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-   -   Are access controlled roads that bar slow moving vehicles elitist? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/275790-access-controlled-roads-bar-slow-moving-vehicles-elitist-3.html)

Hope the lane divider part was a joke, but I agree that there are many other ways to enforce lane discipline thus making it possible for motorcycles to use highways. But we have to look at the reality. Just now saw motorcyclists find ways to beat tyre killers so that they can ride the wrong way against traffic. This is a country where one can ride a battered Bajaj M80 in a figure of '8' and be eligible to ride a Hayabusa the next day. Tiered license couldn't come any sooner to India but we must first strive to have a system where there is atleast some sort of tests before a person gets their license.

Didn't get the gist. A person who bought an used Alto for 1 lakh rupees can use the public infrastructure, but a person who bought a motorcycle for 1 lakh rupees can't. Where is the elitism in it? Our taxes go to anything from the President's car to the army installations to the airports to the footpaths by the side of the road. And where safety is a concern, they are controlled by licenses and permits. Every civilised country in the world has some sort of restrictions to who can use an expressway, by engine size or top speed or plainly banned by the number of wheels. And no, one doesn't need to own something to be eligible to use it. The taxi one hires can use it, the car one rents can use it, the buses one rides on can use it, the trucks bringing produce can use it.

I agree with the earlier comment that if common sense and good driving sense prevail, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Like many others, I ride and drive.

On the bike, I mutter about having to take the longer/slower route home.
On routes that are similar to some of these access-controlled routes in terms of speed limits and road surface, the Idyaat segment has me wondering about my safety. Cars overtaking at ridiculous speeds by cutting into the leftmost lane with flashing headlights (almost willing me to disappear into thin air so that they can continue driving like hooligans)

In the car, I mutter about those on two wheels with either a death wish or a perceived invincibility charm as they ride like maniacs.

So, while I understand the safety aspect, I wonder why we as a people lack basic common sense.

I wonder what happened to the intelligent traffic management system, I vote A big NO since even the cars which are allowed on the road hardly follow the rules and are treating it as a picnic spot and parking their cars in emergency lanes and shoulders, climbing barricades for Instagram posts and what not.

I think the regardless of what the government enforces, it is no way going to be followed unless people change their views on the rules and regulations.
They are treated more like they need to be followed in order to not get fined rather than understanding they are there for the safety of themselves and others.

I think the country would need several generations to adopt this thinking, as all of these thoughts are passed on by parents to their children and how they experience the roads in their lives.

by controlling the kind of vehicles which are allowed on the road it helps ease the life of the commuters using the road by one less thing to worry about.

The Eastern freeway from Mumbai to Mankhurd is a beautiful example.

What if I can afford only a used Pulsar and not an alto? What if I don't have the finances to maintain a car? What if I don't have the parking facilities in my home?
My point is that if a certain expressway cuts travel distance by a certain amount, everyone should be able to enjoy its benefits. If there an alternate route with a similar travel distance then it should be ok else it benefits only a certain set of people which is nothing but elitism IMO.

While I fully agree that high speed highways and roads need some form of access control to keep everyone safe. However, the government should not forget the roads used by other road users. It should be maintained for a safe travel and should be pot hole free.

In current race of creating new roads and highways and creating some sort of world record of maximum length of road laid in a day, we forget the basic sense of making a sturdy road.

Tolls is being charged from day 1 for all the roads being made but maintenance is negligible. This creates a poor user experience that even after paying such a hefty fee over and above all taxes, we get the below standard road.

Voted in favour of restrictions.

India is a dense Country unlike any other country . Every sq. Km is filled with people who use different mode of transport be it 2 wheelers/ Three wheelers and even tractors in various forms. We are yet maturing as civil drivers who understand and respect safe driving. We have a long way to go till if not all but at least 70% of drivers of different type of vehicle starts respecting others on road. Till then keeping discrimination is definitely safe for all.

We should have demerit points like west for our unruly drivers. I would go ahead and ban people with high points on such highways. There should also be a mechanism to check tyres of the vehicles before they enter high speed coridors, vehicle with poor tyres should be denied entry /made to buy new ones on the spot.

The decision to ban certain vehicles cant be called elitist, as a 16hp TATA ACE can still make merry hugging the right most side of highway! and nothing is done.

Capitalism can only thrive when there is competition, else there will be exploitation of the weak. As a society we need to decide, when and how we choose to compete with other citizens.
Is a normal child going to compete with a child who has cancer? If no, then provide free health care.
Is a normal child going to compete with a child that has no access to education? If no, then provide access to education.

It boils down to what we would consider as a basic human right. I have no issues when asked to compete with a healthy, educated person. Every child in a civilized society deserves good health, deserves basic education. I would agree with your line of thinking, but for things that I consider to be a basic human right. If people come at me saying, health and education are not basic human rights, I will rest my case.

I think higher capacity motorbikes with riders wearing gear must be allowed. They are more than capable of keeping up with traffic and I have noticed them riding with more lane discipline than the average blacked out car with cheap aftermarket rims

Dictonary meaning of the word elitist : (of a person or class of persons) considered superior by others or by themselves, as in intellect, talent, power, wealth, or position in society.

Here the same person can be allowed entry on these access controlled road if he has a "class of vehicle" that is allowed entry. The same person can borrow or rent a car, for example, or even buy a rickety old car for 1 lakh (cheaper than most new bikes) and get on this road. So there is no restriction on a particular "class of people" thus making the elitist argument invalid.

Just yesterday there was a news article about an accident of Atal Setu where a Maruti (ignis?) flipped over. If it was a bike, the rider would have probably been thrown into the high seas or worse come under the wheels of another car/bus/truck.

There are certain restrictions on four wheelers too, on such expressways - for example, they can be denied entry if tyres are not in good condition or if they do not have correct tyre pressure. All of that is done keeping safety in mind. A majority of people will use cars for long distances, even if they have bikes at home. There needs to be some facilities for long distance travellers so they can reach their destination faster. Commercial vehicles reaching their dsstinations faster helps the economy.

There are many such restrictions everywhere. Some cities dont allow heavy vehicles to ply in cities during the day, some roads in Mumbai have bans on rickshaws, road to nathula pass in Sikkim only allows SUV's, some roads of speed restrictions because of nearby schools, hospitals etc.


The Right To Freedom is not absolute and can be restricted in certain circumstances. However, any restrictions must be reasonable and follow the principles of natural justice.


Editing to add this link to a report describing a recent high court judgement on the same matter :

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/stor...412-2023-11-01

Please don't say a person who can only afford a used Pulsar cannot afford to buy a bus ticket.

I agree that alternative routes should be present, including toll free ones. But other than that, no one is stopping anyone from enjoying the benefits. Stop looking at the motorcycle as an extension of the person, but as a class of vehicle. The person is free to enjoy the tax built infrastructure, just not in a certain class of vehicle. Airports are build with our taxes, but we are not going anywhere without a passport or atleast an ID card for domestic flights. Not to say, ability to afford a plane ticket. Elitism much? Until we have a tiered licensing system for motorcycles (i.e. after we have proper driving tests uniformly across the nation), thus enabling motorcycles over XXXcc to use the road, we are better off with limiting certain classes of vehicles from access controlled roads.

But we all know that, regardless of laws, we will see motorcycles, 3 wheelers, tractors, animals, even people on an access controlled road in India. So fret not.

:thumbs up

Great to see that the usual overused speeding/overspeeding/racing has given way to equally important problems like slow moving traffic. Yes, highways/ expressways are not race tracks, but neither are they city streets nor farm roads.

Being a motorcycle rider, I'm still in favour of banning two wheelers from expressway, but only on the conditions that
There should be an alternative way for us biker, and road should be maintained in good conditions before this ban applies. So that bikers won't face any issues. In today's condition, either we have to face a lot of broken patches or heavy traffic jams, which can be easily avoided if we were to use those expressway. This is the main reason why bikers wants the ban to be removed. Imagine if both route are maintained well and time taken is also somewhat similar, why would they complain about this ban?

I do believe that the original question was about disallowing slower vehicles on access controlled roads. To that, I totally agree.

A slow vehicle be it 2 wheels or 4, becomes a hazard to the rest of fast moving traffic on an access controlled road, just like a fast vehicle becomes a hazard to slow moving traffic on a city road.

A wonderful example of this was posted on the defensive driving thread by bhpian sarathlal here
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...ml#post5716569

However, the discussion here has become two wheelers versus 4 wheelers, which is a different conundrum and I firmly refuse to be drawn into that.

I say an access controlled road should be tolled for every user, be it 2 wheeler or 4 wheeler. That would hopefully screen out the users who take the easy route out with complete disregard for other users of the road. But you can never filter out all morons. There is no way to stop that 4 wheeler owner who pays toll for a "Fast" Road, but does 60 kmph on the fast lane of a highway with a 120 kmph limit.

This weird behaviour can only be reduced (please note I did not use the word eradicate - I am pessimistic that will never happen) through driver and road user education AND fines for slow driving.

BTW, this is something that is in theory applied to Indian roads since 2017.
https://www.renewbuy.com/articles/ge...low%20driving.

However, I was not able to get any statistics for the number of challans issued so far for slow driving, except for the 15 mentioned in the article above.

Allow all vehicles, enforce strict speed limits lane-wise (both lower and upper)

I stay in North Bengaluru and my go to route has always been Yeshwantpur - Nelamangala - Bellur Cross - Srirangapatna - Mysore.
Be it bike or car, something about this route is pleasing to me.