Originally Posted by Steeroid

I beg to differ - I was stopped on the Landy for not wearing a seat belt. This is in rural Palghat. Our neighbour, the old doctor, was also stopped on the highway off which our house lies there - for not wearing the seat belt on his Honda City.

So if you're not wearing your seat belt you better have a big Gandhi in your pocket.

what i meant is, inspite of the strictly enforced law for the seatbelts, people still dont wear them. so when they they see someone wearing it, they tend to go easier on them. I say this because i was let off for that reason, inspite of being clearly over the speed limit.

[ImmortalZ]

Hmm.

Time to start investing in radar detectors then?

Better investment compared to giving money to cops really.

[muneemmk]

how am i supposed to wear seatbelts in my car ? it simply dosen't have one , and what is this "TABOO YELLOW LINE " that every one is talking about i have never seen this line .

Originally Posted by muneemmk

how am i supposed to wear seatbelts in my car ? it simply dosen't have one , and what is this "TABOO YELLOW LINE " that every one is talking about i have never seen this line .

the unbroken double yellow line along the middle of the road. you're not supposed to cross it for any reason. if they catch you doing it, its bye bye gandhi!

[pjay_in]

Ok, are the speed limits mentioned clearly in all these stretches (where they ambush us)?

If there are no speed limit signs, what is the accepted max speed on our roads?

[WhiteKnight]

Thank you @geo. I would be hitting these roads soon, and good to know the situation.

So the cats decided to settle for small mouses?

[Path_Finder]

Thanks rippergeo for this thread. I also will be hitting these roads soon, next week and though not good news, it is better to be forewarned.

As queried above by pjay, I hope there are speed limit boards. And how do they catch – do they chase you down (!!) or they pass wireless message to someone ahead?
And a lame question – suppose I drive down from Palakkad to Kochi without knowing (or ignoring) this, what is the probability of getting caught?

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

what i meant is, inspite of the strictly enforced law for the seatbelts, people still dont wear them. so when they they see someone wearing it, they tend to go easier on them. I say this because i was let off for that reason, inspite of being clearly over the speed limit.

people do wear them, at least now that they are strictly enforced. On my way home(~15km) , there will be a minimum of 3 locations where there will be seat belt checking, so people will and HAVE to wear them.

Heck, at one point, i was driving at night , and police were sitting in the back of a moving qualis , and shining torches from the rear. I think they were checking for seatbelts.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by muneemmk

and what is this "TABOO YELLOW LINE " that every one is talking about i have never seen this line .

You've obviously been driving around without noticing them, therefore you stand a very high chance of being pulled over.

It is no wonder that the government does not bother putting up traffic signs or marking roads appropriately - nobody notices!

Ever since Muneer was the transport/roads minister, several roads have been well marked out with dotted white lines, solid white lines, yellow lines and even double-yellow lines in some really dangerous places.

Its a pity no one notices them.

Originally Posted by Path_Finder

And a lame question – suppose I drive down from Palakkad to Kochi without knowing (or ignoring) this, what is the probability of getting caught?

At least 1 in 4:

1. Walayar to Palghat
2. Palghat to Trichur
3. Trichur to Angamaly
4. Angamaly to Cochin

[pypkmsrikanth]

Most of my trips to God's own country are towards Bathery - basically Bathery to Gudalur and GUndlupet. Any idea if there are speed guns there. Need to be careful when I make one of those rare visits down Palghat. 1 in 4 is a pretty high chance.

Originally Posted by pjay_in

Ok, are the speed limits mentioned clearly in all these stretches (where they ambush us)?

If there are no speed limit signs, what is the accepted max speed on our roads?

the speed limit is almost never mentioned. its meant to be known by all road users that the limit on NHs in kerala is 70kmph. i think its 60kmph on SHs and 50/40 inside the city.
none follows these speeds anyway, because it is wildly impractical.
it would be nice if someone who is sure of the speed limits in various roads can put them up.

I'm sure only about the NH speed limit.

Originally Posted by Path_Finder

Thanks rippergeo for this thread. I also will be hitting these roads soon, next week and though not good news, it is better to be forewarned.

As queried above by pjay, I hope there are speed limit boards. And how do they catch – do they chase you down (!!) or they pass wireless message to someone ahead?
And a lame question – suppose I drive down from Palakkad to Kochi without knowing (or ignoring) this, what is the probability of getting caught?

they will flag you down as soon as they clock you. if you refuse to stop, there may be a chase or someone strategically placed 200meters down the road will jump in front of your car.

if you still manage to get away, the qualis will be put into action. and if you get caught after the chase, be prepared for a sound thrashing! seen that happen once near cherthala.

and yes, they do put wireless and cellphones to good use unlike 10 years back, when it was relatively easy to lead them around in a merry chase in their decrepit old mahindras
so please stay on the right side of the law.

I agree with steeroid on the chances of getting caught between walayar and palghat. so resist the temptation to floor it on straights unless you can see for miles ahead that there are no cops.

but most of us here on tbhp have good cars and enthusiastic right feet, and we do speeds that are much higher than the above, hence the warning.they wont harass you much for speeds like 80kmph, which is usually a safe speed for our roads anyway.

it goes without saying that you should have your papers in order. even if they stop you for speeding, they will then go on to shake you down for every penny you've got, using every silly rule they have.

I'm surprised that the other states dont bother with speed limits as much as we do. or am I wrong?

[Steeroid]

[quote=pypkmsrikanth;990899]Most of my trips to God's own country are towards Bathery - basically Bathery to Gudalur and GUndlupet. Any idea if there are speed guns there.[quote]

None so far in the few trips I have made. Come down the ghats towards Calicut (Thamarassery to Calicut) and there is at least one stretch where I've seen them.

Calicut - Kannur is also patrolled.

Time to get radar detectors - there seem to be very few places in Kerala where one can speed without fear. They need to change the hoardings at the border to read:

"Welcome to Gods Own Country.
PS: Beware of the Devil's Own Cops"

EDIT: @ ripper

The alleged speed limits are 70kmph on National Highways, 55kmph on State Highways and (beat this!) 35kmph in City limits.

"City Limits" are also a very ambiguous - nobody know if they mean City Limits as in Corporation/Municipality limits or the limits of Police Stations considered to be part of the City Police, which nobody really knows.

[trrk]

Hi rippergeo,

> the speed limit is almost never mentioned. its meant to be known by all
> road users that the limit on NHs in kerala is 70kmph. i think its 60kmph on
> SHs and 50/40 inside the city.

There were / are some boards for these. The blanket rule is 70kph in the highways, both national as well as highway. I am not very sure about the town speed limits.

Then there are other speed limits for schools, etc which have their own speed sign boards and the restriction ends signage.

> none follows these speeds anyway, because it is wildly impractical.

I try at least for the 70kph limit, most of the times. The in between 60, 30 and the like are not followed yet.

More than the impracticality, you would be irritated by the buses, trucks and the other cars merrily overtaking you!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by trrk

I try at least for the 70kph limit, most of the times.

Saar you belong to an elite club. The only other person I know of that insists on driving at 70kmph is the Hon Union Minister for Defence, Shri A K Anthony.

I'm glad that esteemed gentleman is now in Delhi, else it was a pain to drive on the highways when the CM's convoy was ahead of you doing EXACTLY 70kmph. I've had to stop for a break on 3 occassions at least to let his convoy get ahead sufficient so I could drive without choking.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

The alleged speed limits are 70kmph on National Highways, 55kmph on State Highways and (beat this!) 35kmph in City limits.

"City Limits" are also a very ambiguous - nobody know if they mean City Limits as in Corporation/Municipality limits or the limits of Police Stations considered to be part of the City Police, which nobody really knows.

I can bet my job that the city buses of Cochin would be speeding at more than 35kmph at almost all the roads in Cochin, thats the unfortunate irony, the Police turning a blind eye to the maniac buses while trying to rip the car guys for driving at 80kmph on a 70kmph speed limit zone.

I was once overtaken by a private bus plying between Trichur & Palghat when I was driving at a sedate 85 kmph, am sure if there was a speed radar, I would have been caught but the bus would have gone scott free