[Turbo_Torq]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Why? Isn't the scooter guy at fault? 2 wheelers are NOT allowed on expressway. Police should book him first. 80kmph is not at all rash driving.

There is a section in the Khandala ghat wherein the old NH4 is supplemented by the Expressway and merges into it right until the first Lonavla exit at Kamath's. If the incident has taken place between this section then it's not suprising for a 2-wheeler to be present. Also, the speed limit in that section is even lower than the already ridiculous 80kmph. Having said that, local residents and rogue entrants use that section like their own village road and one can be pretty much sure that it must have been the motorcyclist's fault.

[sukhoi30]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Why? Isn't the scooter guy at fault? 2 wheelers are NOT allowed on expressway. Police should book him first. 80kmph is not at all rash driving.

Police always register case "against" people who have more money to spend. They know they can extract more money from such people.
In this case, what the car driver should have done is register the police complaint first against the scooter citing damages due to illegally driving on expressway. But yeah, it is easier said as when villagers come in large numbers and hound you, you feel helpless. At such time, even the police do not help. Thats the sad situation in India.
There is a section in the ghats which connects the NH4 with expressway. Two wheelers are not allowed through this section. Police do stand at the entry and exit points but during odd or off hours they are not there.

[Turbo_Torq]

Originally Posted by sukhoi30

There is a section in the ghats which connects the NH4 with expressway. Two wheelers are not allowed through this section. Police do stand at the entry and exit points but during odd or off hours they are not there.

Where would the two wheelers go if they aren't allowed to traverse that joint section? Fact is, this is the only section of the Expressway where it's traffic merges with the NH4 and thus one encounters two wheelers, three wheelers and unicycles (if any!)

[suniladhiya]

Can anyone who has travelled to Mumbai recently give updates on the status of road widening in the Kalamboli-Vashi section. I will be travelling to Gujarat in the middle of March and need to decide whether to take the Palm Beach road to Vashi and then exit out of Vashi towards Airoli or whether the straightforward Kalamboli-Kharghar-Belapur-Turbhe-Airoli route would be relatively free of traffic jams.

[green_wheel]

Originally Posted by suniladhiya

Can anyone who has travelled to Mumbai recently give updates on the status of road widening in the Kalamboli-Vashi section. I will be travelling to Gujarat in the middle of March and need to decide whether to take the Palm Beach road to Vashi and then exit out of Vashi towards Airoli or whether the straightforward Kalamboli-Kharghar-Belapur-Turbhe-Airoli route would be relatively free of traffic jams.

As of yesterday (22-Feb), the Vashi stretch has got worse. There is some damage to the Vashi bridge and its approach which is being repaired. Traffic is affected on both directions. AVOID. Palm beach - Airoli is a far better option.
If you are going all the way to Gujarat, another route I can suggest is the Kalamboli - Taloja - Mumbra route. It is a rather narrow road, but it has been recently repaved and traffic is light except for trucks.

[S_U_N]

Horrible traffic jam on both sides near the octroi check naka around 3 pm. The jam was from a few kms before the check naka from Mumbai side and extended up to Sanpada if I remember. This is on both sides of the road, but more on the side coming towards Pune.

[mayuresh]

While nothing tangible seems to be happening for safety the toll is increasing to Rs 195/- from tomorrow from current 165/-.

http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.c.../32978378.cms?

[sukhoi30]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

While nothing tangible seems to be happening for safety the toll is increasing to Rs 195/- from tomorrow from current 165/-.

http://maharashtratimes.indiatimes.c.../32978378.cms?

Yes. The toll on this road is rediculously high. Rs. 195/- is not justifiable on a highway where accidents happen so frequently. Amenities like lane markings, proper signages, trauma centers, hospitals etc. are all missing. And due to these there are so many precious lives being lost. I went recently to Gujarat and the roads there are so good and so smooth with all proper markings and signages etc. Driving was such a pleasure there. On top of it the tolls were like Rs. 30, Rs. 40 or maximum Rs. 80.

[mayuresh]

Originally Posted by sukhoi30

I went recently to Gujarat and the roads there are so good and so smooth with all proper markings and signages etc. Driving was such a pleasure there. On top of it the tolls were like Rs. 30, Rs. 40 or maximum Rs. 80.

Yes, I have been to Karnataka via NH4 a few times. Once you leave Maharashtra, roads get better and toll drops down dramatically. I have paid tolls as low as 15/- on NH4 last year.

So, both neighboring states provide better roads at lesser costs than Maharashtra. Talking about it will make it total OT. I'll leave it at saying it's intriguing at least ...

[vinair]

"Non-usage of seat belts were, at least in part, responsible for as much as 46 percent of serious to fatal road accident injuries on the Mumbai-Pune expressway between October 2012 and October 2013. This, and other chilling facts, have come to light following a study by independent crash investigation firm JP Research India. The study involved an in-depth analysis of 214 accidents, of which 68 resulted in serious (requiring hospitalization for over 24 hours) or fatal injuries. On the basis of the investigations, the human, vehicle and infrastructure factors contributing to the occurrence of the accidents, and to injuries sustained thereafter, have been identified"

Glad to see a independent firm coming up with its research and analyzing cause of a accident. A very welcome indeed.

Hope these studies provide the government to implement harsher rules and book those flouting the rules with really, heavy fine.

Further Read - http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...cs-383967.aspx

[fine69]

The article title says '...startling safety statistics'. What's startling about the fact that not wearing a seat belt would lead to serious or fatal injuries?

The investigators would be better off saying that >95% of the accidents were due to human error alone. A tyre burst when you run bald tyres isn't a vehicle issue, its a human error, same thing for badly-maintained vehicles.

The only thing startling is that they are calling fatigue as one of the biggest cause for accidents but maybe that's just my opinion.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by fine69

The article title says '...startling safety statistics'. What's startling about the fact that not wearing a seat belt would lead to serious or fatal injuries?

The fact that seat-belts were *not* used is 'startling'.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by article

The leading causes included driver fatigue (29 percent), overspeeding for conditions (16 percent) and exceeding the speed limit (14 percent). Improper lane change, overtaking from the wrong side and following too closely were some of the other important causes. Infrastructure factors contributing to accidents largely related to inadequate signage and insufficient shoulders in the ghat sections. Brake fade, steering defects and tyre bursts were some of the vehicle related causes of accidents.

None of this is startling to the regular users of the expressway. But then good that a study was done so that what everyone already knows gets documented in the bureaucracy.

[SSD2122]

This is a welcome study by an independent body. Fatigue or dare I say lack of sufficient resting period during long drives is definitely a contributing factor.

[JASMEET MATTOO]

One thing that I have noticed during numerous road journeys,a lot of drivers keep overtaking from left. Sometimes it happens that a fast moving car is coming from behind and using its dipper. Before I give that driver space on the right to overtake he will probably overtake from the left, even though he can see me drifting or changing lanes. One more reason for this might be that a lot of people driving slow keep sticking to the right lanes, whereas the right most lane should only be used for overtaking.