[xsrahul]

Originally Posted by sanshorewala

Hi all,

This is my first post on this forum.

.

Welcome to the forum with your excellently analysed 1st post which deserves my thanks.

Happy Riding!

[INJAXN]

Though I do not own a 200+ CC motor bike, I've voted No.

I understand that some of the two wheeler riders rides in a risky manner, risky for themselves and for others, but so do some of the car drivers. And its not that every time its a high powered beemer or merc, many of the times its low powered car. Its not about the car its about the the person who is riding/driving.

[Vikram9193]

Voted No, I think a trial could be done, at least. The leftmost lane could be given a speed limit of 80 kmph. 200cc plus motorcycles are comfortable at that speed. Make fastag compulsory too. This will help weed out the 90% of two wheelers that are sub-200cc since those engines are happy up to 60 kmph. Challan anyone caught riding below a minimum of 70-75 kmph. Should do this for all vehicles in fact.

[Nithesh_M]

I accidentally voted YES in a hurry but my vote is a NO. My CBR250R is perfectly capable of keeping up expressway speeds so limiting bikes by displacement is not the smartest way to do so. Limit vehicles by a factor of their top speed say 0.8 so if a vehicle cannot exceed 150kph(x0.8=120) on the freeway regardless of wheels and engine capacity, ban them. I said factor only because you need some extra margin to overtake or maintain speed incase of elevation.

Often times its the slow moving vehicles on the expressway that cause accidents on the fast lane.

[sanshorewala]

Originally Posted by xsrahul

Welcome to the forum with your excellently analysed 1st post which deserves my thanks.

Happy Riding!

Thank you for the warm welcome and kind words .

[Samarth 619]

I've voted No, bikes shouldn't be banned, they should be allowed.

One big challenge is the sheer size and mass difference between a bike and anything on 4 wheels.
Any crash is likely to go very bad for the 2 wheeler rider, even if the actual indiscipline is caused by a couple of 18~something kids in an Audi/ BMW.
But we must not forget, bikes are legal in most highways around India, no matter what.

But there are other challenges too, which I'll mention pointwise as mentioned by OP:-

1. Restrictions on engine capacity. While a great indicator of performance in the lowest segment, unfortunately its only at best a rough indicator in the premium segment.
For example, speedwise, a KTM Duke/RC 373.2cc is roughly as potent as a Royal Enfield 649cc twin. A Ninja 650 is almost 1.5-2 times than both these bikes.
But yes, government can employ this method, however inaccurate it is.

2. Compulsory Riding Gear. Good move, although the governments as such don't recognise the riding gears as a safety measure, its only us bikers. Thus, its an unlikely move.

3. Compulsory Toll. I don't mind paying toll. Govt wouldn't mind having it, I guess. So, sure go ahead..

4. Strict Punishment for offenders. It would be great if this happens, but its tough to implement. Who'll keep a watch?
But yes, we can have a e challan system if the journey is covered under the given time, suggesting overspeeding. Measures like these are easy to maintain.

[sudanmohit]

Originally Posted by aviator1101

=a. Smaller capacity commuter bikes (100-150cc) which make 60-70% of motorcycle sales in our country are actually slow moving and cannot keep up with the traffic on these highways/expressways. Leave apart the capability of these small capacity bikes, the riders themselves don't understand traffic rules properly, don't have a clue about lane discipline, ride on the wrong lane and wrong side of the highway, take short cuts and put own and others lives at peril.

But the same template cannot be put on a responsible rider who apart from spending millions on the bike, pays lakhs on riding safety gear and expectedly rides responsibly.

I wonder what is the basis of this part of the post. How can one judge the driving responsibility quotient of a rider from the cc of his/her bike's engine? If at all we can guess something, it should be his/her affordability and passion for higher capacity engines.

I'm sorry to say that we can't get away with exceptions everywhere disclaimer. Branding maximum low power riders as irresponsible is an irresponsible statement in itself. Interestingly if a bikers changes from a Splendor to Harley, then same fellow will automatically become responsible overnight(by this logic)

Extending this viewpoint, why not apply it to cars too? So a Fortuner driver should be more responsible than Scorpio driver who in turn should be better than Dzire driver and Tata Nano driver should be worse.

Allowing bikes on expressway may have different views and reasons, but this generalization about driver being responsible in proportion to engine capacity is difficult to digest.

I'm sorry if I sounded rude, but somehow, i couldn't agree at all

[snappysam]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

We have all seen cars do the same at the Jewar-5 km point, so what is your point?

Enforce laws with a heavy hand, that's it.

Have seen very few cars flouting lane rules. However my experience is that most big bikers ride quite haphazardly on Kerala's narrow roads which makes me assume that the same will be true on our big expressways. These are massive disasters waiting to happen. Our riding culture is slowly improving but it is not disciplined as yet and fast motorcycles are projectiles. Been riding for more than 32 years now and currently feel that big bike riders are getting progressively worse. Oh and I too ride a more than 350cc bike and I LOVE TO RIDE FAST. However priority is on maintaining road rules while being sensitive to other road users. This are MY binding rules.
The argument that big bikes means more taxes paid while also spending a lot on riding gear reeks of entitlement. Harsh words, so sorry, yet it is what it is.
Enforcement of traffic rules in our country - nice
Let's grow up as mature riders and I sure corresponding positive statistics will underline our cause to ride on expressways.
Ride safe...

[PratikPatel]

Although I am a hardcore motorcyclist myself, I will say an emphatic no. Why? First there is a need to get the basics in place. Licensing regime is a joke in our country. We need more stringent licensing regulation that is skill & experience based. A form or variation of tiered licensing that is used in EU or UK is what is required to ensure that riders are equipped with the skills and experience required to move on Expressways.

[Aluminium]

Originally Posted by tanbeamer

Voted Yes


And then there are bikers in groups who hog the entire road and don't let the traffic behind them pass. I'd not want to be doing a Delhi-Mumbai run on the new expressway getting stuck behind such hooligans and then be seething about the entire them.

On the same sense, we should ban all forntuners because Fortuners are driven badly on some roads. Lets also ban Polos and Citys, Thars... heck, lets ban all cars. Lets leave the expressways for self driving cars. Because they seem to be the only group with the rationality to not drive rashly. This is just an ignorant statement. "Leave the expressway to us fourwheelers?" Really? Punishing a set of people for the crime of a subset. Of course, one might argue that you should own a car. What if I can't afford a car? But I also have to go places. For a car you'll have to pay atleast twice the money you pay for a bike with similar capabilities.
I picked out your comment because of the way it was phrased. I have nothing personal against you. It's easy to hate bikes when you are in a car and vice versa.

Also, to the people calling out elitism in the thread, Motorcycles are allowed on Autobahn 'as long as they can maintain a certain speed'. They did it first and it seems to be working. Why shouldn't we copy something that works?

The underlying cause of accidents on our expressways are the inability of the people to follow rules. And the general lack of awareness. Banning bikes will fix neither.
Hurray, we have less death on expressways. But let's forget about the number of accidents remaining the same.

My point is: This is the easy way out. The roads will look good on the 'fatalities' column. That's it.

[Anandg]

There is a big difference between responsible drivers and reckless ones.
The reckless ones or stunt guys are mostly kids who either forced their parents to get a power bike. They neither have any experience, respect, or knowledge about rules and regulations nor care about self or other's life. And are very dangerous to life and property as they drive as hooligans in gangs and mostly do circus to impress or insta reels.

The best option is there should be a "certification/exam of a safe 2 wheeler riding" govt should introduce that has all strict measures in place. Before someone embarks on his journey, they should show this certificate to the toll, and toll guys should have access to the database that has their record. So that they can be traced. Also, the manufacturers should put speed limits and safety mechanisms as winds and sudden breaking affect bikes more at high speeds than a car. Along with cameras in place at all risky zones, corner lanes for 2 wheelers etc every body can move along.

[Sudarshan42]

This begs the question- does it even make sense to buy large capacity long-distance touring motorcycles in our country anymore? If the government isn't inspiring any level of certainty or predictability in setting rules on such matters, is this the death knell for large bikes in India?

There will still be takers for such bikes because buying such machines is almost certainly a heart over head decision- but can they use a Ducati Multistrada V4 (say) to its potential by using it for their office commutes and the odd unbanned highway run? I don't think so.

I'm now reconsidering my next purchase because of this rule.

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by sudanmohit

I wonder what is the basis of this part of the post.
How can one judge the driving responsibility quotient of a rider from the cc of his/her bike's engine?
If at all we can guess something, it should be his/her affordability and passion for higher capacity engines.

I'm sorry to say that we can't get away with exceptions everywhere disclaimer. Branding maximum low power riders as irresponsible is an irresponsible statement in itself.
Interestingly if a bikers changes from a splendor to Harley, then same fellow will automatically become responsible overnight(by this logic)

Extending this viewpoint,why not apply it to cars too? So a fortuner driver should be more responsible than Scorpio driver who in turn should be better than dzire driver and Tata Nano driver should be worse.

Allowing bikes on expressway may have different views and reasons, but this generalization about driver being responsible in proportion to engine capacity is difficult to digest.

I'm sorry if I sounded rude, but somehow, i couldn't agree at all

The entire discussion is that expressways are supposed to be fast. And while its no indication of responsibility, high capacity machines are an indication of practical speeds you can maintain.

100cc bikes top out at 80 kmph so they're not ideal for expressways.
150cc bikes are mostly at stress doing 110 kmph. In fact, Hero Impulse 150 does only 98 kmph top (discontinued though).
I know speed limits and all, but practically not many follow.

So, what will these riders face even if they're disciplined? They will face continuous overtaking from big vehicles, and a big vehicle overtaking a smaller one, means the big one has plenty of blind spots. High risk.

So, speed is a relevant point.

[Apex1815]

Voted No.

Irrespective of the Engine Capacity, A Two wheeler is always at more risk on an express highway than a Four wheeler.
The restriction on express ways have been imposed considering safety of Two wheelers.

[r24x7]

Originally Posted by Apex1815

Voted No.

Irrespective of the Engine Capacity, A Two wheeler is always at more risk on an express highway than a Four wheeler.
The restriction on express ways have been imposed considering safety of Two wheelers.

I'm a little confused. While your reasoning sounds to me that you are in favour of banning 2 Wheelers on expressway ( it's for their own safety ) - But you have voted NO.


I Voted Yes.

I understand that most of us are responsible riders and demand that our big bikes be allowed. Unfortunately no one can guarantee that every big bike out there is ridden by a responsible rider and this may cause havoc out there.