[Desmosedici]

A very nice thread. We all have always known what is good and whats not. Its just that choice to ignore overcomes the logic and maturity. Even i have made mistakes on the road trying to overspeed and do unrealistic speeds on the expressway.

I have also in my so called 'quest' touched 175 kmph on the Mumbai Pune Expressway.

However over the years i have learnt to control the urge to speed even on open roads with nothing around. I have started enjoying the cruise mode as it gives peace of mind. Whoever wants to go ahead, i let them.

One more piece of advise while driving on expressways or any other roads at good speeds. Firstly its a bad habit to smoke, secondly even more to do so in a car.

I have had 2 instances where a lit cigarette has come back flying inside after being thrown away and once getting lodged between my legs and once getting stuck on to my back. Luckily no burns, no issues but it was scary, very scary.

I would strongly suggest to avoid smoking in a car, if you really want to then slow down, get on to the last lane and enjoy your smoke.

Just my 2 cents.

[MaxTorque]

Originally Posted by SDP

I went to Pune today morning. Solo drive in the XUV5OO. For people who are unfamillar to this part of the country - The Mumbai-Pune expressway was built around 10 years back and is still one of the fastest highways in India.

So, please, please, PLEASE, buckle up and drive safe.

Today once again read the post and one incident came to my mind. It happened in 2008. There were no buses available and I chose to go by shared taxi (Chevrolet Tavera). I was travelling to Mumbai from Pune, it was around 5:00PM, we were on the fly over at Lonavla. We were maintaining a speed around 100kmph and all of sudden the vehicle came to stand still. By God's grace there were no vehicles behind us and if it was not the case, probably I would have been not there to type this.

There were 10 persons inside the cab and every one asked what happened? The driver replied a child who sat next to him changed the gear. But that was not the case, he had pulled the hand brake . The driver used to ply Mumbai - Pune without taking proper rest and poorly maintained vehicles. So he slept for a moment and pulled the brake. Anyways that was my last trip on a shared cab and I want to caution those who used to travel in this route frequently.

[IronH4WK]

it is an interesting insight in to the life of an IRB personnel. gruesome as it might be, they've to deal with things others won't dare to.

it was very informative. thanks for sharing

[coolabhi]

Thanks for sharing this.Have shared this on Facebook and request everyone else to share this. May be it may share a few lives

[W.A.G.7]

Very valid and good points put forward by the IRB person. It's a thankless job that he's doing, but it's due to people like him; that things are in order most of the times.

On a personal note, I hate the expressway. Everything is straight, not much twisties or traffic. So much so, that the constant drone of the engine lulls you and you start feeling drowsy. It's all the more pronounced when you have rolled up the windows and the A/C is on; until you look at the speedo, you never know you have crossed 100-110kmph. I prefer driving on the expressway with the windows rolled down.

What's the situation on the old NH4? Since it's a 4 laned highway, are the speeds lower?

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

One more piece of advise while driving on expressways or any other roads at good speeds. Firstly its a bad habit to smoke, secondly even more to do so in a car.

third, it is also insensitive to throw the lit butts out of the window. This may not be applicable to the eway, but I have had a recent incident where someone in a Fiesta kept tapping the ash out of the window while driving. And then as the proverbial icing/ cherry on the cake, he threw the lit butt out casually. I was one of 3 bikers behind him and felt like punching him in the face.
One of the other two bikers was on a more powerful bike than mine (wont name make in order to avoid stereotyping). This guy sped up and banged on the driver door of the Fiesta. I didnt have to stop, last thing I saw was the Fiesta guy hurriedly rolling up his window. In a previosu incident last year I have reported a lady throwing a banana peel out the front passenger window.

Please try to consider other traffic/ people before throwing ash or trash (even spit) out your car window. Someone might just catch it and throw it back.

Originally Posted by MaxTorque

The driver used to ply Mumbai - Pune without taking proper rest and poorly maintained vehicles. So he slept for a moment and pulled the brake. Anyways that was my last trip on a shared cab and I want to caution those who used to travel in this route frequently.

This is not restricted to shared cabs. My office had rented a cab for me and a colleague a few years ago from a 'reputed' travel agency. Dont ask what they are reputed for! The guy was so sleepy we offered that one of us could drive and he could sleep for an hour. When he refused, we just asked him to pull over into Vashi, park & sleep for an hour.

[mb_jg]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

I have had 2 instances where a lit cigarette has come back flying inside after being thrown away and once getting lodged between my legs and once getting stuck on to my back. Luckily no burns, no issues but it was scary, very scary.
I would strongly suggest to avoid smoking in a car, if you really want to then slow down, get on to the last lane and enjoy your smoke.Just my 2 cents.

I suppose all us smokers have faced this situation at some point. I personally have stopped smoking in the car, specially on the highway drives. I consume a hell load of fluids to keep me refreshed, this inevitably also warrants a lot of comfort breaks, which gives me a chance to smoke & also gives the tires a break.
Invariably you also end up enjoying the drive rather than trying to beat the clock.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

On a personal note, I hate the expressway. Everything is straight, not much twisties or traffic. So much so, that the constant drone of the engine lulls you and you start feeling drowsy. It's all the more pronounced when you have rolled up the windows and the A/C is on; until you look at the speedo, you never know you have crossed 100-110kmph. I prefer driving on the expressway with the windows rolled down.

What's the situation on the old NH4? Since it's a 4 laned highway, are the speeds lower?

I am a weekend user of Express way. Weekdays Mumbai, weekends Pune. I have used both the routes initially to decide which should be my regular route.

Yes, the expressway does not have twisties and all but driving on it is not tiresome. You can drive for 3 hrs from Pune to Mumbai and still complete the 10 hr work day in office. Same cannot be said for NH4. It has twisties and all, but one has to be very alert here. You have a villages and punctured dividers every few kilometers so have to watch out for traffic crossing from the other side. You constantly have two wheelers, small tempos, six seaters hogging the left lane. Quite often than not you get stuck behind a truck in right lane and left lane occupied by these slower vehicles. The story is same thoughout the NH4 till Panvel.

The speeds can be raised till 90/100 but is difficult to maintain the same on NH4. All in all I took 30 mins more on NH4 and it was difficult to complete work day in office in Mumbai. So my choice is Express way. But yes, I maintain 80/90 only, for safety as well as better mileage.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by mb_jg

I suppose all us smokers have faced this situation at some point. I personally have stopped smoking in the car, specially on the highway drives. I consume a hell load of fluids to keep me refreshed, this inevitably also warrants a lot of comfort breaks, which gives me a chance to smoke & also gives the tires a break.
Invariably you also end up enjoying the drive rather than trying to beat the clock.

Thats what even we have started doing plus now since we have a baby in the group, there is a strict no smoking in car policy.

Best is to get down during a break and do all this. Always better to prevent a mishap happening due to our own foolishnes.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by adises

started driving/riding responsibly after people close to me got involved in accidents

Same pinch.

I didn't start riding when I was already involved in 2 accidents being a pillion. I learnt that day that trust is something that's hard to earn, easy to lose. I learnt my lessons well well before I even started riding. I know what it feels like to endure pain for no fault of your own, except for trusting a person. I don't want anyone else to go through what I did. Sure, the injuries weren't much, but always left me wondering, WHY?! I never want anyone to regret that they decided to be my pillion.

The same friend I met in a accident with, also crashed our mutual friend's Alto. It was only a damaged bumper, nothing major. But I learnt that day to respect the trust that someone lends you their vehicle with.

These are little things that we all ignore, I know not for what reason, but sometimes, irrational behaviour takes over our normally sane thinking process and things go awry, if only we could exercise restraint and caution, India's roads would be safer.

Experience, is, was and always will be, the best teacher!

[Tassem]

Brilliant Post. Thank you for sharing. Most of these people lead gritty lives so that we can get on with our business.

I find it funny that we're equally addicted to fuel economy and 'reaching there first'. Sometimes while on long drives on bad roads, I look at people in a hurry and wonder if they're giving away something free at the next toll booth to the first person to reach. And invariably I see this person continually throughout the journey because there is simply no getting away. You can accelerate to 140, brake, accelerate again, brake again, skid, fishtail, accelerate, brake... or you can drive at 80-100 and still keep up.

We all have our reasons to stay alive. And reaching a few minutes early is not worth taking that reason away. I hate hearing about accidents because it brings a lump to my throat. I don't know how to extend my sympathy to a person who has lost someone dear. I feel angry when I read about people crashing into parked trucks. Blame wont help anyone.

A few simple rules I follow:

• Leave early, reach early.
• Don't race. My car is as puny as yours and we'd both look like a joke.
• Respect Others. If there are others in the car/road, I'm not God to decide their fate. I owe it to them to reach our destination safely and without incident.
• If I stay within the speed limit, I can boast on here about the incredible mileage I get!
• Once you reach, its nice to hear people compliment the car because they did not 'feel' the journey at all. After all, you're a superhero. And Superheroes dont take credit.

[tathagata]

Originally Posted by SDP

He: Since the road is fast, people take pride in statements like "I will be Pune in 30 minutes". What's the point? If you drive safe - at a speed of 80 or even lower, you will reach. It doesn't matter if it took 1 hour or 1 hour 15 minutes. And many a times, the difference in total time is so less. You drive at 110-120 and I will drive at 80-90. Finally at a slow stretch like Khandala, most likely I would catch up with you anyway or may be I will reach 10 minutes later than you. Do those 10 minutes really matter? In an attempt to reach 10 minutes early, sometimes people get delayed by hours and some even for ever.

Wonderful post bearing insights of a person who have first hand experience of fallouts of overspeeding on these expressways. We at West Bengal also have similar Durgapur Expressway which has substantially reduced the driving distance between Kolkata & Durgapur/Shantiniketan/Asansol/Dhanbad. For non-frequent highway travellers like us the first urge you feel when you drive out on the expressway is to put the metal to the floor and clock anything above 100+Kmph whether we are driving a capable car or not. This is mostly due to our day-to-day city drive frustrations which we want to leave behind on these multi-lane expressways and try to beat the clock. "Can do Kolkata-Durgapur (150 km approx) in 2-2:30 hrs" is a statement to show off my speed appettite while It should have taken 3+ Hrs. normally.

I cannot agree more to this IRB Gentleman's view that reaching 10 mins late (maybe more) does not make any difference especially when it keeps you safe on the road.

[karan86]

Certain things i learnt,
*Never think its a straight road and you can rest your elbow on the window and drive with the same hand, and switching lanes driving like that is a crime.
*The expressway is a concrete stretch, if you are doing hot laps on a hot afternoon, even the best of japanese rubber has a good chance of blowing up.
*People who occupy the overtaking lane, please, we are a right hand drive, left hand side driven country. not the other way round.
*People who chew on stuff that makes red juice, create acid rain for a car thats behind, at those speeds, its all over the windscreen even if you are 200 metres behind.
*Leaving the drive thru Mc donalds, if you are driving, make sure you finish your meal and then proceed as the man mentioned, you look for that ketchup and sometime later you are just that.
*Also many people think about checking air pressure just before the expressway begins, when the air inside has already expanded, please fill up at the first point you see when you begin driving.

[rock75]

simple things that can save your life! In India no highway is good enough for doing above 100 kmph!

I have seen many people in team bhp bragging about doing 150 kmph or the like. It is ridiculous to do so on public roads, one never knows when some one will do something stupid or some animal will come on the road and a mishap occurs.

I never go above 85-90kmph howsoever good the road is.

[anoshdhondy]

In absolute agreement with you about the hazard lights issue with regards to their mis use in the tunnels,however I must confess that I find the act of sticking to the right lane a bit wrong while your idea behind it is right,best stick to middle lane and switch to the right lane to overtake anyone and then back in,as is the correct way . Let the people who want to drive faster get on with what they want to. I myself have forced people who drive in the right lane at speeds of sixty or seventy by online or if that doesn't work overtaking from the left and then coming in front of them and gradually slowing down till they get it in their thick skulls and then I go about my way

Originally Posted by raycers_honda

Wow,interesting conversation. Reading about these type of things always brings awareness in some kind of way. I always drive at around 80 to 90 kms on the expressway.
I have driven at a speed of 120 only twice. Yes I was in the same shoes as the others..thing lets open her up. That is foolish I must admit. I have realised the importance of the speed limit on the expressway.
I always stick to the fast lane most of the time and let other cars make the effort of doing the lane changing etc. But I make my self clear to those who flash their. Headlights or even honk by giving my right signal just one flash. That way I indicate to them before hand that they have to do the lane changing and not me. Because I am in the stipulated speed limit and if they want to go faster its them who have to do the hard work not me.
I know to some it may feel like a wrong thing to do but when you have inconsiderate idiots on the road you can't help but just do that.
Also another thing I find very irritating is the use of hazard lights while in rainy day or in the tunnel. They should just keep the parking lights on and drive.
The blinking lights confuse and give the illusion of a car stopping for an emergency. Other points such as certain drivers never keep a lane discipline. For instance when on a bend a car on the middle lane suddenly creeps up to the extreme right lane so much so that I have to sit on my horn.
There have been instances where these illiterate idiots have thrown some garbage out of the car window/bus and it comes smashing into the windscreen often disturbing the driver.
When will these type of idiots ever learn something is a question that will stay a question forever.