[das_ren_auto]

As a traveler who frequently traverses across the state (literally) from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram , I vouch for Kerala being number one in this category. A distance of around 640 km takes approx. 15-16 hours. And irony is that the time taken is same both at day time and night time. The asphalt is manageable but the width of road is the main issue. Anybody who has driven to Kerala from Karnataka through Talappady Check Post can realize that they have entered Kerala without seeing any signboards as the road literally shrinks ahead of them once you cross Karnataka. Even at very odd time (around 2am) most of the time we will not be able to cross 40 kmph in many places.

This seems to be generic problem in Kerala because even the trains run really slow once they enter Kerala

[rd18]

Mr. Gadkari's home state - Maharashtra!

Barring Mumbai-Pune expressway, nothing much to write good about. Mumbai-Indore road is okay okay, with a lot of intersections. Mumbai-Goa is still 2-lane?
Pune-Nashik is still having 2-lanes at some stretch's which translates into heavy traffic jams. Chakan is world famous for manufacturing and traffic jam!

Mr. Gadkari would always share with pride of building expressway in 2002, which was a great achievement. But what happens when you exit it in Pune?

• Dehu-Katraj bypass with a lot of unexpected potholes. Suddenly from 1000kmph, you struggle for 40-60kmph and have to avoid potholes at that speed.
  
• Move further and they still couldn't build the Kothrud flyover, which sees a lot of accidents.
  
• Pune-Satara is full of diversions and potholes. Keep moving towards Bangalore and as soon as you enter Karnataka on same NH-4, you realize how good the roads can be.
  

And Shirdi bypass is infamous to avoid, roads non-existent around Aurangabad - Ajanta. Hope on Mumbai-Nagpur expressway to make it better.

Have kept adding grievances at https://pgportal.gov.in for Dehu-Katraj road and they have fixed it at a lot of places with photo proof given.

[TheWall]

Definitely Maharashtra for me. Have gone on multiple road trips but the moment we entered Maharashtra we could easily tell.
Except Mumbai-Pune expressway (which is not as good as it used to be 5 years ago), no other road can be called good. The less we talk about roads to Shirdi, the better.

[ohaak]

I have noticed in Madhya Pradesh that whenever there is a merger to the main highway from a local road, the highway has a speed breaker while the road merging does not. This is from very limited experience on MP roads primarily on AH47. That annoys me to the maximum. However, Maharashtra takes the cake on incompetent road building and maintenance for me.

[SR-71]

I voted for Kerala based on my experience driving across Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra/Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujrat and Rajasthan. If you want to experience high BP simply by driving, this is where you go. There was a time when the stretch between Pallakad and Thrissur was nothing short of lunar surface. Even if the surfaces are good, they have winding narrow roads with crazy bus drivers. But I did not expect Kerala to be top of the list. The one thing I can say with confidence is, TN has the best road surfaces be it NH or state highways. What I hate though is they crisscross busy towns and are chequered with those unscientific police barricades or some idiot in a scooter darting across the road unmindful of the highway traffic.

BTW, I do not see any of states in north or east even get sizable votes. Are the roads that good up North and in East ?

[DudeWithaFiat]

Voted for my home state Kerala like most Kerala BHPians

Time to reach my in-laws house 90km away is always 2.45 to 3 hours.

I think the reasons are:

1) Narrow roads.
2) High density of vehicles.
3) And yes, those private buses are always scary.

But unlike others, I see better road manners here. People respect signals, no right-lane driving when there is a traffic block, etc.

[Pulse500]

Originally Posted by iamitp

Dear BHPians,


Just to make things clear, let's vote on the 'driveability' of the roads, i.e. safety, consistency, layout, signs & markings, lighting, amenities etc. and not how scenic the views are.

How about adding these factors as well:

1. Toll charges per Km, average waiting time at toll plaza
2. Emergency infrastructure and responsiveness
3. Lane and directional discipline (safety or stress related impact)

Thanks,

[IP_Man]

Voted for Maharashtra and crown for worst road goes to Pune to Kolhapur highway followed by Mumbai to Goa road.

Exorbitant toll is collected and what you get is band-aid type repaired patches and potholes. God only knows when those roads will get completed.

[caramit]

Haryana for me has the worst highways.
The national highway mesh has been under "upgrade" for the last 40 years or so I guess. Since I was a kid, I don't recall a single instance when Ambala to Delhi highway is not under repair/ expansion/ improvement etc. Add to it the economic prosperity of Haryana leading to almost no vacant space along the highway making indisciplined cross-overs the norm rather than the expansion. Eating joints, stalls, dhabas and resorts also dot the whole route resulting in a lot of wrong side driving, sudden cuts, flagging down on the highway etc etc.
There is absolutely no predictability even for regular commuters as newer diversions keep on popping up in every visit and signage is almost nonexistent.
The simple litmus test is time taken:
Forty years back it used to take 5 hours to travel from Chandigarh to Delhi with a break
Today it takes more than 5 hours.

Add to it the gloomy AQI which worsens as we come near Delhi.

Surprisingly Delhi to UP highways or even Rajasthan have now become better than the original GT Road...the first highway of all.

[PGNarain]

I have driven across extensively across Maharashtra of course, but also done 500kms+ distances across Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Delhi/Haryana NCR regions among shorter distances in other states.

Have to say that Maharashtra gets my vote which consistently has bad / uneven roads and unfortunately very high and frequent tolls! Though traffic discipline I felt is actually better in Maharashtra compared to other states IMHO.

I found Kerala roads very good overall, but traffic discipline, especially the ST buses to be BAD and downright terrifying!

Surprised that 20 people have actually voted for Karnataka which I find hard to believe.

[Secretariat]

Having driven in every state in India bar Chattisgarh & Uttarakhand, I think, this is really no contest. Arunachal Pradesh must win hands down. I can understand the frustrations with Kerala, Haryana and Maharashtra, but you really have to drive all through Arunachal to see how blessed those in Kerala are !!!! In Kerala, at least you have a road !

Will not accept the excuse of hilly terrain. Nagaland and Mizoram are not bad and Meghalaya is positively majestic. Arunachal stands in a class of its own, unless dramatic changes have taken place in the last five years (most unlikely, but BHPian Gunin can confirm).

[raman.aries]

Voted for Kerala, my home state.

As the case with almost all BHP-ians, I too am very passionate about driving. However, traffic has outgrown our road infrastructure to the level that I have almost given up driving on our highways.
Its very slow.
I do ride my motorcycle to zip through traffic in the city, but have almost stopped driving cars on roads.

If I need to travel alone to Kochi or some other place in Kerala from Trivandrum, I prefer to take a train or a bus rather than drive.

[carfreak]

So, like all my other mallu brothers here, I have voted for Kerala too. And I am sure the state will win with a huge margin.

Like many have pointed out, the whole state is now a collection of towns and few cities with hardly any gap in between these. The conventional idea of a highway we have in our minds, that is simply missing in Kerala. You are always stuck behind slow moving traffic, in a narrow road (which is called 'highway' by the authorities) for the most part. The high per capita income has made it a consumer state, with most households having 2 cars, and traffic congestion is a given on most days.

Add to that 2 additional points which I did not see mentioned earlier- in many parts, the roads are filled with curves every 50 metres or so which compounds the pre-existing problems- narrow roads and traffic congestion making overtaking difficult. Plus, the topography of the roads-most roads are not flat and have elevations and depressions which again worsens things.

The sole positive here is that, the road surface is acceptable in most areas.

[John Jacob13128]

Looks like Kerala Leads the pack! (My native, so nothing to be proud about)

I had the opportunity to drive all over the country (+Nepal on a Bike) - Leh-Ladakh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Goa, Pune-Mumbai, Gujarat, TN etc.

Hands down Kerala wins the crown - plainly because of the already stated reasons above. Either there are perennial road work going on or the road itself is a piece of work - Cameras, Signals, Traffic, KSRTC Buses (#MadMax) yada yada.

Adding insult to injury was when I got an automated Traffic violation courtesy Hi-Tech Traffic Enforcement, when I drove from Trivandrum (on a trip from Trivandrum to Idukki) on a Saturday when there was triple lockdown (COVID restrictions). The camera caught me at 85Kmph in a 60Kmph speed limit stretch. 1500 INR kaput.

I don't see this improving ever, as Land is a major constraint + unruly Bus drivers.

[iamitp]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

There is a localisation and recency effect showing up on the poll results.

a) Most of team-bhpians are from KA. Mainly based out of Bangalore.

b) I don't think the poll results depict the actual state of highways.

Lastly, there needs to be a clarification in the poll.

Highways are classified into: National Highways and State highways. The former is run by central agencies and the latter by state. I

You are right on both counts. However, this is still a poll of some of India's most road-knowledgeable and well-driven internet users. A scientific sampling would be beyond the scope of this thread. I have intentionally used the word Highways to include both NH and SH as even though the NH is maintained by NHAI, local factors such as land availability due to State approvals, local traffic sense etc. all affect the 'driveability' of the roads.

One interesting insight from the poll - Driveability on highways is as much if not more about design, planning and traffic environment as it is about surface quality. Haryana's road surfaces are no match for Kerala's yet most BHPians have voted Kerala worse.

I think we should also make efforts to bring this poll to the notice of the Minister of Road Transport & Highways and State Govts. who can take these as feedback.

Originally Posted by sarav100

Why don’t we have the option of Jammu and Kashmir in the poll options list ?

Because it is a Union Territory now.