[abhinavrm]

You can legally zoom at 120 Kph on the Mumbai-Pune expressway as Union Govt raises speed limit.

Light motor vehicles, of which cars and SUVs form a part, can now zoom at 120 Kph on the Yashwantrao Chavan expressway between Mumbai and Pune. The speed limit on the 90 kilometer access control road has been raised from 80 Kph to 120 Kph by the Ministry of Highways and Road Transport (MoRTH) of the central government. This decision was taken by Nitin Gadkari, the road transport and highways minister of India, in a meeting held a couple of days ago.

Source: verbatim from -

http://www.cartoq.com/mumbai-pune-ex...eed-limit/amp/

[Hayek]

Hope this is actually happening and not just a trial balloon. And hope our “Honourable” Judges do not respond to a PIL by some busybody and reduce the limit again.

120 kph is a reasonable speed limit - and one at which you can justify strict enforcement. I do hope they do the same thing elsewhere - starting with the JJ flyover where the limit should be raised to 80 kph and the Sea Link where it should be 120 kph as well.

Some of our speed limits are actually dangerous - everyone brakes from 80 down to 35 just before the Speed Cameras on JJ, which could catch someone driving on the road for the first time by surprise and create accidents.

[ksgehlot]

Lets be honest here. Even if we are on 80KMPH speed limit road , you don't really drive at 80KMPH. At least Government is realising that the speed limit specially on Highways is all BS. And once they increased the speed limit which I think would be more practical and safe if everyone is driving at same speed and follow the lane system.

[ani_meher]

Wonder what happens with new transport vehicles hard limited to 80kmph. I recently travelled in a new Innova Crysta limited at 80kmph and the driver was thoroughly pissed off seeing little cars overtaking him left and right! The RTO should revise the speed sensors to 120kmph if this news of increased speed limit is true.

[sgiitk]

Heard of the 120kph ages ago, but am still to see it.

On the ALE cars have recently been caught doing 161 and 167 kph. When I see the German Autobahnen unrestricted for over 60% of the length, I start wondering. Remember we have the problem of animals, wrong side driving specific to us.

[silversteed]

Cross-posting

Originally Posted by itwasntme

... the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) will be the new buzzword...

From the second link:

It would help road users to reach Chennai within 2.5 hours from Bengaluru

300km (I'm conveniently ignoring the distance to be covered within city limits at lower speeds) in 2.5 hours = 120kmph average speed. That is, one has to keep driving at 150+ for the most part, to maintain this average. So, unless it's sort of an Autobahn, I'll pass this off as a lot of gas (like it usually is with the govt).

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Wonder what happens with new transport vehicles hard limited to 80kmph. I recently travelled in a new Innova Crysta limited at 80kmph and the driver was thoroughly pissed off seeing little cars overtaking him left and right! The RTO should revise the speed sensors to 120kmph if this news of increased speed limit is true.

That was as per last years notification. They have changed it to 100 kmph for Taxi, FBU buses, and outside built bus bodies where the body builder has gone through the testing and approval route.


Rahul

[itisravi]

Slightly off topic - If I want to be a strict law abiding citizen, what is the incentive for me to buy a high performance motor vehicle if they cannot be ridden legally at speeds they were meant to be ridden? The number of race tracks in India can be counted using one hand and practically everyone who does even a 130 KMPH on his (not so) puny sub 300 cc motorbike on the highway is practically breaking the law every single time, irrespective if whether they are penalized by the cops or not. Put another way, why is it legal to sell high performance vehicles if there is no supporting eco-system to use them? I'm not trolling here, just genuinely asking.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by itisravi

Slightly off topic - If I want to be a strict law abiding citizen, what is the incentive for me to buy a high performance motor vehicle if they cannot be ridden legally at speeds they were meant to be ridden?

So what exactly are you categorizing as high performance vehicle. Are you talking about a humble Maruti 800 vs say a Skoda Octavia vRS which can do 200+ Kmph ?

Performance is not just about top speed. There are many things that go into it, fantastic acceleration, top notch handling, precise control and braking to name a few. One can push a humble Vento to 170+ Kmph on the ODO. That does not make it a performance vehicle. It takes some effort to get to that and when at that speed its sheer luck controlling the car. On the other hand a vRS would touch that with relatively lesser effort and would be far more planted, thanks to all the high performing components coming together. Its still fun to drive an vRS at 100-120 Kmph and you will see a noticeable difference in the way the car handles even at that sane speed compared to viz-a-viz a Vento or a Rapid. On the other hand if you talking about a Buggati Veyron or a Lamborghini Aventedor under the high performance umbrella, its a different story all together.

The sales number for these vehicles are not even worth considering against the rest of the crowd. Most countries have no legal limits that satisfy these monsters. The worlds largest passenger car market, the USA, has majority of its roads capped at 70Mph. So this argument IMHO makes no sense.

Contrary to popular belief speed limits in Indian highways are relatively comparable to many roads across the world, unfortunately with animals darting around, people driving leisurely on the middle of the road unmindful of fast moving traffic, jaywalking, wrong side driving, the safety aspect isn't. So unless we are talking about a closed loop road like the Mumbai - Pune expressway or the Yumana expressway, limits above 90 is nothing short of insanity.

[itisravi]

Originally Posted by SR-71

So what exactly are you categorizing as high performance vehicle..

I was actually thinking bikes more than cars but I guess the analogy still applies. I'm not talking about exotic high end ones but say the duke 390 or the Dominar 400 which are increasingly becoming an affordable proposition for the upper middle class. The emphasis is not on top end speed but the cruising speed. The Dominar is touted as a touring machine and can do a 125KMPH comfortably on the highway. But going by the rules, you would be over-speeding at those numbers.

There are many things that go into it, fantastic acceleration, top notch handling, precise control and braking to name a few

Absolutely. But there are good chances that if have such good machines, you would have the urge to 'consume' these features on a highway run or even in the city (say a 0 to 100 acceleration test). You might be doing this after checking that it is absolutely safe to do so under those specific circumstances but if you hit 100 on a city road, you broke the law.

...animals darting around, .. driving leisurely on the middle of the road..., jaywalking, wrong side driving, ..limits above 90 is nothing short of insanity..

Couldn't agree more. This was the ecosystem I was referring to. Maybe I went overboard with saying we can't sell such vehicles and many of the features you mentioned can be enjoyed within legal speed limits. But when you do cruise at 130 KMPH on a humble Wagon R on express highways, you relying on not getting caught rather than following the rule to the T.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by itisravi

Slightly off topic - If I want to be a strict law abiding citizen, what is the incentive for me to buy a high performance motor vehicle if they cannot be ridden legally at speeds they were meant to be ridden? The number of race tracks in India can be counted using one hand and practically everyone who does even a 130 KMPH on his (not so) puny sub 300 cc motorbike on the highway is practically breaking the law every single time, irrespective if whether they are penalized by the cops or not. Put another way, why is it legal to sell high performance vehicles if there is no supporting eco-system to use them? I'm not trolling here, just genuinely asking.

Great question. My answer will be different from many others. From a speed perspective really no advantage or need or compliant reason to buy a high performance car. But the joy of driving a throaty, torquey fast accelerating car below 120 KMPH is still a plenty. My cars are bought for how well they fit their destined role in terms of size, comfort, NVH, looks, features and status. What speed they can theoretically attain is only incidental as I never even get much beyond 90 KMPH.

[Aspirational]

Well, here is a shocking new development. I wonder if these people have any scientific basis of deciding on the speed limits.

https://punemirror.indiatimes.com/pu...w/71239715.cms

And another example of illogical bureaucratic mindset.

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/mumb...w/71356112.cms

Or perhaps it's another way to extort with such impractical speed limits.

[coolkurt]

It's the same in every city. There are huge sections of the inner Ring road in Delhi where the speed limit is 30 kmph. 30! And the traffic cops are waiting, lurking in the shadows at 6am to catch the unsuspecting motorist who's doing a modest 50kmph because hey, it's morning, it's empty and 50 should be the speed limit in the city right?

[sinharishi]

The only 2 highways in India where you can legally do 120 KMPH: Western and Eastern Peripheral Expressway. While EPE is made of concrete, the WPE is full of tarmac and has a LOT of uneven patches.

Yamuna Expressway and Agra-Lucknow Expressway are the deserving candidates for limit to be increased to 120 kmph!

A picture from early morning drive today on WPE:

[fz_rider]

1.5 lakh traffic violation were cancelled, since the sensor was wrongly calibrated.

Source: https://m.timesofindia.com/india/1-5...w/71605762.cms