[ValuableRecluse]

Welcome move by the honourable minister. Definitely a step in the right direction.
In addition to this I hope he also enforces a minimum speed, tiered licensing, mandatory vehicle checks like the British MOT, and a mandatory driver education/refresher program for professional drivers.
This will stop inexperienced drivers from going too fast for their abilities or the vehicle capabilities. Also will stop accidents occurring from a 10 year old tire disintegrating at 120kmph or brakes overheating and failing because the fluid was changed 5 years ago.

And finally, we need laws to be enforced and penalties to be raised to the point that NOBODY will have the guts to drive down the wrong way on a fast lane of a NH or hog the fast/overtaking lane at 60kmph.

[RohaNN_kWh]

Great move by the Ministry, pushing EV's, Road Safety & Overall Development !! Implementation would be a task though.

The only concern I had was that if the government decides to further increase the maximum speed of 120kmph on expressways, the 80/120 kmph Speed Alert Safety System in the new cars would be a bummer.

Also. government really needs to specify some standards for the new highways/expressways.

The Delhi-Meerut Expressway is a huge relief but for the most part, there are no lights along the expressway, also the short barriers along the expressway allow jaywalkers/cattle/dogs to conveniently cross over the 120kmph expressway.

[argho]

My biggest peeve is Buses and Trucks driving in the fast lane. They seem to willfully ignore rules.

The nightmare scenario (whaich happens often) is when 2 trucks are trying to over take each other. Both are going at probably 60 kmph, and they block both lanes, while the over taking takes ages. And a huge queue of cars will build up behind them.

I feel the most pressing need is driver education for commercial vehicle drivers - highway truck and bus drivers.

My request to the minister would be :
- Focussed effort on driver education / training for commercial vehicles (a highway driver certification maybe ??)
- Stiff fines for trucks and buses driving in the fast lane. To be enforced by regular highway patrols
- Ban autorickshaws, scooters and mopeds on national higjways
- And finally, no more sudden barriers on the highway, created by local cops in the ostensible name of safety. These are real death traps.

[argho]

I recently drove back from Pondicherry.

The road is exellent all the way through. It could have been a comfortable cruise. However it becomes a really stressful drive because of the above reasons :

- Need to be in constant over taking mode, zig zagging your way through slow commercial vehicles

- Always on the lookout for barrriers with no warning sign

- Autorickshaws, mopeds and other very slow vehicles which should not be on a highway

[Samarth 619]

In my humble opinion, we should have both speed limits and speed slabs because each vehicle is different and has different braking and acceleration capabilities.

Speed slab is like five levels, A, B, C, D, E.

For Hero Splendor, slab B signboard in an area, should mean 25 kmph, for a Duke 390 it should be 40 kmph, and for YZF R1 it should be 65 kmph. C, D and E should improve on them.
Slab A should be reserved for unmarked streets and colony roads, with very low speeds like 10, 15 and 20 kmph for the above 3 bikes. Similar for cars.

Speeds for each slab should be decided at the Homologation of the vehicle and prominently displayed on the fuel tank of the bike and dash of the car. Later this can be integrated into the speedo as well, it should show the slab you're supposed to be as per your speed.
Even Slab E should not permit going above 80% of full potential of the vehicle despite any braking capability.

But this is not all, for each slab mentioned there should be also, an upper speed limit mentioned depending on fencing and animal presence, or other such risks, around the roads.

Right now, our problem is not speed limits, but huge variation in safety standards.
A Duke 390 does much better at 80 kmph than a Splendor can. Braking distance matters too.
Plus this will end enthusiasts' complaints too and for a good reason.

[Ultim8]

Originally Posted by pugram

There is a traffic signal on the NH at Ambur in the Chennai - Krishnagiri section, which is ridiculous. They should have created a bypass for Ambur or a flyover over the Junction.

Agreed, there are two such traffic signals in Ambur, which cannot be avoided unless flyovers are constructed at those places. Speaking of which, the govt. proposed to build flyovers in Ambur as early as 1990s I think. Unfortunately, the shop owners along the highway stretch in Ambur opposed the flyover proposal, fearing for reduced number of customers. But a decade or two later, they seemed to be in support of building flyovers in Ambur, which came too late as the damage has been done already with no flyovers in existence.

Comparing Ambur with neighbouring twin town Vaniyambadi 20 kms away, the highway bypasses Vaniyambadi with flyovers near its northern & southern entry points, gracefully bypassing the town and ensuring smooth & quick travel along the highway.

[IamNikhil]

The Transportation Ministry is ticking the right boxes, these days!

30/40 kmh speed limits are a joke on some roads. Even the 80 kmh limit needs to be raised to 100 kmh. However, safe driving is an essential aspect and even the public needs to act responsibly. Overspeeding is a curse.

Gadkari Ji is doing a good job in rolling out nice initiatives.

[Torque_Cruiser]

Nitin Gadkari again states that speed limits need to be increased. He suggests that expressways should have 120-140kmph and 100 kmph on 4 lanes.

Sounds great but we will then need to make sure that no one ventures on to those roads (read cows, tractors in opposite direction)

https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/tops...cid=entnewsntp

[Hayek]

The bigger issue is the slow moving vehicles on these roads. Speed is not a problem on quality roads, but difference in relative speed is. So on expressways, we need a 80 kmph minimum speed and a 120 or 140 kmph maximum speed, and similarly on highways, the minimum speed for cruising vehicles (other than the exit lane) should be 60 kmph. And any reduction in speed limit should be forewarned with clear signs - and gradual with the limit dropping by not more than 20 kmph per km.