[sfilinto]

I sometimes travel goa-banglore or goa-mumbai on the BR7 & it easilly goes past the 110 Kmph mark.

[condor]

The consensus is that these guys go quite fast, and definitely above the 100-110 range where they may have been limited to. I am not disputing any of the data that anyone has given here, but many of us have experienced the speeds these guys do.

And I dont think this is limited to the Volvo's. Case in point - 1997, me in a regular Leyland, going BLR-BBY. We were late leaving BLR, and the guy takes off, doing abt 240 km in 3 hrs 15 min to stop for lunch at their regular place at their regular time. This was day time running, and if the avg speed was 100+, wonder what would be the top speed he did that day.

[speedsatya]

recently met a B7r driver friend of mine ..who said that there is a new ALL bus that overtakes the B7r on starights !!!!!!!!!!!!...but it cannot match the b7r's pulling power on the ghats ...it seems this ALL AC bus does mumbai-mangalore in around teh same time as the b7r ..dunno how much of this is true ...

BTW when all other buses --the Telco or the ALL do keep having accidents on our roads ...why isnt anything been mentioned about them ...why special mention about the b7r...its just another Bus on our roads

[Star555]

konduskar travels bus mumbai pune
Konduskar

[nispatel]

I've done weekly commuting in B7R between Pune and Bangalore for about a year. Have tried various operators like Sharma, VRL, Konduskar and KSRTC but found KSTRC Aairavat most reliable, confortable and safe. These Volve buses covers this distance of about 800 KMs in 15 HRs to 16 HRs in VRL and KSRTC respectively that's about an average of 52 KMs; probably due to bad patch of about 200 KM after Tumkur towards Pune.

These buses are like a gem and have seen breakdown only once but in that too we could continue our journey in the same coach. All happended b'case drive was too enthu and after Tumkur he continued his 100+ speed gimmic which suddenly ended up damaging Air Suspension link as bus went on full throttle through a successive deep and rising surface like that of 10 feet wide speedbreak. Rear wheel had started protruding about 4 inches.

All journies where accident free and in all kind of weather including where there was flooding near Kolhapur.

I've my thumps up for Volvo for bringin up this world class product in India. And with my first hand experience I insist that they are safe.

[condor]

Star555, did not what your post is about.

Also, the thread is almost a year old now.

[nispatel]

Originally Posted by Mpower

I think its high time we started fitting speed limiters on the Volvo buses. They really dont need to be going more than 80kph.

If this is true, all our cars should be subjected to the same limits, isn't it?

For long distance journies, one requires higher top speed, something like 100 Km/h as it's applies on Express Way. It is absolutely irrational to call for 80 KM/h limit on Volvo B7R which is equipped with all work class safety gadgets including Emergancy Break. Against this, how many of our cars have ABS?

What we need is respect for traffic rules and understand value of a human life.

[Torque-ative]

Wow ! I just hope a great vehicle such as the B7R doesn't get its image tarnished by a bucket full of Hooligan drivers. Its made a sea of change when it comes to intercity travel.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

BTW when all other buses --the Telco or the ALL do keep having accidents on our roads ...why isnt anything been mentioned about them ...why special mention about the b7r...its just another Bus on our roads

That's because, this one has by far the best cruising speed, and neither are the roads ready nor the drivers willing to treat this gaint with respect !

[hvkumar]

I once remember being chased by a Volvo between Karimnagar and Hyderabad - I was driving a Scorpio at 120 kmph - and he kept full pace with me all the way for 2.5 hours. In between, he used to drive head on at boncoming vehicles (making them swerve off the road). I think it is illogical to say we should have "sane" drivers - you can't expect Volvo buses to tame or reform Indian drivers - therefore, it stands to reason that speeds of these buses should be limited by Volvo itself. I would be too scared to ever travel in a Volvo (and I advise anyone against doing so) at such unsafe conditions.

[nispatel]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I once remember being chased by a Volvo between Karimnagar and Hyderabad - I was driving a Scorpio at 120 kmph - and he kept full pace with me all the way for 2.5 hours. In between, he used to drive head on at boncoming vehicles (making them swerve off the road). I think it is illogical to say we should have "sane" drivers - you can't expect Volvo buses to tame or reform Indian drivers - therefore, it stands to reason that speeds of these buses should be limited by Volvo itself. I would be too scared to ever travel in a Volvo (and I advise anyone against doing so) at such unsafe conditions.

What an irony! This Scorpio owner has every right to travel at 120 Kmph but the same person expect Volvo to limit the speed????

The truth is public transport should have a priority over private car.

[Jomz]

@ speed satya... that new Ashok leyland bus rumour is true.. the bus is called 12metre (marked 12m)

eg.. the chennai blr AC sleeper bus which starts from Chennai At 10:30

and then guys.. do check the chennai Ooty bus sometimes... body is hopeless... but do check the pick up... there is no volvo on that route.. to compare with.. on the ghat...
but you can say ghat testing....:-)

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

in bombay , chembur
wonder if the engine at the rear aids to the accidents. the drivers can hardly hear the engine - so they mite not get an idea of what speeds they do actually ..the seedo is there but how many actually look the speedo ?

I think this issue is becoming so important that it deserves a separate thread.

IMO, these drivers have driven slow and underpowered buses for years and years where they were overtaken by every tom dick and harry. Now its like their chance to take revenge. Its like taking a guy out of a Padmini LPG and putting him in a E280cdi

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by nispatel

What an irony! This Scorpio owner has every right to travel at 120 Kmph but the same person expect Volvo to limit the speed????

The truth is public transport should have a priority over private car.

Public transport does have priority over private vehicles when it comes to right of way, but not when it comes to speed. You may be already aware that even in German Autobahns where there is no upper speed limit for cars, Buses and other transport vehicles have a speed limit of 90kmph. And its a practice world over to have differential speed limits for public transport vehicles and private/small vehicles like cars and SUVs.

Ofcourse in our roads we need to enforce a speed limit for all types of vehicles considering the state of these roads. But even here it would be better to have separate speed limits for public carriers and transport vehicles and private/light vehicles.

[Ram]

A Pune Municipal Transport bus, the way it is constructed and maintained becomes hazardous to life and limb at speeds above 60 km/h.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corp.'s Asiad buses become hazardous at speeds above 80 km/h.

The Volvo B7R chassis based buses feel safe even at 120 km/h.

Why? Maybe because they have well-made fully sealed bodies, power steering, power brakes, air suspension on both front and rear axles, disk brakes, Voith hydraulic retarder and a powerful engine (think strong engine braking). Besides driver training by Volvo, gives them the feel for the bus and for safety.

That said, I suspect, some unorganized operators with second-hand Volvos allow the buses to be driven by low paid, uneducated, twenty-something boys. They will take risks for personal thrill. And that is where safety gets thrown to the wind.

[hvkumar]

I never found any difference, whether the Volvo is driven by a ST operator or a private operator. Give a man a powerful vehicle, he will drive it fast, therefore, unlesss speed curbs are introduced, you can't regulate the Volvos. Every bus and truck you see on the road is travelling almost at its top speed of 80 kmph, and so is the Volvo. I don't feel safe when a Volvo is on the road, maybe the passengers feel so.