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Old 17th September 2021, 08:53   #31
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

I think 120 kph is only for recent and upcoming expressways which have been built wonderfully and not for our existing NHs. Pan India, Very few roads would have qualified for 120kph.

Recent quality of expressways is really worth 120kph. People who drive unsafe or less fit cars should be mindful of limitations of their cars and apply common sense.
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Old 17th September 2021, 09:35   #32
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Setting a speed limit to 120 kmph doesn't mean that you are encouraging people to drive fast. Reckless drivers have rarely cared about speed limits. The courts can set it to 60kmph and the accidents will still happen if there is no enforcement. In Bangalore the ORR speed limit is 60kmph and is routinely broken by cabs and Tempo Travellers.

There are many ingredients that make up an accident - poor driving skills, reckless attitude (tailgating, last moment braking, overtaking without enough space), poor road design, unpainted speed breakers, stray animals, overworked truck drivers etc.

What I am wondering is what is the government's motivation behind wanting to increase the speed limit. Since when have they become so pro-petrolheads? Surely there cannot be the excuse of 'India needs to speed up its cargo movement for the benefit of the economy' because cargo is not going to blaze through at 120kmph. Maybe the traffic police is tired of catching offenders and simply wants to set the bar high so that only extreme cases need to be addressed.
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Old 17th September 2021, 09:47   #33
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Seriously! the cars now a days are far better than yesteryear and should be allowed at least 120 KMPH. court may be right in its stand due to multiple reasoning but what is their Stand on cars moving at 30KMPH on national highways due to bad road conditions even after collecting tolls? IMO if one is paying toll for the service then at least one should get what is paid for and that is at least an average speed of 80KMPH. And for accidents a person driving at 20KMPH can also cause a serious accident due to bad driving skills.
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Old 17th September 2021, 10:19   #34
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Meanwhile Nitin Gadkari:

“I ran a vehicle at a speed of 160km per hour on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.”


Source:
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bu...h-7475781.html
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Old 17th September 2021, 10:33   #35
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

While i would have been the first one to protest and i was under the impression that our highways are world class and there is no real need to go slow, my opinion has drastically changed over the years.

I used to literally fly my Chevrolet Cruze at speeds i can't mention a decade earlier on Delhi Gurgaon expressway which goes on to connect various important cities (NH8), just recently i got to really know how progressively it gets worse as one leaves Gurgaon and it becomes from an expressway to just an old 70s-80s highway with no streetlights and is totally inconsistent in the entire stretch when it comes to road quality and general features.
Even the Delhi Gurgaon strech has much inferior brand new roads with imperfections than it earlier had (The one a decade earlier was like a magic carpet to be replaced by a much inferior road to be again replaced by a somewhat better road recently).

Here is my recent experience on this topic on another thread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocketscience View Post
I just came back from a trip to Himachal and took the western peripheral road on my trip back to Gurgaon, this is a so called smart highway which proudly places 120 km/h speed limits on cars all across and as far as i know was claimed to be one of its kind in India, but while coming on this highway my experience was the worst of all the highways i covered so far in the trip from Himachal to Gurgaon.

The main highlights are :-
1-No Streetlights at all - Yes, i think this should close the case as such a level of highway had absolutely zero lights in the night and i was very worried all the time that if i have to stop for a puncture even, how will i manage it in middle of the night, this was despite paying ₹145 as toll for the road and somewhat tauntingly just the toll plaza had lights, rest the entire stretch was dark.

2- Zero security arrangements - There was absolutely nothing stopping criminals to do whatever they want in the middle of the highway if they choose to, there was no security staff, no patroling vehicles absolutely no establishments of any kinds (eateries, petrol pumps or anything) in the entire stretch thus re enforcing my fear.

3-Accidents are bound to happen and they happened - While driving on this highway in high beam, because all the vehicles on opposite side used it and that made it absolutely impossible to drive, combined with no street lights, i was driving extremely cautiously and was on my toes all the time and never exceeded 80km/h (imagine a bhpian going so much slower than speed limits), my car has proper xenon projector headlamps (55w) and Xenon fog lamps but despite that and relatively low speed, i only faintly could make out something 100-200m ahead of me, it was so vague and undefined that it could very well be my imagination or maybe a dust spot on my windshield but lo and behold there were 5-7 cows sitting in the middle of the road which i very narrowly missed, but then going further there were 3 of them dead on one side of the road followed by 4-5 cows alive again on left side of the road and then followed by 3-4 cows again dead and blood all over on left side of the road, it was a massacre of expressway proportions, i just thanked my stars to have missed it narrowly and felt really sorry for the creatures who had to die such a death just because of outright failure of authorities to provide even basic amenities on a claimed world class, flagship toll road. I can only imagine what other roads in India would be like because after this i came to the old and trusted and very busy NH8 (now renamed to NH48 i guess) and things weren't much better, again there were zero lights on such an highway which made me wonder, is this a norm? I hardly make long highway trips but even if i do i absolutely avoid night trips but because of some unavoidable factors i had to take this one, somehow ironically when this highway reaches Gurgaon, you get proper lighting and the stretch is bright as day there, is safety of zero importance elsewhere? Are cars supposed to break only after entering Gurgaon to expect some kind of basic security arrangement namely street lights?

There are so many other factors like trucks and cars coming on wrong sides, road having such imperfections that the car literally jumps on most of the joints, how can one do 120km/h there is just beyond me.

Anyways i take this opportunity to warn bhpians to totally avoid the Western Peripheral Road at night, it is only a great idea on paper, don't risk your life.
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Old 17th September 2021, 11:22   #36
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Please see the 2018 MoRTH notification which says to increase speed on highways HERE. It was not a blind increase to 120kmph. For passenger car it was more like

120kmph on access controlled expressways
100kmph on 4/6 lane highways with divider
70kmph on other roads

I think many of us simply blaming govt. notification based on recent news reports which states vaguely that it is increased to 120kmpl on any highways.
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Old 17th September 2021, 11:28   #37
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
While I don't like the courts interfering in such matters, I will agree that India isn't quite ready for 120 kmph cruising just yet. A majority of the budget cars on our roads are more adept for cruising at 80 - 100 kmph, rather than 120 kmph. Plus, the kind of roads we have and the unexpected curveballs we encounter make 100 kmph cruising far safer. More than anything, driving licences are handed out to any 18+ year old with a pulse, so that quality & skill simply isn't there.
I agree with GTO's view, with the kind of road Infra & driving habits that we have it is better we stay in 80-100 kmph zone. More people loose their lives in road accidents in India...it's an undeniable fact.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...oad-accidents/
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Old 17th September 2021, 11:39   #38
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Very practical decision. Our forum represents less than a percent of drivers on the roads, don't forget the big number of hooligan type drivers out there, it's a license to them to drive with more excitement.
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Old 17th September 2021, 11:48   #39
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

120 km/hr in some sections of our highways is fine. 120 is the upper limit; there is no compulsion to touch that. Most sane drivers drive at a speed they are comfortable with, considering the road conditions and the vehicle they are driving. As long as we have drivers lacking the requisite highway driving skill and knowledge and the maniacs out there, lowering the speed limit from 120 to 100 will not make any difference. They will continue to be a threat to others and themselves.
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Old 17th September 2021, 12:11   #40
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Judicial Overreach resulting in a regressive decision.
Don’t like it.

If the court is of this view, then they should also pass a rule for reducing the toll charges on the highway, which have been calculated on the premise of reducing our travel time.

If we can’t reach our destinations faster at max speeds of 120 KMPH, then, we should also not be charged a fortune to ply on these ‘slower’ highways !!
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Old 17th September 2021, 12:16   #41
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
While I don't like the courts interfering in such matters, I will agree that India isn't quite ready for 120 kmph cruising just yet. A majority of the budget cars on our roads are more adept for cruising at 80 - 100 kmph, rather than 120 kmph. Plus, the kind of roads we have and the unexpected curveballs we encounter make 100 kmph cruising far safer. More than anything, driving licences are handed out to any 18+ year old with a pulse, so that quality & skill simply isn't there.
Cannot agree more. India is just not ready. We have too many unskilled drivers. And people who think they are skilled enough to drive at whatever speeds they like with pure disregard for the road and traffic conditions and safety.

Any which way speed limits don't stop people from not driving at 120 unless they know that a patrol car with Camera is waiting to challan them. They will still bully you on the roads. They will still flash those headlights demanding their way even when they see there's not much space to gain. They still cut into your lane from left and right. They still tailgate you nearly kissing the bumper.

I have never driven myself outside of India but have been driven down for a few thousands of kilometres, and almost never I saw a cab or a private driver resort to the kind of bullying I encounter in India. We lack the maturity to handle our previliges. Period.
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Old 17th September 2021, 12:43   #42
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Quote:
Originally Posted by Prowler View Post
Living dangerously! Most budget cars are not designed for continuous travel beyond 100km. Engine performance, Suspension and brakes are designed to an optimum range for safety. You push them away from their safe zone, you risk your life and others.

I saw an unloaded truck trying to keep pace with me in a narrow road at around 80km/h. He was like a Juggernaut weaving through the oncoming traffic with just one goal - massage his bruised ego. I didn't want to encourage his murderous zeal and accelerated faster than he could.

Our highways are littered with cattles, dogs and village folks darting across to lead their lives - dangerously. How many of us have the razor sharp reflexes to act in time ? Our highways are not Autobahns.
Spot on! I am super tired of seeing smaller/budget cars trying to race ahead as though they are on a F1 race track with a super car. Whats worse is some of those driver's ego are larger than the cars they drive. The moment you overtake them, they are going to come for you and prove their prowess and how their car is equally capable if not better than yours. I mean you cannot defy physics on a car which has no sense of aerodynamics built into it. No offence to any small car/budget car owners but those machines has a cut throat limitation on what it can do. Beyond speeds of 100 KMPH on an Alto or a Santro, you are only inviting trouble especially when it comes to emergency stop manoeuvres. Even some of the developed nations with top class highway infrastructure limit maximum speeds to no more than 120 KMPH. Here is Australia's where the highest speed zone is only 110 KMPH and there is a reason to it. https://www.ltrent.com.au/blog/speed...-in-australia/

Last edited by vjbox : 17th September 2021 at 12:53.
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Old 17th September 2021, 12:53   #43
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Quote:
Originally Posted by the pony View Post
I have never been able to put my car on cruise at even a modest speed 90kmph for a good stretch of more than 4-5km in highways and expressways like WPE, EPE or NH1.
I also use the same route and hand on heart, I don't see any issues for access controlled expressways like WPE, EPE though I will appreciate if there is a bit more of regulation on these tracks. Not being able to set cruise is something I will agree with, but by no means that points to 120kmph being outrightly dangerous.

I agree with NH1/NH44 though and the max speed is 90kmph on that road. The traffic volume on this stretch from Delhi till Ambala is such that you cannot have anything above realm of 100kmph unless the stretch is access controlled. Even if you make it 20 lane, the challenges will continue to be same.

If the expressways are access controlled and the traffic volume is at par, I don't see a reason personally to limit the speed just because for every other accident, the local police cites the reason as speeding irrespective of the root cause. As for courts vs Govt, the arguments just show the hollow preparedness.
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Old 17th September 2021, 12:57   #44
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

Quote:
Originally Posted by barefeetdriver View Post
Meanwhile Nitin Gadkari:

“I ran a vehicle at a speed of 160km per hour on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.”
Delhi to Mumbai road trip in just 12 hours via Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

Delhi-Katra in 6 hours by road. Expressway to be launched in 2 years

700km from Siliguri to Kolkata in 3 hrs: Shah vows spl highway

Whichever new highway is being proposed, the average speed is projected to be >100 kmph - which effectively means top speeds of at least 130-140 kmph. OTOH, the maximum speed of our cars is regulated at 120 kmph with a silly beeper that drives one nuts at a GPS-indicated 110-115 kmph. And here's our MoRTH Minister talking about 160 kmph, inspiring speed demons to follow his example.
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Old 17th September 2021, 13:24   #45
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Re: Proposal to increase highway speeds to 120 kmph dismissed

I'm no expert in any of the aspects of road-making and rule-making. But then - putting these speed limits - tends to penalize the honest drivers most times. While the demons continue to care 0 about the regulations and drive like maniacs and cause accidents. While I don't have any statistical data to support my emotions - I do not believe it that giving away contracts for speed limit sign-boards with random numbers to friends, results in safe roads. True good drivers - don't need speed limit boards; bad drivers - don't see them.

I hope the judiciary also has some opinions about the quality of the roads being delivered, people being killed daily due to incorrect road designs and the tolls being charged on these highways. Honestly - these are far bigger concerns than speeding.

I have never driven at a speed of 120kmph in India. I don't feel safe at anything over 100. In the last 2 years - I have touched 100kmph maybe once or twice at max. So I'm not a fast driver in India and the 120kmph / 100kmph speed limits make 0 difference to me. Yet - I'm disappointed in the way these things are being handled. Can't imagine how fast driving lovers and people with actual fast cars, must be feeling at all this farce.

Last edited by Reinhard : 17th September 2021 at 13:28.
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