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-   -   Traffic and life on the roads in Chennai (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/68789-traffic-life-roads-chennai-222.html)

I don't think Fastag works in Navalur toll plaza and Thoraipakkam satellite toll plaza. I entered the Fastag lane by mistake and though I had Fastag on my car it was not detected and there was anyway a person at the toll who swiped my LRP and off I went.

Fastag was enabled on the Kelambakkam to Kovalam link road toll plaza when I was there 2 weeks back. I'm going there after 6 long months and it was introduced recently I believe.

I handed out cash to the operator but he said amount was already deducted from Fastag and off I go. One less place to worry about for tolls.

Could someone help me with where I can get PUC done for my
car in Chennai? I'm staying in Pour but I am willing to drive further if there are no centres here.

If possible I would like to ask for Google map links since I am new to Chennai and not familiar with the landmarks and localities yet.

Thanks in advance for the help. Cheers

Here's a link where you can check pollution centers around Chennai. Hope this helps!

Went from Vandalur via Kelambakkam to Kovalam and onto ECR yesterday for a drive with family.

Observations:
1) Fastag doesn't work at the toll booth at Kovalam junction.
2) Toll booth operators wear latex or woollen gloves to avoid contact with us. Meanwhile we all rub our fingers vigorously with their gloved unwittingly. Damn, I should've taken some hand sanitiser along.
3) A zillion cars crossed over to Kovalam beach.
4) A trillion cars were parked all along ECR from Kovalam all the way till Madras Crocodile Bank (~ 3-4 km). Everyone's bored of lockdowns and is heading out to unpatrolled beaches outside of Chennai city limits. Beaches inside city limits are off bounds.
5) On second thoughts - scratch the " unpatrolled" word in the last. There were patrolling cars. Who're they going to fine really though? Entire middle class Chennai is out there in their Kia Seltoses and Honda Cities.

Fastag worked at Kovalam ECR toll when I went 2 weeks back, not sure if it's a temporary problem now.

Yeah. I got a Fastag SMS yesterday that my tag was scanned at the booth the day before yesterday. I need to make sure I saved the paper cash receipt somewhere so that I can reverse the fastag charge.

Went on a quick drive to Gingee Fort today morning. Had an opportunity to experience the new flyovers at Vandalur and during the return leg, the Pallavaram flyover.

Has definitely eased traffic, took only 45 minutes from Chengalpattu toll to my house near the airport. But the flyover surface is extremely bumpy and poor.

Side Note : Ridiculously heavy traffic from Perugalathur, felt like driving on a city road rather than a highway and whatever little traces of road manners/courtesy was present before the March has completely vanished. Everyone is driving as though they are in GTA.:Frustrati

Yes, people are driving with abandon. It's like they set out from home like King Theoden did on his horse before charging at the enemy in the 3rd Lord of the Rings movie ("ride now, ride for ruin and the world's ending. Death! Death!! Death!!!") It is simply too dangerous to go toe to toe with such maniacs. I tried driving from my home near Vandalur to Kattangulathur yesterday. It felt awful. I came home.

Not bad at all. What time of the day was this?

Its always been like this before lockdown too. The feeling I get the last 3 years is, it is faster to do T. Nagar Tambaram (the 30-40 odd mins it used to take in the 80s still holds0 than Tambaram-Chengalpattu. Took GST yesterday just to try the Pallavaram and Vandalur flyovers, and boy was I disappointed. The T.Nagar-Chengalpattu bypass took a cool 1:45 hrs. I wish I had taken the usual ECR which would have taken at least 15-20 mins lesser even though it is about 30 km more.

Once again the TNRDC guys are back with their bag of tricks. Cyclone Nivar came and went about a week back (as on the date of this post), and they still claim that FASTAG is not working due to the cyclone :confused::mad:

This is at Medavakkam, Thoraipakkam and Navalur plazas on OMR where I have experienced this.

When I mentioned that if my FASTAG RFID works and has enough balance, any malfunction at their end means they have to let me pass for free, their response is that such a rule is applicable only to toll collection at National Highways and that TNRDC comes under the state. So the rule doesn't apply.

I have stood my ground and managed to be let off for free on few occasions. But it almost went to the stage of picking up a fight with their staff. Just to be clear, I don't intend to avail this free passage but at the same time, I am confused at the interpretation of the rule selectively in their favor. Also in these times of COVID, manual handling of cash is something I would like to avoid. This just defeats the purpose of Electronic Toll Collection.

May I request the learned people on this forum to shed some light on this please. Is this illegal at their end, or are they justified

The concept of responsible driving is alien now, also not sure how many noticed we seem to have lost almost 1/3 rd of available roads to encroachers and hap hazard parking

That's an interesting observation. I have not noticed this yet, but will keep an eye out to observe this. "When there's blood on the streets, it's time to buy real estate". Looks like our people are claiming real estate on the roads alright.

And on the highways half a lane on the left is made dangerous by the two and three wheelers who travel on the wrong side blissfully and right royally. Sometimes four wheelers too.

^^ Is't there any method to report these to any authorities or to the high court? Any online sites where to post photos and complain?