[SS_36]

Given the following:
1. Poor self-control of speeds by drivers of India
2. Little to no speed enforcement on highways
3. Large % of accidents on highways linked to speeding
4. Highest speed limit anywhere in the country is 120 kmph
5. We don't have Autobahns like in Germany
6. Cars have advanced ECUs today

Then why allow car manufacturers to make and sell cars that can go faster than 120 kmph? Can the Govt. not mandate ECU controlled speed limit of 120 kmph on all new cars? This can be retroactively implemented on all cars already sold, at least those that have the ECU capability.

Cars can still have large engines and be sporty to drive; the thrill coming from high accelerations (0 to max 120 only) rather than high speeds.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by SS_36

Cars can still have large engines and be sporty to drive; the thrill coming from high accelerations (0 to max 120 only) rather than high speeds.

And then what happens when you want to overtake a speeding bus travelling at 115? Go at 120 and spend more time in the process of a risky overtake? Speed really isn't everything you know. Road infrastructure, driver training and vehicle maintenance play arguably larger roles if not contribute just as much to most accidents. Just that it is easier to blame speed than the others since they would constitute a higher expense to rectify. I think what you're proposing is a band-aid type of solution to the issue at hand.

[revsperminute]

What if it’s an emergency situation? What if you’re being chased by some mafia corporation and the only way to escape with your life is to go 200kph through the dark of the night? I feel this question is as unrealistic as the scenario I just came up with.

OT: It’s late at night, I was trying to go to sleep. This post of yours is certainly going to give me nightmares tonight.

[AYP]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

What if it’s an emergency situation? What if you’re being chased by some mafia corporation and the only way to escape with your life is to go 200kph through the dark of the night? I feel this question is as unrealistic as the scenario I just came up with.

I completely agree with this. But then, I am reminded of the poor law abiding taxi/commercial car drivers who have a 80kmph speed limit. Don't they fear of such a situation? What's worse is that the government didn't think of this factor when dictating a speed limit of 80kmph for these folks. Having a speed limiter is definitely not the solution.

P.S. The same argument can technically be used for any speed limit, be it 250 or 400 but a large majority if not all will agree that the these high speed limits and the limit being proposed in this thread aren't comparable.

[Narendranath]

Originally Posted by SS_36

Given the following:
1. Poor self-control of speeds by drivers of India
2. Little to no speed enforcement on highways
3. Large % of accidents on highways linked to speeding
4. Highest speed limit anywhere in the country is 120 kmph
5. We don't have Autobahns like in Germany
6. Cars have advanced ECUs today

Then why allow car manufacturers to make and sell cars that can go faster than 120 kmph? Can the Govt. not mandate ECU controlled speed limit of 120 kmph on all new cars? This can be retroactively implemented on all cars already sold, at least those that have the ECU capability.

Though it sounds a bit out-of-the-box, this idea seems sensible. When there's an upper speed limit which is universal across the country, and given the fact that over speeding is an important factor contributing to fatal accidents, it can be seen as a low hanging fruit , an easier solution, before the larger and more expensive fixes are possible.

Cars can still have large engines and be sporty to drive; the thrill coming from high accelerations (0 to max 120 only) rather than high speeds.

120 kmph is nothing to sneeze about even by western standards and given our wobbly infrastructure, it can be considered as rather high. So, the thrill can be found in acceleration rather than in excessive speed.

[Turbohead]

+1 to IshaanIan

It's extremely important to complete an overtaking maneuver as quickly as possible to ensure safety for ourselves and the vehicle we're overtaking. Indian conditions mandate that we have high visibility and space to avoid any emergency situation.

Also speed is only one part of the whole safety equation. What we really need is a more stringent driver training and license issuance programme. Let's not forget the infrastructure- the highways department are not learning from the existing infrastructure and are continuing to replicate accident prone zones even in newer highways.

The reason why speeding happens to be the major cause of accidents is because the cops find it convenient to mark an accident like that so that they can call it a day. After all they're not paid enough for all the hardwork of investigating each and every accident.

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by SS_36

Given the following:
1. Poor self-control of speeds by drivers of India
3. Large % of accidents on highways linked to speeding
5. We don't have Autobahns like in Germany

Do you have any scientific data to back these claims or is this just an opinion/feeling?

I have been driving for ~35 years on all type of Indian roads. During this time, I have seen highways evolve from 1+1 to 3+3 and even 4+4.
The longest I have driven is from Pune, Maharashtra to Roing, Arunachal Pradesh.
I think I have enough hours clocked to aggregate factual observations and formulate a conclusion.

1) Huge majority of Indians, can safely control their vehicles at high speeds. Like everywhere else, there is a tiny percentage of rotten apples.
2) Problem with highways is not fast moving vehicles, but rather, slow moving ones, many a time in the fast lane. Indians suck at lane discipline.
3) India doesn't have autobahns? Have you driven on any of the numerous Expressways India has today?

Expressways are the highest class of roads in India. As of July 2022, India has a total length of 2,699.3 km (1,677.3 mi) of expressways. These are controlled-access highways where entrance and exits are controlled by the use of ramps or interchange or trumphet that are incorporated into the design of the expressway and designed for minimum speed of 120 km/hr...Expressways follow standards set by Indian Roads Congress and Bureau of Indian Standards.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by SS_36

Given the following:
--->
Then why allow car manufacturers to make and sell cars that can go faster than 120 kmph? Can the Govt. not mandate ECU controlled speed limit of 120 kmph on all new cars? This can be retroactively implemented on all cars already sold, at least those that have the ECU capability.

SS_36,

Thank you for this suggestion. Welcome to Team BHP where any suggestion to do with speed, smaller engines will be met with derision as you can see from the first few responses. While over speeding is not the only factor it is one factor and just because all factors cannot be addressed does not mean one should not. I would vote for 100 kmph as the ECU imposed limit. I also sincerely believe that as we are not only the second most populous country but also the 2nd most densely populated amongst the 20 largest by population, our cars should be tuned to our needs in terms of size {smaller}, engine power {lower} and turning circles {tighter}.

All,

IMHO this is a valid and simple solution, one of many, to help curb our accident rate. No one solution be it better training, better implementation of deterrence, speed controls will solve the problem of our road safety but that does not mean one that we can implement should not be simply because the others are more complex or suffer from lack of admin ability and citizen indiscipline. In our country with its economic and social diversity the highway driving yuppy has to co-exist with the farmer and his cows and the truck driver and the tractor. And our laws have to {and at times do} encompass that reality. Those highways were made for safe & reasonable transportation of trucks, buses, cars and often other modes of wheeled transport. They were not built for the well off to seek the thrill of accelerating or driving fast.

These views are likely going to be deeply unpopular on Team BHP.

Peace.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by SS_36

Given the following:
1. Poor self-control of speeds by drivers of India
2. Little to no speed enforcement on highways
3. Large % of accidents on highways are linked to speeding
Cars can still have large engines and be sporty to drive; the thrill comes from high accelerations (0 to max 120 only) rather than high speeds.

Every time a car driver is targeted for an increase in accidental death, I think of what caused the accident. Our highways and expressways are not safe because of heavy vehicles and commercial vehicles, they occupy the high-speed lanes, divide the lanes among them and block the way for other vehicles. Then there are state-owned buses and private buses that stop at their will, add to this list our manually controlled automatic toll booths. Thich leaves very little room for a private car driver to reach his destination unless he does not over-speed somewhere to compensate for the loss of time. As a Bangalorean, NICE Road, Attibele toll booth, and Elevated flyover till E-City are classic examples of bad infrastructure.

[EV NXT]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

These views are likely going to be deeply unpopular on Team BHP.

Peace.

^^^ I like your sense of humour. Well said! As one who belongs to the “other side” (I love fast cars) I appreciate what you’ve said though and just yesterday was mentioning in another forum in a sort of similar context that the world needs more leaders like LKY. And India needs a few of them.

This was the video in reference:

https://youtu.be/GhvHLpSD1nE

[dhanushs]

I have a question: How many accidents really occur due to speed? Take the statistics.

Almost always, it's other factors adding to it. Not just speed. Like drunken driving, emotionally aggressive, less expertise, lack of safety awareness etc..etc..

IMO, driving is being taken far too lightly nowadays than olden days. I remember, in olden days, a driver is considered an operator of a heavy machinery and needed to know all the basic mechanics and safety do's and dont's of the machinery (Car).

In todays fast paced life, a driving license might very well, help a single mother to drop her kid to school or buy groceries without dependencies, it also increases unawareness and the seriousness of knowing your car and the intricate details about driving.

In just my opinion, if a driving license is issued to a person who 'really knows' driving and is informed about the safety precautions, we can drastically cut down accidents.

Speeding is just not the reason.

[DicKy]

Again the myopic view to speed limits. Just like our cops and media claiming 'rash driving and overspeeding' to be the reason for most accidents. Why 120km/h? 80km/h should be more reasonable and safe.

Even in most nations with a strict view to speeding and slapping heavy fines, the view is if you are in such a situation as to speed or for emergencies, do speed. And then cough up the fine as a charge for it. Much preferable than being stuck at a preset limit. During the initial days of speed cams in Kerala, my friend had a medical emergency and had to speed. When the mail came they replied it was for an emergency and the MVD closed the case when they checked the CCTVs to confirm they were indeed going to a hospital. Ofcourse his parents are lawyers and this was the early days of speed cam. Not sure if it would work today or they would bother to go through CCTV footages to ascertain.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

2) Problem with highways is not fast moving vehicles, but rather, slow moving ones, many a time in the fast lane. ?

This is the absolute truth. But it is easier to just go after upper speed limits than going after the various factors that bring down our average speed. Enforce minimum speed limits and make it access controlled. I would be happy to follow anything between 80-120km/h.

[crdi]

Why just the speed limit? Give a mandate on acceleration too! 0 to 120 kph in 60 seconds or so, with uniform spread accross the gears. Make the ECU send signals to the enforcers if someone dares to fiddle with it. Make it go into limp mode OTA. Link the ECU too with aadhar or some upi ID.

Win win for everyone except the mostly law abiding general public who might have needed the speed once or twice in a lifetime, for some genuine reason.

Lastly, exempt all government vehicles from the said rules.

[keroo1099]

Horrible gloomy day in Bangalore so let's have some fun.

You want to go over 120 pay a subscription fee based on how fast you want to go. Why let the slow coaches go free so hit them with a subscription if they want to go under 40.

I should get a tax waiver for life for suggesting this.

Have a good Sunday all.

[SS-Traveller]

Anyone noticed this very old thread (Abu Dhabi: Speed limit increased to promote safety!)?

I'd suggest a uniform top speed of 50 kmph for all vehicles in India, irrespective of urban roads or highways; the death rate due to road traffic accidents with fall drastically, and as an aside, it will teach our citizens the virtues of immense patience. Of course, for demonstration purposes relating to how fantastic our new highways are, concerned dignitaries will be permitted to drive at 170 kmph and more.