[Sz-14]

Whenever I have been on the Mumbai Pune expressway I have hardly seen anyone driving at the speed limit of 80.
At least increasing the speed limit will allow us to go our ways without getting fined.
In my experience most of the accidents are caused by these trucks.

[arnabchak]

This may not be a very good idea.
As if the 80 kmph and 100 kmph on highways are being followed anyways?

Take a case.
Mumbai Pune Expressway has a Speed limit of 100 kmph.
Seldom do we see cars at this speed.

Most of the luxury cars are being driven at speeds north of 140 kmph.
Heck, even the modest Altos, Santros and Wagon Rs are at speeds of 120Kmph+.

The upping of Speed limits to 140 kmph may lead to the below:

• Luxury sedans will be zooming past at speeds close to 175 kmph and above
• It will have an averse effect on tyres and may lead to higher incidences of tyre bursts at high speeds. This will lead to higher fatalily
• Unstable and tall cars like Wagon R, Santro, Alto etc may face higher accident rates as drivers may try to put them through to the legal 140 kmph mark. These cars, being tall suffer from a poor Centre of Gravity and slight cross winds ca rock them dangerously
• It will give the Volvos and the Mercedes Buses to increase speed and increase fares at the same time(by calling themselves super express et all). Moreover, the higher speeds in the buses are also a point of concern for the cars.

[opendro]

Whoever is opposing the 140 kmph limit, do you even realize that it is the "MAXIMUM" speed limit, not minimum?

I love driving fast, but I'm a sadist too. Why don't we just protest against cars that can travel faster than 100 kmph if that is the maximum legal speed in the country? I'm all for it. Yes, manufacturers should make it impossible to temper the car to go above 100 kmph. Period.

A law that is far away from reality is as good as non-existent. It is like cops fining new cars for not having emission certificate while even the most polluting public transport bus will easily pass the test. Imagine this. Six lane airport/Avinashi road in Coimbatore used to have 30 kmph a couple of years ago and cops used to fine everyone. Soon, then changed to 50 and that is a lot more realistic considering the traffic congestion as well.

Similarly, the driveways inside my office had speed limit of 10 kmph and no two wheeler could maintain that. Soon, they changed to 15 kmph, but still terribly low to be considered as maximum speed.

I can give millions of examples.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by opendro

Whoever is opposing the 140 kmph limit, do you even realize that it is the "MAXIMUM" speed limit, not minimum?

I love driving fast, but I'm a sadist too. Why don't we just protest against cars that can travel faster than 100 kmph if that is the maximum legal speed in the country? I'm all for it. Yes, manufacturers should make it impossible to temper the car to go above 100 kmph. Period.

A law that is far away from reality is as good as non-existent. It is like cops fining new cars for not having emission certificate while even the most polluting public transport bus will easily pass the test. Imagine this. Six lane airport/Avinashi road in Coimbatore used to have 30 kmph a couple of years ago and cops used to fine everyone. Soon, then changed to 50 and that is a lot more realistic considering the traffic congestion as well.

Similarly, the driveways inside my office had speed limit of 10 kmph and no two wheeler could maintain that. Soon, they changed to 15 kmph, but still terribly low to be considered as maximum speed.

I can give millions of examples.

It went from 30 to 50, and 10 to 15 because the previous speeds were FOUND to be in adequate/unmanageable/slow.
Has 100 kmph been found to be too slow?

Limiting cars to a 100 is a nanny state.
It akin to saying lets ban people meeting each other, because the rate of murder is too high. Murder is illegal. When do those happen? When people meet. Stop them meeting. Problem?

[manishkapadia]

In my personal opinion the Government should ideally have done the other way. Instead of Max Speed of 140 KMPH for expressways which is not really needed they should have done that Cars and Trucks not capable of say 70 KMPH should stay away from expressways and use the state highways. Atleast on the Mumbai Pune Expresssway its the extremely slow truck that is slowing traffic down, and making users change lanes causing more accidents. In places where there are no state highways and there are only Express ways then its different.

About the Max speed, I drive my G3 Honda city on Mumbai Pune expressway and is extremely well maintained in all ways including a fatter Michelin Tyres, but I do not think I want to go at sustained speed of 140. The Concrete road is not as good as Tarmac. Even for a second if we say that the vehicles are capable, we tend to overestimate our own driving capabilities. I am saying this in spite of driving experience of over 15 years in India and abroad.

Rules on roads should be made to ensure smoother and faster flow of a bulk of traffic. Roads are not meant to be Race Tracks.

[theroadrunner]

Originally Posted by nkghai

Increasing speed limits is good. We can then say that we have world class roads.
My concern is who are the other users of these 140 kmph roads.

• Tractors coming on the wrong side.
• Pedestrians jumping the divider near their houses.
• Motorcyclist cutting across these roads through make shift crossings.
• A cow ambling across suddenly in the middle of the road.
• A truck driver who has stopped to take a pee in middle of nowhere.
• Trucks suddenly going left and right to keep momentum in case of an incline.
• Dogs running wildly on these roads chasing each other.

I am not being alarmist, but have just returned from a 1900 km drive and faced all these issues on a perfect road capable of 140 kmph.

Would recommend saner speed limits for your own safety, till these hazards are there in our country.

Absolutely true - Each and every word is correct. I have lost the number of times I have had a gut wrenching feeling when I see a hay laden tractor just come up the wrong way on Nagercoil-Madurai Stretch. Add to it the old rickety moped that the rider thinks is best ridden on the wrong side, close to the median. Absolute nightmare. 140 is not for us. More importantly, there are no roadside assistance and the 108 ambulance service will be inadequate in case of a real emergency. I wish we have stricter testing and evaluation for drivers before increasing the speed limit.

[opendro]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Limiting cars to a 100 is a nanny state.
It akin to saying lets ban people meeting each other, because the rate of murder is too high. Murder is illegal. When do those happen? When people meet. Stop them meeting. Problem?

I totally disagree. If bombs can explode and cause an entire plane to crash, they shouldn't be allowed to be boarded at all. Carrying explosives on a plane by saying that I will not detonate is what you are suggesting by supporting cars capable of 100+. Special cars capable of 100+ can be made for cops, fire engines, race tracks, etc. just as defense aircraft can be allowed to carry explosives.

Anyway, my point is, no point legalizing the source and making the consumption illegal. No point in having a law that is further from reality. Honestly, cars have no place in India. We are a densely populated country and we don't have enough space for cars. Two wheelers and public transport are the way forward.

[anandpkumar]

While as an enthusiast, I like the idea of having a higher speed limit on the highways, I do feel that Indian highways are far more unsafe than those in foreign countries. I have done a lot of long distance trips within India, and I feel that the safe max speed for our country is around 100 kmph. Though my car is capable of far greater speed, I don't think that my reflexes will be as good at a greater speed to react to all that the Indian highway throws at us inlcuding vehicles on the wrong side, dogs, buffalos, autos and what not!

I have also noticed that in most foreign countries (as in developed countries) where there are high speed limits, no manufacturer can sell a car without basic safety equipment such as airbags, ABS, etc. Unless the government takes steps to made this mandatory for all vehicles to be registered, fatalities on our roads will continue to increase. We also need to think about educating people on good driving practices, defensive driving etc, which can sometimes prevent fatalities.

[Hemant_Joshi]

No laws, norms will prevent some people from driving crazy and most people from speeding.
How many times drivers see the speed limitation board on a road but ignore and continue driving...
Limiting the capabilities of vehicles is no solution - there are accidents even at much less speeds, and what should be the Top value cannot be arrived at satisfactorily,

Accidents do happen in other countries also, where almost everything is ideal compared to Indian road condition's, Speed alone is not the contributing factor, though it may form a big chunk of factors leading to accidents..

its only people's mindset and self-awareness and sense of responsibility towards own and others, which will prevent or reduce accidents, irrespective of speed limitations,

[DuHasstMich]

Cars with Zero-Star safety rating, no airbags, no ABS/ESP, passengers rarely using seatbelts, all clubbed with a >100kmph limit are a perfect recipe for disaster!

Why do we need to increase the limits to such high numbers?

[RGK]

Government has to revalidate all driving licenses and then increase the speed limit.

At 140 kmph one need to be very very attentive as he/she will be crossing approximately 38 meters in just a second. Eye coverage on the road have to be comprehensive.

[pratika]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Limiting cars to a 100 is a nanny state.
It akin to saying lets ban people meeting each other, because the rate of murder is too high. Murder is illegal. When do those happen? When people meet. Stop them meeting. Problem?

I think the point made by OP was that if it is always illegal on Indian public roads to drive beyond 100 kmph (or whatever the max posted limit is) then why should any vehicle approved for public roads be allowed to do faster speeds by design? One reason could be that owners may want to take their cars on race tracks or for driving on other private property. But thats an exception, not a rule. So manufacturers can provide a change over switch and make it illegal to have the switch on "sports" mode on public roads. IIRC Suzuki Hayabusa when sold was electrically limited to 300 kmph or so.

Whereas in the example cited in your post, people meeting does not always lead to murders. Meeting new people could also lead to new inventions and discoveries, so it can in fact benefit human kind.

I am just trying to provide a rational argument favouring speed governors, not saying I am in favour of them. At least not till autonomous cars take over completely.

[streetfighter]

Increasing the speed limit is certainly a good idea, but I think making people follow traffic rules, proper training and test for driving license issue, enforcing traffic rules are much bigger issues that needs to be tackled.

I've been travelling regularly on the Mumbai Pune expressway, each Friday evening I set out for Pune and Monday mornings I get back to Mumbai. Each day I see slow moving cars (mostly taxi) occupying the rightmost lane, forcing me to overtake from the left lanes. Many drivers would be seen changing lane at high speed without turn indicators. Drivers would put on hazard lights inside tunnel. The minimum gap between vehicles is not maintained, even if I keep a gap open, someone would get in between and I have to brake hard. People do not heed way to emergency vehicles. Many are seen talking on the phone. Many heavy vehicles do not have "any" kind of lights or reflectors on the rear side.

I feel the traffic/transport system needs an overhaul...
* Driving training should be made part of the curriculum - and issuance of license should be done accordingly
* Traffic law enforcement should be widened than just policing at traffic signals. Mobile policing should be started. Electronic surveillance should be done
* There should be a system for health check or road worthiness of vehicles

[sgiitk]

One thing to remember. Our GQ is NOT expressways. The local roads have been networked and developed to four lane ie dual carriageway levels. Local traffic incl bullock carts (sic!) will use the roads, since they have no other options. So we should look at two speed limits - one for the National Highways, and one for the Limited Access Expressways. I will not consider 100 and 120 as crazy! So I agree with GTO here. So the speed limits on the limited access highways alone should be increased.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by freedom

Ok friends.. Need you opinion on a side effect of maintaining the speed limit.
I regularly travel on MPEW. Speed limit on any given section is 80 or less.

When i want to overtake a truck or rickety tata ace hogging the center lane, I have to move to the right lane.
On most occasions I like to speed up, be done with overtaking and join back to the middle lane.
But in my new car, I love Cruise Control and have got into the habit of setting it to 80-85.

I see so many idiots tail gating and almost trying to bully with honks/flashing lights etc. When I am in right lane overtaking some one.
With speed limit at 80 and me driving at 82 performing a legal overtaking attempt am I doing bad? I mean legally, I am fine, but what abt road etiquettes? Do the other guys doing 80+ have any reason to be grumpy? Esp when I will be moving back to center lane once I am done overtaking the immediate lot of lane hoggers.
What's your experience?
Have you been bullied? Have you bullied

Bolding mine.

Incidentally, I am going to become very unpopular here because my response goes against conventionally held opinions here.

Freedom, you have hit the nail right on the head. Legally you are in the right. However, when it comes to courtesy I would argue that you're not in the right.

You see, the person behind you, honking and flashing at you while you're overtaking - the one you refer to as the idiot - is not the one deserving that name. You see, you do not know WHY that person is currently behaving that way, what their current specific circumstances are, etc. Let us not be too quick to judge. Of course, he may also be an idiot

When it comes to overtaking, the safest overtaking is the one that's done the quickest. It's safest for everyone - the person being overtaken, the person overtaking (so that you can get back into a safe lane and safe speed at the very earliest); and the "idiot" honking behind you.

Please remember, none of us has the right to appoint ourselves the moral or legal or any other kind of police. We do not have the right to say "I shall force you to follow the law" because in many cases, that may very well actually end up with us being dead.

Even though there are speed limits, it is safer (and also very very legal) to keep to the same speed as the majority of the traffic around you, even if that speed is higher than the posted limits. Not doing so, insisting on being the oh-so-superior holier-than-thou I-shall-never-break-the-law kind of person will end up with you getting a ticket for dangerous driving and let all other speeders go scot-free.

Be safe my friend. When you overtake, accelerate and complete the manoeuvre as quickly as possible and then get back on your cruise control. Safety comes first, law comes later.

Thanks and cheers