[sram]

Got a chance to travel on this road last week, Wow it was very good experience to drive on this road.
However I noticed that, fences have been broken at many places, at one such place have seen people waiting to cross the freeway by walk, few other places tea shops were opened on the service lane and the board was put on the fence, cars were stopped on shoulder and people are going to those shops.
We wanted good roads for a very long time and when one govt. makes it, this is how we are using it.

[deehunk]

My relative was killed in an accident yesterday near Mandya, his son who was a pillion rider suffered severe injuries. We are waiting to know from him as to what triggered the accident.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by sram

Got a chance to travel on this road last week, Wow it was very good experience to drive on this road.
However I noticed that, fences have been broken at many places, at one such place have seen people waiting to cross the freeway by walk, few other places tea shops were opened on the service lane and the board was put on the fence, cars were stopped on shoulder and people are going to those shops.
We wanted good roads for a very long time and when one govt. makes it, this is how we are using it.

In the night there are a few spots that are becoming truck stops, plenty of trucks are stopped right on the left lane, reducing the road to just two lanes. Someone who is driving fast and a bit drowsy will certainly go right under the truck!

I can understand why it happens - unlike a car, trucks cannot maintain the same speed when there is change in elevation (which some spots are quite significant for a truck) truck traffic will be doing crawling speeds, it can be deadly even when they are moving for someone who is coming in hot at say 150 kmph considering it is 'Expressway' to somewhere they cannot return from.

So anyhow this truck driver is tired and needs a break by the time he does 50-70 kms in this stretch, that fellow is going to stop somewhere regardless of whether it is allowed or not and wherever he stops, there will be a tea shop fellow who wants to make his own living.

Its all part of this whole machinery, not easy to fix one issue without fixing a whole other set of issues.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by deehunk

My relative was killed in an accident yesterday near Mandya, his son who was a pillion rider suffered severe injuries. We are waiting to know from him as to what triggered the accident.

Very sad, Condolences to the family.

I think it's time the "No 2 wheelers" rule is implemented very strictly on this expressway.

[Oppanna]

Originally Posted by deehunk

My relative was killed in an accident yesterday near Mandya, his son who was a pillion rider suffered severe injuries. We are waiting to know from him as to what triggered the accident.

Heartfelt condolences. May god give strength to cope up with the loss.

Like others mentioned it is high time they ban two wheeler on this road. I myself is a rider and i do not recommend anyone to ride a two wheeler on this expressway.

It is too dangerous as there is no lane discipline at all whatsoever. People overtake at 100kmph in left most slow lane too. You will also witness people driving at 50 kmph on the right most fast lane. Not to mention people driving zigzag from one lane to another.

[m8002?]

One of the major reason for zig-zag driving and lane changing in highways is because of slow moving traffic blocking the right lane.
This will force the fast moving vehicles ( mainly cars and Volvo buses ) to change lanes and also overtake from all directions.

[balenoed_]

Yesterday night, happened to travel on the road during heavy rains. There is some serious issue with drainage system on this road. Lots of places had water logging and we had to keep watching out and switch between left most lane and right most lane to avoid the water pool. And the speeds were to be reduced to so low that you need to examine every feet ahead of you. Hope the concerned people will look into it and get it fixed before the upcoming rainy season. Not sure why it wasn't taken care by design.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by sram

We wanted good roads for a very long time and when one govt. makes it, this is how we are using it.

Why this guilty mindset? There is a road maintenance department in the Govt and they are not doing their job. What's more, they are charging Rs 2.25 per Km for this expressway.

Originally Posted by NPV

I think it's time the "No 2 wheelers" rule is implemented very strictly on this expressway.

I think every vehicle has to get onto the expressway at least in some stretches. AFAIK, the alternative road to this expressway is Kanakapura-Bannur Road. Or is there any other alternative for two-wheelers without touching the expressway?

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by NPV

I think it's time the "No 2 wheelers" rule is implemented very strictly on this expressway.

May be I am wrong, but I disagree with this statement. If you look at the statistics of the accidents on this road, it is the cars themselves that have caused more accidents on this road. Things like jumping the divider and killing innocent people on the opposite side is something that the cars have done on this road many times already, so do we ban 4-wheelers as well? Two wheelers, if driven sanely on the slow speed lane, just like any other vehicle, should not cause any harm.

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by msdivy

I think every vehicle has to get onto the expressway at least in some stretches. AFAIK, the alternative road to this expressway is Kanakapura-Bannur Road. Or is there any other alternative for two-wheelers without touching the expressway?

None currently. For scooters the EW is way safer than the busy, undivided, 2-lane Kanakapura Road. Until the service road is completed, there is no option for them but to enter EW.

[theabstractmind]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

May be I am wrong, but I disagree with this statement. If you look at the statistics of the accidents on this road, it is the cars themselves that have caused more accidents on this road. Things like jumping the divider and killing innocent people on the opposite side is something that the cars have done on this road many times already, so do we ban 4-wheelers as well? Two wheelers, if driven sanely on the slow speed lane, just like any other vehicle, should not cause any harm.

It's a chicken and egg situation. Some drivers who are too slow - these include cars - for the right lane don't learn to keep on the middle lane. Drivers who are fast or too fast don't learn to drive defensively so as to not put themselves and others in danger, and often are "forced" To overtake from all sides at all speeds. And nobody unlearns the two wheeler habit of suddenly pulling over to stop at a shop or for some other stuff. And trucks cannot precisely drive on the left lane as the two-wheelers, tractors, and the cars overtaking from all sides put them in personal danger of being pulled over and beaten up whether or not they caused the accident. Who is to blame?

[tharian]

I don't think banning two wheelers on the Blore-Mysore expressway is going to get rid of accidents. It is the same then with all other expressways. The only difference that I see with the Blore-Mysore expressway compared to others is that this is a 120 kms stretch where some try to cover the distance in the shortest duration and then boast about it. This leads to unnecessary risks and some leading to fatal accidents.
I rode to Mysore last Monday and probably because it was a holiday and the last day of a long weekend, the traffic was not bad and it was disciplined as well except for the odd two or three hero's. We were able to keep around 80 kmph average and stuck to the slow lane both ways. Of course, there were two wheelers and 4 wheelers who cut lanes without checking their mirrors or even indicating, which happens on all highways. With the density being higher on this particular expressway, one needs to be over cautious be it riding or driving. This was the same case even on the old Blore-Mysore highway.
At the end of the day, two wheelers need to know which lane to keep to and to check their mirrors often in order to be on the safe side.

[sram]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Why this guilty mindset? There is a road maintenance department in the Govt and they are not doing their job. What's more, they are charging Rs 2.25 per Km for this expressway.

Paying 2.25/KM doesn't entitle the users to intentionally break open the fence open a tea shop there, Stop in the shoulder for having tea snacks, throw garbage and choke the drains . As responsible users we also do have our part to do. Those maintenance cost is to take care of usage wear and to repair damages done by rains etc..

[Oppanna]

Not sure if anyone else noticed this. People travelling towards Mysore takes the service road at Kengeri and they enter the Express way after the toll!

Same folks pass through the Srirangapatna toll ( as it is non operational) and the same is seen while coming towards Bangalore as well. People take the benefit of expressway and exit to Service road after the Bidadi Railway Bridge!

This way they get to drive on the expressway yet not pay the toll. This was not limited to yellow board vehicles but also many private vehicles!

Now my question is once the expressway is completely open how are they going to address this issue?

Let us say two wheelers are also banned. Will they not enter the expressway the same way?

Am i missing something here?

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by Oppanna

People take the benefit of expressway and exit to Service road after the Bidadi Railway Bridge!

This way they get to drive on the expressway yet not pay the toll. This was not limited to yellow board vehicles but also many private vehicles!

Now my question is once the expressway is completely open how are they going to address this issue?

Starting toll collection here was nothing but a money making scheme, probably to have extra cash for election. Just because you are paying it while others aren't doesn't automatically mean what they are doing is illegal or even unethical. Being forced to pay entire toll just to go to Bidadi makes no sense, considering there's no continuous service road.

The project claims after completion there will be only one opening between Bengaluru and Mysuru for a food court + fuel station, and the whole stretch will be fenced off. This will simply not work as localites will just tear the fence down to cross the road. Imagine the road in front of your home was sealed off and you had to travel a long way to reach an underpass - it's a waste of both time and fuel. Pedestrians would rather jump a fence than walk a km extra to cross the road.

Unlike other EWs or even highways, there are a lot of towns/villages along this route and this EW has essentially become a Berlin wall for them.

However there's a more worrisome matter: if you meet with an accident, how will an ambulance come to your aid and take you to the nearest hospital which is right there on the other side of the fence? The EW may cut not only the travel time, but also your access to medical help. If your passenger is having a heart attack will you drive pedal to the metal to the exit, or will you turn around and drive the wrong way? No one seems to be talking about this.