I write this column as somebody who has advanced into a really sedate driver over time. Don’t get me fallacious, I’ve my enjoyable on bikes in the proper setting, however I discover way more pleasure in driving to a vacation spot as effectively as attainable somewhat than as quick as attainable. I suppose it additionally helps that my private car is a twenty-year-old Maruti Zen. It’s a car whose capability to move you to a less complicated time is one thing I like, and it additionally doesn’t really feel very snug above 100kph. 

With that basis laid in place, it’s time to get to the purpose of this column. Some of our pace limits are ridiculous to the purpose of being downright harmful. A first-rate instance can be what’s occurring on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. A number of years in the past, the pace restrict was raised from 80kph to 100kph and I feel that quantity properly balances the potential of our fashionable cars together with the driving expertise of the typical Indian highway person.

However, this pace restrict solely applies to the straight stretches and the issue begins whenever you get to the ghat part between Khopoli and Lonavala. Here, the pace restrict is straight away halved to 50kph, which is solely manner too sluggish for a highway that continues to be a really large and flowing six-lane expressway all through. 

How do we all know that that is far too sluggish? Well, the authorities have now erected loads of new overhead gantries with pace cameras, and I’ve seen that just about no one – not even most business autos – are going that slowly, particularly downhill. People both drive previous with oblivion or out of the blue and dangerously brake to keep away from the fantastic.

Things get even worse whenever you’re on the elevated part over Lonavala the place there’s a 30kph pace restrict board that’s quickly adopted by a row of recent cameras. To put it into context, how absurd is that this on a six-lane ‘expressway’,  an above-average athlete can run quicker than that. 

Having lately been stung by a Rs 2,000 fantastic for doing a really sedate 64kph on the expressway ghat, I attempted slowing all the way down to 30kph for this board and needed to fully get off the highway to take action with out presumably inflicting a pile-up.

I actually marvel how this hasn’t already been corrected. Do the authorities who set these speeds really drive on these roads? Or have all these new pace cameras been deliberately positioned proper subsequent to unrealistic pace restrict boards? Either manner, one thing has to alter.

For bikes, issues worsen, with painfully low pace limits on many state and nationwide highways, and a rising variety of strategically parked pace interceptor autos ready to catch you out.

Speed limits are vital and the steep fines related to them do a great job of retaining reckless driving below management. But on the similar time, extra thought and science wants to enter the design of those limits, particularly when tens of hundreds of crores of taxpayer cash is being put into highway infrastructure growth. 

The very level of creating nice roads is to facilitate extra environment friendly visitors motion, which can result in a extra environment friendly financial system. Doesn’t it fully defeat the aim if we’re going to then artificially sluggish the visitors down once more?

Also See:

Opinion: Now is a brilliant time to purchase an EV… once more

Opinion: Cars are getting safer, however are drivers?