadic enforcement. They don't enforce the speed limit everyday, and even when they do, they don't enforce other things like lane driving, cutting red lights etc. So for a person like me who stops at red lights even at 3 or 4 at night at intersections where there are no other cars, it's a little bit frustrating to be fined for 'speeding' on an open road when I am no danger to anyone. I wish they did these drives at night. They could choose any intersection and would find many many many offenders.

Still rules are rules. I just wished they enforced them all the time so that they would have some effect.

@susan, no I wasn't in a white m800. In fact I was there about 1pm. Anyway they would have easily challaned a 100 cars there.

[phamilyman]

yar, vasant kunj C1 sector flyover has a 50 speedlimit at the down section of the flyover. i've seen challans there as well

[kkdelhi]

Originally Posted by susan3004

On the lighter side, if you speed up, you spend less time on the road as you reach your destination earlier. So lgically there are less chances of meeting with an accident, as you are spending lesser time on the road!

Had a good laugh there! Listening to lot of Sud's jokes (98.3), I guess!

Seriously though, I think the biggest urge in respect of breaking a traffic rule is to jump a light that has just turned red.

Driving without seatbelt...well, that is something everyone does in their respective domains.

In Delhi, the challaning seems to somehow pick up during the festive season.

[gd1418]

I don't foresee any festive season around unless Baisakhi is the one you are talking about..

Originally Posted by kkdelhi

In Delhi, the challaning seems to somehow pick up during the festive season.

[dadu]

I never get this worldwide thing.

Every rule has to be made as per the prevailing conditions of the city/ country.

Worldwide people stop for Zebra crossings, follow lane discipline and follow the traffic rules, but do we do that here ??

Originally Posted by sanjayatarizona

Buddy, 50km/hr is sort of a uniform speed limit within cities worldwide(there are a few exceptions), so i have no problems in being governed as such. Of folks in countries worldwide driving their V8's and V12's daily do not have a problem with this, i guess we should not either.

[NetfreakBombay]

I assumed that speed limit is 80 kmph in all highways in city. Think that I have seen 80 kmph limit board in Western and Eastern highways (in Bombay)

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by sanjayatarizona

Buddy, 50km/hr is sort of a uniform speed limit within cities worldwide(there are a few exceptions), so i have no problems in being governed as such. Of folks in countries worldwide driving their V8's and V12's daily do not have a problem with this, i guess we should not either.

The cops jumping in front of vehicles, that is another story alltogether...

usually you have a grace of 8% within cities and this should be allowed so...

Care to cite your sources?
I have travelled to many cities around the world, and I have never seen a uniform 50kmph speed limit
School zones have 20-30mph, small roads have 40mph, major roads have 50mph and interstates passing through the city have 60mph limit.
Delhi has 50kmph everywhere except for DND flyways and newly constructed Toll road to Gurgaon.
Moreover the accuracy of radar equipment is +-5% for the best in the market.
So challaning somebody for 82kmph or 81kmph in a 80 zone is illegal and unethical.

Many laws are being used as revenue generators instead of safety. Infact I have seen people doing 52-53 in a 50 zone getting challaned while the cops ignored a guy atleast doing 100+ flying by because stopping him would have been a hassle. Saw this on the Outer ring road with my own eyes.

Challaning in Delhi has become a big farce because the traffic police ignore stuff which is claiming lives
1. Red light jumpers at nights have killed people in delhi and caused serious accidents, but I never see an interceptor at night
2. Many trucks race through Delhi inspite of HC/S.court orders, by paying 200rs bribe. It was caught on tape.
3. Many call center cabs doing 80+ on narrow roads are ignored.


challaning in Delhi happens in the non-accident prone areas where its easy to generate revenue.