[darklord]

NEW DELHI: You could soon drive at 130-140 kmph on expressways as the Centre plans to enhance the speed limits from the current 100kmph.

Highways minister Nitin Gadkari told TOI that the norms will be changed as more expressways with complete access control are built across the country.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/51366530.cms

[Skyline_GT]

While it's a positive change from the government it still has two sides to it.
On a positive note one wouldn't get fined for crossing the 100km mark anymore on empty expressways. And it will make a significant difference and reduced travel time for long journeys.

However there's a dark side to it as well...
For the general folk who may or may not have a detailed knowledge or experience of driving at such speeds can be extremely fatal! With the kind of road conditions and sheer disrespect for road manners that we have it may just lead to more accidents. Not to forget the absence of better emergency service during such mishaps.
Imagine little Alto's and Brio's packed with families doing 120kmph+ on expressways just because it is legal!

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Skyline_GT

Imagine little Alto's and Brio's packed with families doing 120kmph+ on expressways just because it is legal!

Brio is a wrong example. A brio can do 140 kph day in day out without breaking a sweat. It's perfectly stable at high speeds and many c segment sedans have a hard time keeping up with it.

Alto yes I agree is an unstable car and not worth doing high speeds on.

[Skyline_GT]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Brio is a wrong example. A brio can do 140 kph day in day out without breaking a sweat. It's perfectly stable at high speeds and many c segment sedans have a hard time keeping up with it.

Alto yes I agree is an unstable car and not worth doing high speeds on.

I never meant that in terms of performance. Most cars sold nowdays baring a few can easily do 140kmph+ all day without breaking a sweat. What i meant to say was the resultant possible tyre bursts which is one of the major culprits in most of the expressway related accidents.
Simply put most of us prefer traveling during the day due to safety reasons. Our conditions are such that the road surface is extremely hot most of the day bearing the few hours early morning and late evenings. Not to forget most of the general folk keep their cars maintained only aesthetically. And the tyres are the least looked after parts of most cars. The resultant mixture of heat, expanding tyre temperature often leads to tyre bursts and handling the car in such situations is extremely tough at 100kmph let alone 140kmph!

[condor]

That's the max speed limit, and not the lower speed limit. People wont be speeding just because a higher speed is allowed. but yes, we sill see some more cars going faster.

a decent, manageable speed is required. it helps one cover the distance before he tires out. we need to move up a little from the current max levels.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by Skyline_GT

Imagine little Alto's and Brio's packed with families doing 120kmph+ on expressways just because it is legal!

Let me rephrase your argument in a different way,
Oh my god, have you heard the latest news, they are selling knives, ropes, plastic bags, pen/pencils, gas cylinders, matches etc. ... all of which can be used to kill people! Let's ban all of that.
People need some basic common sense in all walks of life. Simple fact most Indians don't understand is that stupidity will not be rewarded with anything other than the commensurate response.
If someone buys an unsafe car, does jugaad repairs, overloads the vehicle, doesn't know how to drive etc., then even speeds of 40km/h would be too much and can be fatal.

[humyum]

Sorry, I think in a country like India where rules are some what a deterrent, giving a free hand is a wrong choice. I agree with Skyline_GT, with the amount of tyre maintenance and ignorance towards air pressures prevalent in this country, not to mention the lack of maintenance rituals and ignorance towards tyres in general, even if most cars can do 140, they are mechanically not always fit to do that speed ( And the owner does not even know about it).

100 according to me is just fine, our country is just not mature enough for 140 to be allowed legally, remember when the Mumbai-Pune expressway opened, how many people went on it just to top speed their cars?

[Amit_Kapoor4750]

Finally, our government is coming with the good things for road travel. Increasing the maximum speed limit is a good move. To add to this some new expressways are being considered to be built like Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Jaipur. Much delayed Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway is also nearing its completion. To handle the problem of frequent Tyre-bursts, the government is also considering final bituminous coat on all existing and new expressways.
With the increment in number of expressways and higher speed limits, some basic safety features like ABS and Airbags should be declared mandatory for all passenger vehicles.

[paragsachania]

140 will be speed limit, makes many happy.
Sadly, majority of accidents which have happened on expressway are mostly due to driver error and rash and negligent driving.

Now for instance if you don't want to blame the driver and say it's Fog and rains that cause accidents, then we have a long way to go in terms of imparting discipline, Road sense and manners in our drivers too.

Discussing which car is stable at what speeds means no business here because even a Tempo Traveller driver will claim that he can easily maintain 120!

140 is NOT the speed for our expressways. Definitely not for our country where we will witness morons on the fast lane spitting pan/water doing 40KMPH also.

Dynamics change from 100 KMPH to 140 KMPH for majority of the cars. If cars are good and stable, one cannot say the same about the driver.

[MinivanDriver]

I think "access controlled" is the key here. I hope that applies to cattle, mopeds and jay walkers as well. Drivers will have to find and stick to a safe driving speed considering their driving skills and vehicle conditions.

[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.

[TD_GHY]

There are pertinent questions here. Just because we can, should we?

1. Anything above 100 (or even 80) significantly increases one's stress levels while driving. What's the use if we arrive at our destinations half an hour early if our brain is already tired.

2. When we drive a car or a bike, it is not us alone who are at stake or involved. Pedestrians, other vehicles too. We have seen some cases when more than 20 cars were involved in an accident only because one car rammed into the rear of a truck and others couldn't control their speeds on time.

India is a land of people who don't have time to spare, especially on roads. So this decision will be hailed by majority anyway.

[GTO]

As an enthusiast, I should welcome this, but realistically, I don't. The government increasing the speed limit to 140 kmph means it is indirectly saying:

- Our roads are safe enough to travel at 140 kmph. Nope, they simply aren't.

- Our cars are safe enough to travel at 140 kmph. No ways. Even 6 lakh rupee hatchbacks have gotten a crash test score of ZERO at speeds of way <140 kmph.

- The average Indian driver is skilled enough to drive at 140 kmph for an extended duration of time. With no standards of training or testing, this is certainly not the case.

I don't support this. At best, standardise it to 120 kmph on the expressways.

[Doge]

As someone who uses the Yamuna expressway frequently, I am not in favour of this at all. People could first learn how to use the overtaking lane and not tailgate like an idiot.
Also,I don't think they are taking those sprinting pedestrians trying to cross the expressway into account. I don't cross 80 because of a few close calls with them, 140 would be a nightmare.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Why is anyone even thinking about raising speed limits?

The basics need to be addressed first: driver training, testing and basic rule enforcement.


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