[1100D]

Coming down from Isle of Skye (towards Edinburgh) in a Vectra I had a cop tailing me for doing 80 on a beautiful road beside the Loch.

I wasn't being irresponsible, otherwise he would have caught me doing much higher. I was driving to my judgement. Now if I did not get to enjoy a Vectra, wonder how much frustrating driving the prancing horse must be (not because of the roads, but because of illogical speed enforcement).

Originally Posted by Advocatus

That's a very strange view coming from someone who says they have lived in the UK. Broadly, there are three types of roads:

1. Inner city subject to 30mph (and rightly so) limit
2. Motorways
3. A mixture of national highway speed limit roads in the countryside.

I agree with the inner city limits. totally acceptable.
motorways...I'm not so sure.
country roads? most frustrating situation I've been in, lovely twisty roads with hardly a goat/sheep in sight, but unable to use the road or the car properly because I was worried about being caught.

atleast, here, in india, you can talk your way out of speeding, or even bribe(not a good thing, I admit) but atleast you dont end up with points on your license/or a cancelled license.

also, there was this rumour that any doctor caught speeding over a 100 would be struck off the GMC register
that kept me well under control.
those were the most law abiding, and frustrating 4 years of my life.

what I'm saying is, there are roads in india where supercars and everyday cars can be enjoyed, and the only limits are common sense and safety.
in the UK, there are rigidly enforced blanket rules

what happens if one is caught doing a 100mph on a B road? and there were plenty of B roads in wales, scotland and NI where stupid speeds were possible.

[route666]

utter rubbish you guys are disscussing in here....here you guys say its fun driving in india and the same guys will degrade indian driving conditions compared to other countries in some other thread. if i remember right in uk there will be three or four strips on the road before you approach a speed camera to slow you down. if you want to drive fast there are roads everywhere in the world to do that. cheers

[GTO]

I'd totally disagree with a viewpoint that says India does not offer you the chance to enjoy a premium car. Let’s look at it this way. Obviously there are two considerations to this thread; one is driving within the city, while the other is outside of.

Within the City : Problem is certainly not exclusive to Indian metro's since New York, London, Tokyo etc. face the same (if not worse) congestion problems. Its just as impossible to enjoy a high-end machine in either of these cities.

Outside of the City : Now we are talking. There are plentiful opportunities to stretch the legs of a sports car here, you only have to know the right roads. Lets take Mumbai as an example: Come with me for the beautiful drive to Panchgani which has just the right straights for high speed runs as well as ample fast corners, Pune and especially Goa with its scarsely populated 400KM stretch of perfect tarman (Mahad – Panjim). Leave early in the morning to beat the traffic and you have the entire stretch to yourself.

If you know the right roads, driving in India can be as pleasurable, if not more, than in the UK. Simply because we don’t have to worry about speed limits. I have already put up some examples of delicious country roads above where we don’t have to worry about speed guns, but let’s look at high speed runs too. The fastest I have ever driven has been on the Auto Bahn. The second fastest is in India. You know why? Because speed limits are not enforced. Driver points aren’t even a consideration, while we don’t have to worry about steep fines, hiked insurance premium or even worse …Jail!

So whether you are looking at high speed runs or “cornerable” country roads, there is plenty on offer in India. Sure, there are a sizeable number of buyers who buy premium cars for the prestige. But thats applicable to your neck of the woods as well as other countries.

[Advocatus]

Originally Posted by route666

utter rubbish you guys are disscussing in here....here you guys say its fun driving in india and the same guys will degrade indian driving conditions compared to other countries in some other thread. if i remember right in uk there will be three or four strips on the road before you approach a speed camera to slow you down. if you want to drive fast there are roads everywhere in the world to do that. cheers

Spot on. Well said. There are any number of GPS based gadgets that will inform you of speed cameras well in advance. As for driving on country lanes, most of them don't have the space for a speed-gun van. It's a question of knowing what you are doing.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by Advocatus

However, having visited the sub-continent and Bombay often enough, I am only too aware of the congestion and general state of the roads. The general standard of driving is also something someone driving a high powered machine needs to be aware of.

Nothing new about what you've said here, is there? The people that live here know the constraints under which they live and drive.

Originally Posted by Advocatus

However, taking London (or indeed almost any European city) as a point in case, a drive in any direction out of the City will place you on the most sublime country roads where one can truly enjoy the car's finer points, or alternatively at least take advantage of the high speed stability on a motorway.

So? You dodge cameras and cops, we dodge potholes.

Similar destinations exist in this country too. Drive around and find out. There are quite a few threads in our travalogue section too.

Originally Posted by Advocatus

What opportunity does a true enthusiast have to genuinely enjoy his machine?

Trust me, the guys that can afford exotic machinary here after all those taxes, duties, cesses and the like are those that can and in some cases do build their own tracks.

Originally Posted by Advocatus

It seems that these cars are going to end being bought purely as status symobls are not being used as they were intended.

So sue them.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

but seriously, drving in the UK was a pain, and one of the most boring chores I ever had to do. driving in india, even if it is just to the supermarket, in an out of tune M800 -is a delight.

who needs roads? we have freedom instead!

You've hit the nail on the head!

I get more kicks driving around the home block in India than I would get from miles and miles of driving along regulated, sanitized and overly patrolled highways abroad.

[Advocatus]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

I agree with the inner city limits. totally acceptable.
motorways...I'm not so sure.
country roads? most frustrating situation I've been in, lovely twisty roads with hardly a goat/sheep in sight, but unable to use the road or the car properly because I was worried about being caught.

As I might have mentioned before, my personal experiences over thousands of miles and those of countless others have led to us enjoying the roads and next to none of us have any points, or I should say, any accidents touchwood. Clearly, there is another view to be had.

I have 3 points on my licence which came from doing 34 in a 30 in Regents Park on a motorcycle at 2am. National speed dual carriage limits are 70mph (with a discretion of upto 77mph), which gives you plenty of scope of enjoy yourself within the law.

One of my issues with Indian surfaces is that the fact you do not have speed limit issues per say, does not mean you can take advantage of the fact. You cannot trust your road. What lies beyond the next bend is your luck (with reference to trucker parked up on wrong side/middle of road, stones, giant potholes, etc). That is not the case here and anyone who says different really does need a reality check. If the sub-continent did sort it's road surfaces out, they would be amongst the finest in the world.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

atleast, here, in india, you can talk your way out of speeding, or even bribe(not a good thing, I admit) but atleast you dont end up with points on your license/or a cancelled license.

No, bribery is not good and I am glad you said that. However, I can also agree that the regime here is getting a bit draconian and a lot of enthusiastic yet responsible motorists are feeling persecuted.

Originally Posted by rippergeo

what I'm saying is, there are roads in india where supercars and everyday cars can be enjoyed, and the only limits are common sense and safety.
in the UK, there are rigidly enforced blanket rules

There may be and that was why I started the thread in the first place. However, no, you are missing crucial limitations by a country mile: (a) a generally lower standard of driving and awareness (b) generally older, lower standard of cars and correspondingly, braking and handling (c) issues with the surfaces and therefore safety.

Common sense is great, but if you come around a bend at 80mph on what should be a bog standard, safe corner with a pothole, common sense won't help you. The pothole should never have been there and now you need a new set of joints.

[Advocatus]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Nothing new about what you've said here, is there? The people that live here know the constraints under which they live and drive.



So? You dodge cameras and cops, we dodge potholes.

Similar destinations exist in this country too. Drive around and find out. There are quite a few threads in our travalogue section too.



Trust me, the guys that can afford exotic machinary here after all those taxes, duties, cesses and the like are those that can and in some cases do build their own tracks.



So sue them.

You're telling me building tracks is considered normal or reasonable? Interesting.

Furthermore, the purpose of my original post was not get up anyone's nose (which I would appear to have done , unless I have misinterpreted your post). If one cannot accept the realities of a situation and call a spade a spade if necessary, debate is really not going to be the least bit fruitful.

" So? You dodge cameras and cops, we dodge potholes." - Again, you seem to think that is a parallel. You have a think and tell me which one is more likely to get you killed or kill your enjoyment.

[Advocatus]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'd totally disagree with a viewpoint that says India does not offer you the chance to enjoy a premium car. Let’s look at it this way. Obviously there are two considerations to this thread; one is driving within the city, while the other is outside of.

Within the City : Problem is certainly not exclusive to Indian metro's since New York, London, Tokyo etc. face the same (if not worse) congestion problems. Its just as impossible to enjoy a high-end machine in either of these cities.

Outside of the City : Now we are talking. There are plentiful opportunities to stretch the legs of a sports car here, you only have to know the right roads. Lets take Mumbai as an example: Come with me for the beautiful drive to Panchgani which has just the right straights for high speed runs as well as ample fast corners, Pune and especially Goa with its scarsely populated 400KM stretch of perfect tarman (Mahad – Panjim). Leave early in the morning to beat the traffic and you have the entire stretch to yourself.

If you know the right roads, driving in India can be as pleasurable, if not more, than in the UK. Simply because we don’t have to worry about speed limits. I have already put up some examples of delicious country roads above where we don’t have to worry about speed guns, but let’s look at high speed runs too. The fastest I have ever driven has been on the Auto Bahn. The second fastest is in India. You know why? Because speed limits are not enforced. Driver points aren’t even a consideration, while we don’t have to worry about steep fines, hiked insurance premium or even worse …Jail!

So whether you are looking at high speed runs or “cornerable” country roads, there is plenty on offer in India. Sure, there are a sizeable number of buyers who buy premium cars for the prestige. But thats applicable to your neck of the woods as well as other countries.

GTO, thanks - a nice, mature reply. If you're around when I am in the country again I'll PM you if that's alright. Knowledge is power and I would love to know where the right routes lie.

[Advocatus]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Coming down from Isle of Skye (towards Edinburgh) in a Vectra I had a cop tailing me for doing 80 on a beautiful road beside the Loch.

I wasn't being irresponsible, otherwise he would have caught me doing much higher. I was driving to my judgement. Now if I did not get to enjoy a Vectra, wonder how much frustrating driving the prancing horse must be (not because of the roads, but because of illogical speed enforcement).

Yes, that is annoying, particularly because that is an amazing route. It is intensely frustrating that a repsonsible, mature driver babysat by rigid margins.

It is furstrating but at the end of the day you are on a public road and there are these rules. But don't give up, hire an Elise for the day and do that same route again. If there is no-one in front of you and no-one behind you (as is oft the case) you'll have a ball.

[teknophobia]

As far as Navi Mumbai is concerned, Palm Beach Road , we don't need anything else

[asr245]

Originally Posted by Advocatus

" So? You dodge cameras and cops, we dodge potholes." - Again, you seem to think that is a parallel. You have a think and tell me which one is more likely to get you killed or kill your enjoyment.

Actually both kill the enjoyment (even though only 1 of them is dangerous)

[wanderlustindia]

During my 4300 kms sojourn covering 5 states, I was driving my Ford Ikon. I only wish I had a OHC VTEC or a superior car to enjoy some beautiful stretch of highways along the route. Though, I must add I was not disappointed by the Ikon. She is a beauty to drive!

Its all about exploring the length and breadth of the country to see where are the good roads to drive explosive cars. But mind you, with great power comes great responsibility as well! We have seen enough accidents involving fast cars on the best of the roads in India.

However, I disagree with the thread-starter to a large extent that there are no roads in India to have fun with the super cars/fast cars.

[zenx]

Fun-to-drive is not all about speed, is it ? (Go-karting with its 40kph-ish top whack is all fun, isn't it?) Its the curves, the gearshifts, the smoothness of a maneuver, the thrill of an off-road experience, the call of a road disappearing into the horizon, that make it sooo worth it. You can get it anywhere in the world.

Tho by and large, I've found the "safer"/faster highways/expressways everywhere the less intersting ones. Around the Bay Area, the drive to Tahoe is what I remember for the curves that I hit at the top of the legal limits - the interstates felt booooring. Same here in India - the hills a little after Pune, and those near Belgaum, were the only interesting bits in the whole ride between Pune and Bangalore. Ladakh, with its nightmarish surfaces, was the ultimate thrill/challenge - and one didnt mind the mid twenty average speeds at all.

One of the most amazing roads - high speeds, low population AND curves, inclines - the road between Chellakere and Bellary. Its totally oooooh.

If you love driving (not just the faaaaast bits), you'll find great places to drive wherever.