[Gotham_City]

Originally Posted by Thar4x4

Thought of updating same instead of creating new thread.

Pune - Mumbai express way is again in danger.



Above content is form the TOI: Link

At the risk of sounding insensitive, it looks as if the family called this upon themselves.

On digging in a little deeper, one will find out that travelers from Mumbai to Pune do not come across Taje Petrol Pump near Kamshet. This gentleman (Amit) parked his vehicle in middle of night at an isolated spot and crossed expressway to fetch a bottle of water from other side of the road.

This means multiple violations on his part. To name a few - stopped on the expressway; crossed the expressway which has restricted entry.

If not for the sense of discipline, Amit should not have done this for love of his family. He had no business leaving his family in the middle of an isolated spot well past midnight. If he was indeed thirsty, he could have reached the next food mall on his side of road in 15-20 minutes.

The news item in Indian express explains the incident in further detail.

http://indianexpress.com/article/cit...n-express-way/

“They took their car and left Mumbai at 11.15 pm Sunday. Amit was driving. On reaching Kamshet at 2.40 am, Amit felt thirsty and stopped his car in front of Taje petrol pump. He crossed the road to get a water bottle from the Food Mall. Meanwhile, he asked his wife and daughter to sit in the car. They locked the vehicle from inside, waiting for Amit,” said Pankaj Sharma.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by Gotham_City

At the risk of sounding insensitive, it looks as if the family called this upon themselves.

Oh, that is good detailed information in Indian express. TOI has very less information about the incident.

Yes one should be more cautious when travelling with family.

[ani_meher]

Oh my god. Such terrible absence of mind shown by the husband cum driver. He got so thirsty that he left his wife and child at the safety of rolled up glasses! He should really thank God that it was only a robbery and not anything further.

Seriously, this seems to be the case where one loses his logical reasoning ability due to lack of sleep.

[sdp1975]

There are times when you need to stop on the highways at nights - it's unavoidable. I stop to refresh myself, or to answer to nature's call, although I always stay close to the car and don't leave my family behind.

It's quite easy to say in retrospect that the gentleman shouldn't have stopped and left his family behind after such a mishap happens. The place was not that isolated either, there was a bunk and food mall close by.

The only part I find strange is the amount of cash and valuables they were carrying - around 1.25 lacs. I would never carry such a large amount travelling by car - be it night or day.

[rakesh_r]

I Travel almost every weekend Pune-Mumbai-pune.This incident has raised a question on the night patrolling by the police.But what can one expect in wee hours.Nowadays I carry a cricket bat and armed my better half with a can of pepper spray.

[Gotham_City]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

There are times when you need to stop on the highways at nights - it's unavoidable. I stop to refresh myself, or to answer to nature's call, although I always stay close to the car and don't leave my family behind.

It's quite easy to say in retrospect that the gentleman shouldn't have stopped and left his family behind after such a mishap happens. The place was not that isolated either, there was a bunk and food mall close by.

I tend to differ on the issue. During my Mumbai-Pune expressway runs over last 5-6 years, I strictly adhere to the rule of not stopping on the expressway. There are food malls / petrol pumps conveniently placed at distance of 40-45 minutes. If traveling with proper planning, one will never have to stop mid way.

I have witnessed multiple accidents on this road due to violation of this basic rule.

If one is forced to stop due to break-down / any other emergency, s/he should immediately inform authorities on the emergency number +91 9822498224. I hear they respond promptly to distress calls.

[sdp1975]

Excerpts From Moneylife , http://www.moneylife.in/article/will...way/37795.html. This incident happened largely due to the toll operators laxity in providing security.


in case of an emergency or a halted vehicle, the IRB’s Patrolling team is supposed to reach the spot within eight minutes

there has been a string of robberies on the E-way since April 2013. As per the report, cash and valuables were stolen by robber gangs on 12 April 2013, 25 July 2013, 27 August 2013, 9 November 2013 and 19 December 2013. This proves that despite continuous crime activity on the E-way, neither the MSRDC nor IRB bothered to step up security.

When Delta Force was appointed, it was strategised that the patrolling team would consist of 80-100 security personnel, who would patrol up and down the 96 km E-way round the clock. This lasted for about three to four years, thereafter, the dilligent patrolling stopped. Apparently, the patrolling force was cut down in strength to one-third of its manpower.

safety, besides patrolling, accident prevention, cleanliness, fencing, road surface repair and upkeep is the responsibility of IRB for the 15-year contract period between 2004 and 2019

[speedsatya]

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post3458819


This is from the accidents thread . But a strange coincidence that the car and the truck got a flat tire on the same stretch of the e-way ! Looks like something more than just a trie burst and puncture

[mahesh_sn]

A similar incident of robbery was reported on the old Mumbai-Pune highway in the Kamshet area on Friday. I am posting it here because it happened in the same Kamshet area where the above reported incident happened on the express way. This place Kamshet seems to be a dacoity-prone area.

Highway robbers targeted a parked multi-utility vehicle (MUV) on the old Pune-Mumbai highway on Friday, severely thrashing a passenger and making off with a bag containing Rs 2.5 lakh cash. The incident happened just 2km from the spot on the Pune-Mumbai expressway where city-based garment dealer Amit Mali's family was assaulted and robbed in their parked car on June 16.

More details at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/36922768.cms

[sdp1975]

Thankfully, arrests have been made quite promptly in the recent robbery case - partly because of the wide negative publicity it generated.

I hope that stringent charges are brought against the culprits - they beat up a 12 year girl and her mother with rods. The kingpin apparently has 25 cases of robbery and dacoity against him, and possibly out on bail in those cases - a sad reflection of the legal state in our country.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/C...w/37215746.cms

http://www.dnaindia.com/pune/report-...k-bait-1997912

Cops have slapped notices on IRB due to lapses in providing security, and are planning to setup 3 police check posts on this route.

http://www.punemirror.in/pune/crime/...w/37204811.cms

[freedom]

There is a toppled Truck on the right most lane about 1 km before Talegoan tool when heading towards Pune.

Driving at night with lights switched to low beams I was doing a steady 80 and was in the right most lane as I had to pass 2 trucks. Half way thru the turn saw the traffic cones!

Thankfully I could easy switch to middle lane without any drama.

Stick to the middle lane on that last right hand curve!

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by freedom

Thankfully I could easy switch to middle lane without any drama.

Stick to the middle lane on that last right hand curve!

It is wiser to always stick to the middle lane and use the right lane only for overtaking. And when overtaking, keep flashing the high beam all the time.

I have had some lucky escapes on this expressway.

1. A jute bag right at the corner of the middle lane, just after a turn. This was around 11 in the night. My Santro went over it (speed around 80-85), but I did not stop. I do not know why I did not stop. I just did not. After a good 10-15 kms, there is the last toll gate (towards Pune) after which comes a foodmall on the left. Stopped there to check the damage. There was none.
Also spotted the highway patrol vehicle and told them about this Jute bag in the center lane. First thing they asked me is did I stop. When I replied "No" they mentioned about some robbers using this trick lately and then rushed to the spot I had just explained.

2. Just when I had bought the Palio from Mumbai and was returning to Pune after taking delivery, came on to E-Way from Lonavala (a detour halt). Around 7:30 - 8:00 pm there wasn't much traffic. I just thought I should now check how good the car is in acceleration. I thank my stars that I thought of using the high beam before switching to the center lane. For had I not done that, I would have banged into a dead Buffalo lying right in the centre of the middle lane. Man, that was scary.

[prateekm]

3 AM, Mumbai Pune Expressway - the trucker probably decided that he's bored of driving on the correct side of the road and wanted some fun in his life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9E7xa_COZA

[vinit.merchant]

Started at midnight from Mumbai towards Pune.
The truck traffic is a royal pain on the e-way at night is a well known fact. Truck on the center lane at 40 and another overtaking it on the fast lane at 43 is quite common, especially at the ghat section. In such circumstances, cars have to resort to undertaking from the slow lane when free. I did too.

At one of the left turns on the ghat, the slow lane was empty while middle & fast lane had trucks (scenario mentioned above). So took the slow lane to undertake. Was at roughly 60-70 and just as I undertook them on the turn, spotted a big concrete brick, right in the center of the slow lane. Must be at least a foot in height and width. Swerved right but still could not avoid it completely. I could not even hard brake as there was a moron tailgating me with upper beam always on, he was too close.
Bang. Loud noise and saw concrete dust in the air. Did not stop.

After the exit toll before Dehu road exit, at the food mall, stopped the car to check for damage. Except for the Bumper taking heavy scratches, no damage.

Probably the last minute swerve to the right deflected the concrete towards the left on impact.
Thankfully nothing major happened to the car because I was with family.

It was an incline. This concrete was probably kept there by some trucker to avoid his truck from going backwards. Obviously he could not clear it once he gets moving. Insane thing to do.

On second thoughts, I think that had it been not that big, it would have gone below my car and done quite some damage to it, right in the middle of the journey and could have resulted in a breakdown.

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by vinit.merchant

It was an incline. This concrete was probably kept there by some trucker to avoid his truck from going backwards. Obviously he could not clear it once he gets moving. Insane thing to do.

This is quite normal for many highways in India, not only the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. The basic rule of driving in India is NEVER EVER presume anything and expect the worst, i.e. only drive to the extent you can clearly see ahead and with the speed that you can brake safely in case of any unfortunate circumstance.

In this case after moving to the left lane to overtake, speed ahead only if you can see the road ahead is clear - this time there was only a concrete block, god forbid next time there is not a iron rod laden truck stopped in the lane.