[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Will look forward to it on the next meet/drive.

Next Team-bhp Drive meet-26th August. Thread up on 16th August

Cheers,
Sameer

[rohitbagai]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

Next Team-bhp Drive meet-26th August. Thread up on 16th August

Cheers,
Sameer

Nice Drive Sameer/Samarth !
Is the next meet planned on the YE ?

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by rohitbagai

Nice Drive Sameer/Samarth !
Is the next meet planned on the YE ?

No not on YE, There isn't any place on YE, where we can arrange any meet. No restaurants ( as of now ), no dhabas and all.

Next meet on NH1

Cheers,
Sameer

[SJD@NewDelhi]

Videos uploaded by Samarth can be found at:

samarthrvce - YouTube

PS: Eagerly waiting for the Delhi- Meet thread to be up!!

[apachelongbow]

I see! Delhi boys have finally got a Mumbai Pune Expressway. Lovely

OT. Just kidding. Good to see good infrastructure coming up now

[samarth.bhatia]

Some observations en-route:

1. Lots of cars entering the e-way, presumably to enjoy a nice Sunday drive. Loads of cars stopped on the grass next to the barriers, only to lay a sheet on the grass and sit down for a picnic. I was surprised to not find gubbarre walle (balloon sellers), lol.

2. Problem was the merry drive seekers were enthusiastic to just see the e-way. They then wanted to turn back. But what to do, no U-turns. Oh koi nai ji, saddi Dilli hai - let's drive at 100 kmph in the break-down lane with high beams and indicators! At one stop, I saw some cars taking a U-turn where the central verge is replaced by some thin poles. Two of the poles had disappeared, and moving from left most lane to right most at 90 degrees to traffic movement didn't seem to bother those drivers! Was scar for me.

3. Doggies, doggies & more doggies. Ms. M. Gandhi would certainly not be pleased to see the poor things crushed by the dozen. At one point, we almost hit one. It was saved by a whisker.

4. Too many speeding vehicles. The e-way is unsafe, IMO, until the speed limit is adhered too. Saw 4 crushed cars, plus one accident that had happened about 10 minutes - a Wagon R with a crushed bonnet, and a smashed windshield.

5. A lot of pedestrians crossing the e-way only to go sit on the median and dangle there legs in the overtaking lane. Why oh why?

6. Neelgai zones where a cow might come. The drivers are to be cautious. On an expressway? Really?

7. Patrolling: through our return trip, we spotted at max 6 vehicles totally. This should be increased.

8. No Petrol-Pumps or Restaurants yet, but there are emergency fuel tankers that we saw refuelling a couple of vehicles. And there are even emergency repair teams.

9. The expressway surface seemed quite rough, and also a bit lumpy to me. There were stretches of tar that seem a relief after the noisy concrete terrain.

10. Once the expressway swallows you up at Greater Noida, it spits you out at Agra, and that's where you seem to enter the real world. The traffic is unbearable, at least for me. We went maybe 10 kms into the city, and turned back. Those 10 kms took about an hour, and that seemed to huge considering we just came form Delhi in 2 hours!

11. The road is pretty much arrow straight in most places, with very gentle curves here and there. Honestly, a bit less involving than I would have liked . The various silly obstacles do keep you on your toes, even if you're within speed limits.

12. I am not so sure about the safe use of this road in the night. No lighting, and White markings on a very light coloured concrete surface. And the long straight stretches that might encourage some to over-speed.
If someone uses this road at night, I would sincerely suggest keeping within speed limits. Do not go with overconfidence.

Cheers.
Sam

[mayankk]

Damn guys!!
looks like you boys had a lot of fun.
I was heading back into delhi from the other end that time!

Nice pictures, finally the beat is seen out in the sunlight!


I read about a lot of people taking U0turns cos its was just not feasible to get into agra.
You got caught out too?

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Damn guys!!
looks like you boys had a lot of fun.
I was heading back into delhi from the other end that time!

Nice pictures, finally the beat is seen out in the sunlight!


I read about a lot of people taking U0turns cos its was just not feasible to get into agra.
You got caught out too?

Yes, sadly. We got caught too , after spending close to an hour in traffic to see Taj mahal, We took a U turn and had our lunch and started our return journey.

Cheers,
Sameer

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

9. The expressway surface seemed quite rough, and also a bit lumpy to me. There were stretches of tar that seem a relief after the noisy concrete terrain.

I agree with most of what you have said. We will (esp NCR Wallah's) have to be taught (they will not learn by themselves) about Expressway Etiquette. I hear the concrete though not as smooth or silent is because Tar Macadam (may his soul rest in peace) needs more maintenance.

Also, I hear this will be linked to the NH75 going to Gwalior and now the Agra Lucknow Expressway. Are we in for high speed expressways in India? Will Ulta Pradesh move towards becoming Uttam Pradesh? I hope we do, but really doubt it, since excellence is not in our DNA.

[negativeH]

This looks so tempting. I had initially planned to drive down myself, during the weekend; but then some prior commitments deterred me.
Now am going on another trip, so won't be able to enjoy this for free atleast.

[Jignesh]

Hats-Off to the concerned authorities for building such a great Express-Way in less than 4 years.

Also it is sad to see that Samarth already saw 5 Accident hit Cars there. This clearly shows that we are yet to get used to Express Way driving in India.

I am sure people there will take this road as a chance to test the speed limits of their Cars & in doing so they will risk their own & others life & property. There has to a very strict enforcement of speed limits on Indian roads.

Recently I got a chance to drive on Bandra Worli see link in Mumbai & people were driving at speeds of more than 90 kmph on 50 kmph speed lanes. If this is the situation on 5 kilo-meter Sea link, I wonder at what speeds will people drive on Yamuna Express Way.

Thanks,

[samarth.bhatia]

Here's a small video of the drive.
I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvzEawGjJ20

Cheers,
Sam

P.S. I love this song!

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by samarth.bhatia

Here's a small video of the drive.
I hope you enjoy it.

Yamuna Expressway Drive - YouTube

Cheers,
Sam

P.S. I love this song!

Awesome video, Great work

BTW I just noticed that, So called puncture vala's advertisement on expressway railing, shows incomplete mobile number

I was wondering, why he painted that ?

Cheers,
Sameer

_____________________________________

Here's the report of accidents happend on E-way, after it's opening.

I read about 2 accidents on E-way in yesterday's newspaper.

The first one was including an esteem, There was a couple in the car, returning from Agra to Noida, around 1 PM in the night, High speed driving, Lost control, car hit the divider, Toppled.

Both of them got injured and were rushed to hospital, Wish them a speedy recovery.

The second one was, Including a Wagonr, 4 college going kids, went for a joy ride on E-way, Took their friends car, Tyre Burst at high speed, Lost control, Car came to a halt after colliding with expressway railing.

All of them got injured and were rushed to hospital in Agra.

There was one more accident, Which included a Santro, As per the toll attendant of toll plaza, where car was parked after the incident, There were 4 people in the Santro, High speed, Lost control, Car collided with expressway railing, Went off the road.

2 people were Dead and 2 were injured. The car was in very sad state after the accident.

I also saw a damaged Indica being towed away, But no idea, How, when and what happened.


Sameer

[samarth.bhatia]

Originally Posted by sameerg001

I was wondering, why he painted that ?

Cheers,
Sameer

Eh! I think the picture only came like that!

Sam

[ottocycle]

Nice little travelogue. But as you have about the Jam inside the city. Looks like Agra city as such was not prepared for the expressway. Probably the heavy toll after 15th Aug will normalize the situation.
Will Yamuna Expressway be a curse for Agra? - The Economic Times