[vjbox]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

To me the criteria to qualify for expressway usage is not clear.

An old Maruti omni with bald tires can run at 80 kmph on the expressway as long as there is no crosswind or rain but so can a Splendor, why would a splendor guy not use the expressway to do Bangalore to Mandya or Mysore?

Sure, ask them to pay a toll but why stop them from using a toll road?

The problem is most motor cyclists go rogue and cris cross the highway like they are invincible. The reality is most of us in Cars or bigger Vehicles remian patient and show such bikers mercy and let them pass. The guy in the old Maruti will still do ok but the rogue in a speeding 150 cc Yamaha will cause a lot of trouble around and disturb the lane discipline. You must have seen countless people riding with their entire family in their Motor cycles ( 3 to 4 people in a single Two wheeler!).

I fret at the sight of ladies carrying infants and children while the husband man is speeding and veering in and out of lanes without helmet. These are the guys in their splendors or similar kind who somehow think they can keep up with cars and over take them at 100 + kmph speeds. Now tell me if a motorcycle like splendor is built to take such loads and speeds ? A lot of these bikers don't have even 10% of riding manners and don't even know the basics of lane and Speed discipline. Many a times I had to dodge these bikers who suddenly come into your lane out of no where and the fear of running them haunts you. It happened to one of friend where a biker like a loose canon came into the speeding lane of my friends BMW. He gave no reaction time to my friend and was immediately hit and thrown away like a rag doll. For no fault of his, my friend carries the guilt to this date.

When you suddenly show them Bikers one of the nicest road in the country, they will go crazy and all hell breaks loose. Most two wheeler accidents occur in the 150 to 250 CC segment, mostly students and wannabe boy racers who think they possess the ultimate riding skill but would have never even visited a race track. We need to see some statistics here but I am sure the percentage of accidents happening in the 350 CC + segments will be lesser comparatively as most of them wear proper riding gear. ( call them the responsible kind)

If there is a way to distinguish the segments of Motor cycles and verify that they are wearing proper gear, then I am sure they can very well use the highways / e-ways as long as they stick to their designated lane.

Permit all kinds of common two wheelers you ask ? No way!

[headbanger]

In principle YES. Practically NO. We haven't reached there yet!!!

[Altrozed]

Cubic capacity of bikes doesn't qualifiy to make them driven on Express ways. Still they would be called a two wheelers and nothing else. And every 350CC biker need to have a potential good driving skills or drive at high speeds.
When two wheelers are banned, they are BANNED. Nothing less, nothing more.

[Revvatron]

My vote is NO.Based on my highway experience I have always seen the riders be it solo or in group always maintain lane discipline. The group riders always stick to the left and do no travel in multiple columns. Also they will be suited up with pads and jackets, shows their commitment to safety It is the smaller cc bikes like splendor who drive in the middle of the road, assuming they are travelling to nearby villages.

Some of them might have completely opposite experience than mine. Those who follow rules should not be banned because others are breaking it.

[sriniadk]

My vote would be NO practically even though my heart wants to say yes . Being a biker myself I have driven across the country roads ranging from Gujarat till down south . But the major area of concern which arises would be the responsibility of each driver who would be driving the same. It takes immense pleasure in driving a bike but the risk involved is equally weighed upon. The area of concern is about the safety of the drivers . I understand each and every biker true to their self wear proper gear ( from head to toe ) and drive cautiously . But still a minute amount of mistake would result in a larger losses extending even to the uneventful death.

A lot of disciplinary practice has to be followed which would take time to be imbibed in everyone . I myself have come across many rogue guys trying to cut around speeding cars and even many youtubers ( I don't want to name anyone ) who try to register their speeds on the Indian roads not thinking about the risk which their putting for themselves and to others on road.

[Zippy_wheels]

Cars are inherently safer because they offer protection against extreme heat, rain, cold, wind etc. all of which can affect the driver/rider.

Cars also have better safety because of seatbelts, airbags etc. Cars have 4 wheels which means you do not have to constantly balance it. Bikes can skid due to sudden potholes, rains/wet road, sudden obstruction, oil spills etc.

Cars also have spare tyre in the event of a flat.

All of these factors make it better suited for long drives compared to bikes.
Then there are the other factors like bikes are more prone to zigzaging, overtaking from either sides, wrong side etc.

Most super bike owners would have a car too, and can easily take out their cars instead, for long drives. Most long car trips are not just for enjoyment, so let them drive in peace on long expressways, without having to be on the constant lookout for bikes. These superbikes are too few in numbers in any case, why cause so much headache to other cars on expressways? Lets just accept it that two wheelers are for short trips and cars are for longer trips. Its not against anyone because the same person can have bike and car too, and can easily use the car. Its just some restrictions based on safety and needs of long distance drivers. Just like heavy trucks are banned within city limits during the day.

[neith]

IMO, as roads undergo improvements, there is a corresponding need for the evolution of stricter licensing or perhaps classification for licenses.
While this process might be tedious, it could prove effective in the long term.

Only drivers or bikers who are qualified for a higher class of license, irrespective of the type of vehicle-cars/bikes/trucks-should be permitted on the expressways.

It will be a sight to behold: the modern Indian trucks being driven by competent drivers on the expressways, coexisting with bikers and drivers on the exways, safely.

[Draken]

Which is worse. Not being able to drive on Expressways or speed limits of 60kmph like in Kerala?
On one side we have better performance bikes being available at accessible prices and on the other these rules wont let us enjoy that.

[Sai Teja]

If we think in terms of practicality, allowing the bikes with good enough power to weight ratio will be an appreciable step. But bikes by design, however powerful they may be, are not as safe as a four wheeler. Even if a high quality helmet is used, for the level of shielding it's provides, that level of protection can not be expected for the remaining body, which remains very much vulnerable despite the riding gear built to international standards. But for the four wheelers of today, excluding the suzukis, are built strong enough to shield the occupants to the minimum levels. A classic example would be of the Hyderabad Outer ring road, which is built very much to the same standards as these expressways, experienced deaths of numerous bikers, few of them include sons of former Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and prominent tollywood actor kota srinivasa rao. The bike that Azharuddin's son was driving was a Suzuki GSX R1000 who was aged 19 (2011) at the time of death and Srinivasa rao's son(aged 39) was driving a Honda CBR1000R. These accidents happened at a time when bikes were allowed on the ORR. These incidents led to the then AP government banning bikes on the ORR, to me, was the first of the actions taken by authorities restricting the bikes on high speed motorways. However, I definitely don't mean that every high powered bike rider would be the same, but maniacs on such powerful machines are much greater risk - a possibility I think we all might not be ignorant off.

[xsrahul]

Voted YES!

Reason : Safety of the biker. Let me explain - I have been a passionate biker and have had many a fall from high speeds thankfully on non expressways. Thankfully the leg guard, helmet, riding jacket, jeans, backpack and gods grace saved my life but have a few scars to remember. The reason I mention this was, this happened when although I was at road legal speeds I had to brake to evade an animal and despite all my efforts, the impact was such that I was thrown almost 20mtrs ahead of the bike although my speed was more or less around 50kmph.

Now imagine the same scenario in a car - you have protection in the form of a crash crumple zone, supplementary restraint systems, seatbelts, airbags (most of them do have atleast 2 now a days). This all means the driver and passenger(s) are much safer than on a bike where there is no such EXTRA crash safety mechanisms other than those worn by the rider.

All those who compared stopping distances of ‘average Joes’ cars vs enthusiasts bikes should check what happens if the rider/driver isn’t able to stop in time - which happens most of the time leading to car pile ups on expressways.

Let me ask this way - we have all mostly seen car accidents and witnessed that in most cases the passengers survive with relative lighter injuries provided they take adequate precautions like wearing seatbelts at the basic. Let’s now jog our memory back to bike accidents and try and remember if we saw them survive with just a few scratches or loose limbs or worse.

In addition to the above, there is so much latest technology coming to mid level cars like ADAS, drowsiness detection, traction control, ABS etc which isn’t all there on bikes yet.

Add both of the above on monotonous expressways = recipe for disaster more often than not.

I conclude my argument stating this - typically one uses a bike to enjoy the ride and not hurry to get to a destination. If so, take the longer route and enjoy the scenery rather than take those monotonous expressways to get there faster. As they say 2 wheels moves the soul ��️ .

Happy Riding and stay safe!

[krankstter]

I feel like the quickest way to identify potential troublemakers on bikes is to see whether they wear a proper helmet (apart from a bike's capacity). I've never seen/come across incidents of people wearing helmets being hazardous on the road. And no pillion riders as well. Should be easy enough to filter out these things before letting people onto the highway.

[Shobhitsaxena]

Voted No.

In my limited touring experience, I firmly believe that the pothole ridden inner city roads and state highways are more of a risk for all motorists in general, including for two wheelers.

Heard many news of bikers meeting serious and fatal accidents due to state of poor roads. Allowing access to better roads with proper enforcement should be the norm.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by vjbox

The problem is most motor cyclists go rogue and cris cross the highway like they are invincible. The reality is most of us in Cars or bigger Vehicles remian patient and show such bikers mercy and let them pass. The guy in the old Maruti will still do ok but the rogue in a speeding 150 cc Yamaha will cause a lot of trouble around and disturb the lane discipline. You must have seen countless people riding with their entire family in their Motor cycles ( 3 to 4 people in a single Two wheeler!).

In terms of numbers they are a minority, why would you stop the splendor guy from taking his family on a motorcycle from one town to the other on the highway? What problem is he going to cause for anyone for that matter? Nothing at all.

The average truck driver finds cars to be a nuisance, that doesn't mean now cars have to be banned from the highway , it's all about perspective.

[silverado]

With large capacity and a big group comes large EGO ( I mention this is a small percentage of riders , but it is the case and here i am not pointing to everyone ).

The answer to this question is a BIG YES, IF they ride within legal limits.
100 the current legal speed limit on Mumbai Pune Eway, just imagine riding a 1000cc bike at 100kmph!

I dont think any biker is going to do that, he/she is going to ride above the limit and cut across the traffic at those speeds.

[sanshorewala]

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum.

I ride a Harley Davidson Heritage, which has an 1800cc engine but is comfortable up to a maximum of 120 kmph only. These big cruisers were designed for the American highways, to which our new expressways are comparable. It is thus to our immense chagrin that when such roads have now become available, we are unable to ride on them.

However, since not all big bikes are the same, and neither are all riders equally responsible (one has to imagine that a Hayabusa/Kawasaki rider didn’t purchase their crotch rocket to cruise long distance at 100 kmph), in view of the dangers to the rider and other road users, it is understandable why this restriction is in place.

Most safety-conscious riders anyway plan their journey so as to leave as early as possible to avoid traffic, and ride in a single file at normal speeds. This includes owners of big touring machines like the BMW GSs and cruisers like Harleys/Indians.

Having access to the expressways would be nice - for example, the ride to Lucknow on the Yamuna Expressway is truly an experience - but where this isn’t possible, some planning and adjustment goes a long way.

I guess the bottom line is that with any activity, one must be aware of the risks, and just having access to the expressway doesn’t make riding any safer or easier by default. Yes, the highways are strewn with several more hazards, and accidents are much more likely to happen there due to conditions beyond the rider’s control. However, on balance, riding big bikes in India is inherently dangerous, and taking responsibility of one’s own safety within one’s abilities is far more important.

Many of us feel unfairly persecuted because of the actions of a small minority, but given the risks involved to oneself and others, it is fair to restrict access of bikes on the expressways for the time being.