[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

So atleast for next few days it s free roaming

Sorry thats not a reality, the agitation was only for a day or so. Once the agitators were put behind bars, the toll collections started as earlier. Thats when MNS started noting the vehicles using the toll gates and the after calculations to asses whether the toll collection is justified or is going into the pockets of politicians. Now no one is seen around the toll booths.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Thats when xxx started noting the vehicles using the toll gates and the after calculations to asses whether the toll collection is justified or is going into the pockets of politicians. Now no one is seen around the toll booths.

Maybe this is a very good examples of usage of "grease".

I am not sure why no action is being taken in-spite of the fact that its been proven, the toll amount collected has way offset the cost incurred.

Maybe in reality it was just to get a better % of the share

[idea]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I took the expressway on one Saturday of June and noticed that a regional political party has put up chairs and a desk for their party workers right next to the toll booths. The party workers have been noting down details of vehicles that pass by the toll booths. Perhaps they are trying to do a survey of how many vehicles pass by the booth and how much money the toll collection authorities are making. Should make an interesting statistic once revealed. Till then, good job!

You can read results in today news paper in Maharastra. Said local party has asked people Not To Pay Any tolls and party workers are present on almost every toll to support Non paying toll members.

All this will continue till there is 100% transparency in toll collection.

[amitwlele]

Was on the expressway yesterday and saw the members of the political party at all the toll booths starting from Vashi and then the 2 expressway booths. All the vehicles were going through without paying anything.

Damm i was in the Shivneri bus and not driving. Did not save any money.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Lets not get into the phoren expressways. They are eons ahead of us.

Ok, lets not. But,

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

But somehow I feel they have resigned to the current situation and feel nothing can be done about it.

the problem is nothing will be done if we are resigned to our fate. They obviously assume that it is ok to have an accident a day with 3 to 4 people dying on an average. Even with our population levels and chalta hai attitude, I dont think that should be acceptable.

Though again, I dont know how to define a rejection of the expressway. Not yet.

Originally Posted by idea

All this will continue till there is 100% transparency in toll collection.

100% transparency? does that exist in any area? Dont want to go OT!!

[coriollis]

Expressway continues to claim lives..

Renowned Marathi actor, Anand Abhyankar, along with budding actor, Akshay Pendse passed away in a mishap near Talegaon Toll Plaza yesterday late night.
In this accident, Akshay Pendse's 1.5 year old too lost his life.
His wife is battling for life at Nigdi's Lokmanya Hospital.
Life's too cruel to her.

The Wagon-R they were traveling was hit by a tempo coming from opposite side lane.

I hereby stop calling it an Expressway henceforth.

[anujmishra]

This is one of the deadliest highway in India. Every month we hear some gruesome accident on this road. Traffic is also very hgh on this highway, but there is dearth shortage of responsible drivers on this.

Most of the accidents happens due to driver's negligence and it is not stopping either even after reports of many accidents. Do Indian drivers ever tend to learn road etiquette? I believe India is still not ready for such expressway. There is same story is getting repeated at "Yamuna Expressway" between New Delhi and Agra. Rest in peace those departed souls.

[advaitlele]

coriollis -- Yes, it was shocking to see the early morning news. I usually switch on the TV before leaving for office and same thing I did today; and was shocked to see the news.

RIP to all who lost lives in the accident. My prayers for Mrs Pendase to get well soon.

Totally agree with you Anuj. The E-way was meant to reduce the burden on the old highway and make the travel faster and easier. But there are so many hazardous points on the highway - Amrutanjan Bridge, turn near Sinhgad College to begin with. And add to it reckless drivers - right from tiny cars to trucks.

Drive safe.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by coriollis

The Wagon-R they were traveling was hit by a tempo coming from opposite side lane.

How did this happen? Did Wagon-R cross the divider or tampo jumped the divider?

[Arun Venugopal]

Originally Posted by coriollis

Expressway continues to claim lives..

Renowned Marathi actor, Anand Abhyankar, along with budding actor, Akshay Pendse passed away in a mishap near Talegaon Toll Plaza yesterday late night.
In this accident, Akshay Pendse's 1.5 year old too lost his life.
His wife is battling for life at Nigdi's Lokmanya Hospital.
Life's too cruel to her.

The Wagon-R they were traveling was hit by a tempo coming from opposite side lane.

I hereby stop calling it an Expressway henceforth.

I did see the accident on my way to Mumbai (around 1.30 am) last night. One look at the Wagon-R and it was pretty clear that the accident was very bad indeed. Pray for the departed souls.

Did not see a tempo on the roadside though, was wondering then how it had happened. The right side of the car was smashed so badly I cannot even begin to describe it. Think it's time for big barricades separating the road rather than just medians. We have enough irresponsible idiots on the roads already, couple that with poorly maintained vehicles and high speeds, disaster is waiting to strike.

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

How did this happen? Did Wagon-R cross the divider or tampo jumped the divider?

The tempo jumped the divider after losing control. The tempo driver ran away and later surrendered himself in the police station.

What is the logical solution we can do is not drive on the right most lane. But it seems that logic doesn't fit anywhere here in Indian driving conditions. Why, I am unable to comprehend.
1. Overtaking lane is regularly used for cruising.why?
2. Having tail- lights to your commercial vehicle is like display of of you're cowardice. Why?
3. You have blinding headlights particularly focused at the eyes of oncoming traffic. Why?
4. Checking your vehicle for air/ oil has the least priority among the important tasks ahead of journey.
5. Commercial vehicles have defined/ approved load carrying capacity. But you load your vehicle atleast 1.5 times the rated capacity. Anything less than that is considered as personal insult. Why?

And the list can go on and on..
Sorry to dilute this thread by saying everything we already know and going off topic, but couldn't stop myself.

Abhijeet.

[Arun Venugopal]

Originally Posted by coriollis

The tempo jumped the divider after losing control. The tempo driver ran away and later surrendered himself in the police station.

What is the logical solution we can do is not drive on the right most lane. But it seems that logic doesn't fit anywhere here in Indian driving conditions. Why, I am unable to comprehend.
1. Overtaking lane is regularly used for cruising.why?

Largely because slow moving trucks and buses hog the middle lanes and refuse to use the left lane forcing cars to stay on the right lane.

3. You have blinding headlights particularly focused at the eyes of oncoming traffic. Why?

Trucks and buses have lights focused in such a way as to blind anyone else on the road. People do not believe in driving on low beam ever. One plus one everyone is driving blinded. Not a good omen for high speed highways.

4. Checking your vehicle for air/ oil has the least priority among the important tasks ahead of journey.

Just another example of our 'chalta hai' attitude.

Abhijeet.

Have just shared some of my thoughts above. Your angst is shared by lots of bhp-ian's, the lack of road sense and proper driving education is a serious problem going ahead.

[magneto]

Originally Posted by Arun Venugopal

Have just shared some of my thoughts above. Your angst is shared by lots of bhp-ian's, the lack of road sense and proper driving education is a serious problem going ahead.

I feel that poor maintainence and spurious parts ,do contribute to accidents ,as much as the lack of driving sense and responibility of the commercial drivers .
If manufacturers gave a cheap and reliable repair and service outlets for their vehicles , that would help .

If you have noticed that a road side mechanic may use hammers and chisels to open nots and bolts instead of proper spanners .

I also feel that there is a lack of technical training given to mechanics and also most of them do not know how to read and write , hence they cannot refer to repair manuals for specs ,and procedure .

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by coriollis

What is the logical solution we can do is not drive on the right most lane.

The WagonR driver who survived said they were on the left most lane. This is posted on the Pune thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post2999141

[coriollis]

Yesterday while returning from Mumbai, I had a whim to drive via Old Highway.
I thoroughly enjoyed the drive through the 'real' ghat after a long time.

And then while I was near Talegaon, I saw the same Wagon R, The one involving Abhyankar's accident being towed away. It was indeed a very sorry sight.

While I enjoyed the drive, point to be noted was, It took only 20 minutes extra than the 'other' road.
Cheers.
Abhijeet