[gautam109]

Ideally our expressways / highways should be designed with dedicated motorbike lanes. It would be the equivalent of adding one car lane on each side of a highway and can even double up as an emergency vehicle lane.

I am sure the big 2W companies & biker-oriented brands can be coaxed to sponsor such lanes on key routes. Sponsorships + tolls would cover the cost. This would provide a safe and convenient 2W touring option and be a boost to both domestic tourism and to touring culture.

And while this may be asking too much, we should even think of having dedicated bicycle lanes on certain routes.

Off topic, but the other thing we desperately need is cameras, fines and enforcement of fines for things like not yielding, driving slow in overtaking lane, unsafe lane changes etc. These "small" behaviors that no one polices or cares about are the culprit in many an accident on expressways.

[aqualeo2040]

The problem, as someone mentioned earlier, is the fact that whist our roads and infrastructure have improved, we haven't paid enough attention to those using those.

1. Getting a Driving License is a walk in the park (Literally! a J Turn in the park gets you a license)
2. Majority of the bikes sold/plying on Indian roads are still below 150cc.
3. Given the socialist feelings, I'm pretty sure those 150cc bike owners will feel offended by preferential treatment doled out to big bikers (like we have seen at Toll Booths where poor toll operators get harassed by 'common people'
4. Where do you draw the line : 350 cc bikes may not be as fast (classic bullets for example)
5. How do we implement lane discipline (the main cause of accidents today! a speeding bike straying into a different lane, probably just because of a draft!)

Whilst it hurts me that as a medium sized bike owner(Ninja 650) , I wont be able to ride on some nice tarmacs, the roads are just not for me alone.
Since we do not have a way to segregate junta from plying on these roads safely, we will need some mechanism to draw the lines of safety.

I suppose making tolls mandatory for two wheelers might help. However, then the three wheelers and tractors would argue their point.
Plan B would be to divert all commercial traffic to a different/slower route, but that would beat the purpose of building these expressways in the first place.

To fix the issues, we need to go back to the grassroot level : Ensure we have safer drivers, make the driving legislations much more strict etc. before we can let people on these expressways.

PS :
Case 1 : Md Azharuddin's son had a fatal crash on the Hyderabad ORR which caused them to shut the roads down for 2 wheelers.
Case 2 : A policeman trying to help a stalled vehicle on Bangalore Airport road, was mowed down by a speeding cab. Possible cause could be lack of indication/hazard lights to highlight a broken down vehicle.(The car in question was a Indica Cab! I'm sorry, how fast does that car really go??)
Both the cases above indicate how our drivers/riders are not skilled to drive on these better quality roads.

[RGK]

I voted NO.

The motorbike should be treated as a car by other motorists, leaving necessary space while overtaking etc., The same has to be done by the motorbike rider as well.

He/She should refrain from crossing in a manner that could potentially pose a risk to other larger vehicles.

[RMN]

Originally Posted by Mystic

4. It is challenging technically and legally to differentiate which is 250 cc cc bike and which is a 400 cc bike. Either we allow all or restrict all.

5. I wish in another 20 years in my lifetime if we continue with the same pace of development as of today when the growth story of India includes all sections of the society , I will not be surprised if we have autobahns for the quadrilateral connection of our four metros in India.

I agree with all your points but then than makes we wonder - should these 2 wheelers be taxed the same? Clearly, they aren't allowed to access the same infrastructure as the 4 wheelers.

[Divya Sharan]

Just ban all cars from using the expressways!

All reasons given for bikes apply to cars. A Tata Nano to a BMW 530D can use expressways, right?
Never mind the "extra" taxation (3%) over 349cc motorcycles.

Leave the roads to 'bikers', car owners can use dual carriageways/service roads. Thanks!

(A motorcycle is inherently unstable on all roads. I voted No.)

[Mystic]

Originally Posted by RMN

I agree with all your points but then than makes we wonder - should these 2 wheelers be taxed the same? Clearly, they aren't allowed to access the same infrastructure as the 4 wheelers.

GST is another subject by itself. To justify this, think about the people paying GST collected for boats, heavy equipment like cranes, tractors, 3 wheelers who don’t use expressways. India is not a rich country like Middle East with oil to be tax free. GST is needed for the country to run.

Also I am part of a small percentage of Indian population who is an income tax payer with silver category. Does this mean I have any extra privileges? My car can be towed from the road even for petty reasons even though I am indirectly responsible for the salaries of public servants through my income tax.

[navrddy]

Superbikes should be banned. They have tremendous acceleration and the majority of the guys who ride them, cannot control them. They violate all rules like any other two-wheeler and scare the hell out of people who are travelling at 80/100 kmph. I have seen them up front and observed this behaviour. Unfortunately, it is the majority of the riders. But, a few superbike riders follow all rules. Since the majority wins, for the greater good superbikes and high-performance bikes should be banned on expressways.

[Nilesh5417]

Was tempted to vote "No" but voted "Yes" simply cause the risk is always going to be with motorcyclists like me. Unless there are safeguards in place and mechanisms to ensure compliance by both 2 & 4 Wheelers on these expressways, it makes no sense at all in a country like India. And I dread to imagine the stunts vloggers will want to pull off and bring disrepute to riding community.

[RMN]

Originally Posted by Mystic

GST is another subject by itself. To justify this, think about the people paying GST collected for boats, heavy equipment like cranes, tractors, 3 wheelers who don’t use expressways. India is not a rich country like Middle East with oil to be tax free. GST is needed for the country to run.

Also I am part of a small percentage of Indian population who is an income tax payer with silver category. Does this mean I have any extra privileges? My car can be towed from the road even for petty reasons even though I am indirectly responsible for the salaries of public servants through my income tax.

I was referring to the road tax. If any vehicle that has paid road tax is legally not allowed to use some of them, they shouldn't have to pay the full amount, right? Pretty much all motorcycles that cost upwards of say 5.5L are meant to be ridden on expressways. Banning then on expressways and forcing them to use the broken city tarmac doesn't seem fair.

[davelok]

Originally Posted by RMN

Pretty much all motorcycles that cost upwards of say 5.5L are meant to be ridden on expressways. Banning then on expressways and forcing them to use the broken city tarmac doesn't seem fair.

As of today, it is well known that motorcycles are not allowed on expressways. These bikes are bought with the full knowledge that they would be restricted to the 'plebeian' roads. Hence it's not a question of fairness.

Secondly, as compared to a car that can do 200kmph, motorcycles that fly as fast are much cheaper, and therefore much more likely to be ridden by people looking for cheap thrills - sometimes with pillion.

Hence, it is better to keep people away from harm - whether self-inflicted or by someone else's fault, or merely an act of God, than allow them to ruin the lives of themselves and those dependent on them.

I'm sure that if motorcycles had been permitted on E-ways from the start, the advent of bigger bikes (if not what stunts people manage to pull with the commuter models) would have triggered demands to ban them. However, the genie having already egressed from the bottle by then would stubbornly refuse to revert.

So let's focus on being better drivers, riders, and civic-minded citizens. Then perhaps in two generations or three, we (or rather the descendants of those who successfully avoided Darwin Awards) would also be able to partake in the delights of the autobahn on two wheels.

Till then, four wheels good, two wheels bad. At least on the E-way.

[Bhodrolok]

Voted : No

Because in principle, I don't support such a ban.

However I see why they are banned, it's not possible for a toll-operator to decide if a motorcycle is capable of maintaining expressway speeds. Also making sure suitable riding gear is in place for rider, pillion and even more seems like an impossible task.

[sabi_swat]

TBH, I have never seen bikers riding the fast/middle lane of an Expressway. They are usually seen occupying extreme left lane comprising mostly splendors, activas, some bullets/apaches/pulsar, minding their own business and sticking to their own lane. Apart from that I have seen only heavy cc bikes such as himalayan, domi,RR, Superbikes, Harley zooming past on fast lane, but then their speed are mostly in triple digits and matches the four wheeler without any issues. AND yes, there are wannabes Youtubers riding at dangerous speeds but then as per recent data most of the speeding offences are done by four wheeler as compare to a two wheeler.

[samm]

I personally don't like the idea of banning vehicles selectively. But, It cannot be that some vehicles get a free run, and some other type of vehicles pay the toll.

So, if there is a mechanism to automatically and unambiguously determine the cc of a vehicle, and charge a toll accordingly, then I agree to allow bikes, provided the lane discipline is strictly followed., It is completely unfair that a 8 lakh worth bike goes through free, while a 3 lakh worth car pay a massive toll. Yes, there is price disparity among cars as well, but definitely there should not be any free rides just for some.

So voted YES, given the current system. I might change my opinion if an equivalent toll and strict lane discipline are implemented for all vehicles.

[HTC]

Here is my take-

"Government is passing on their inefficiencies in the form of restrictions on people".

Before I start my rant, let me give you a different analogy. Not sure of other states, but in Karnataka, anything happens - the only solution is 'Ban'. Few examples,

• Some trekker died while trekking, ban trekking.
• Some person got molested in Chamundi hill in mysore, ban vehicles post 8pm to Chamundi hill.
• Some photographers were doing commercial shoots in Lal bag(like pregnancy, pre wedding ), ban photography.
• Some retired guy got intentionally run over in Manasa Gangotri campus for what ever reason, ban public entry.

The list goes on.Public parks locked from 10am till 4pm. Why?
Common people have hardly any open spaces to relax and on top of this these bans are added torture.

Now let's come back to the topic. Who are the people riding bikes? Ideally those are people to whom government has issued driving licenses after conducting Learners test and then DL test. This means they know how to ride, follow traffic rules. If not, then there is bigger problem for govt to fix at their RTO department on how the DLs are issued. Since this is an infrastructure built with public money, they can not be selective in giving access. Instead If any one breaks the law, let govt levy high penalty so that it becomes a deterrent for errant drivers, be it 2 wheeler or 4 wheeler.

If they can use technology to fine traffic violations in Bangalore city and give 50% offer to pay fines. They can very well leverage the tech to monitor and fine expressway rule violators also.

I'm writing this because, if I'm alone and have to do a solo trip to mysore I have to spend 4k rupees if I take my car. If it is 2 wheeler- it will be around 1k max. Just because 2 wheelers are banned, I had to take either bad kanakapura route or service road having speed breakers at every every 1 km interval.

We can always give alternatives like public transport, under staffed police force etc to cover up our governments inefficiencies, but unless there is accountability at every stage, there's no end to this debate.

I rest my case

[handsofsteel]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

I responded to the post where a BHPian said he hasn't seen any antics on YEW.

Everyone abusing the laws, should be taken to task. Lets agree to that the bikers on YEW, especially in group are a menace. There is a reason there were banned in 2020 sometime and we have enough videos on YT to see some illegal speed attempts. I have lost a known where he bike collided with another bike at unmentionable speed.

I used to ride on the YEW almost every weekend. Trust me, I’ve seen more cars flouting the speed limits/traffic rules than bikes. Also, during fog, how many pile ups have u seen due to bikes? It is this sort of generalisation and “holier than thou” attitude that results in such hackneyed laws.
For the other members who say, the majority must suffer on account of the minority - by that logic all suvs and trucks should be banned from the roads.
Come on guys, let’s be balanced and rational. The forum deserves this at least.