Abu Dhabi: Speed limit increased to promote safety!

rks · 14th October 2006, 12:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steeroid

The Abu Dhabi emirate has increased speed limits on its highways from 120 kmph to 160 kmph.
[...]
What do you guys think - is it a good idea to allow people to drive faster in order to promote road safety???

Great idea. The speed limits in our country are absurdly low (fit for the British age) and not enforceable. Need more sensible speed limits taking into account superior vehicles and better, wider roads. For the Expressway I think the speed limit should be in the 160 kmph range, so that I can drive at full throttle in my Santro (just kidding). The only problem with such speeds is that small obstacles on the road, like stones, can be deadly -- no way you can see these in time except through luck, especially at night. So those guilty of leaving stones and other trash on the highway should be serverely punished, if caught. More frequent patrolling by police is needed. Ridiculous man-made safety hazards like speed breakers should be removed. And as pointed out, better lane discipline is needed -- in fact better discipline from all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. We need to value our roads, keep them in good shape with latest available technology and proper road signs; those found digging up roads for flimsy reasons should be jailed.

naveendhyani · 14th October 2006, 13:17

agree with all that speed itself is a small contributor to accidents, its the lane changing, rash driving, not driving according to lane requirements (fast in the left lane & slow in the right), racing & so on.

but even if all the drivers in india start behaving in the right manner the speed will kill people due to lack of safety measures in the vehicle.

if u notice in the west some of the accidents end up being a stockpile of metal even though the people survive cause of airbags, ABS, crumple zones etc.

caliper · 12th June 2007, 20:17

160 kph is fine if the road supports it, in the consideration of civil engineers. I.e., road grade, curve, safety features such as curbs and shoulders.

This is, of course, not viable in the Indian context. Even on the vaunted Bombay-Pune expressway, it is said that there are some sudden curves, stops, and highway repair work.

14th October 2006, 13:17	#17
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542 Thanked: 9 Times	agree with all that speed itself is a small contributor to accidents, its the lane changing, rash driving, not driving according to lane requirements (fast in the left lane & slow in the right), racing & so on. but even if all the drivers in india start behaving in the right manner the speed will kill people due to lack of safety measures in the vehicle. if u notice in the west some of the accidents end up being a stockpile of metal even though the people survive cause of airbags, ABS, crumple zones etc.
	() Thanks

12th June 2007, 20:17	#18
caliper BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: India Posts: 160 Thanked: 3 Times	160 kph is fine if the road supports it, in the consideration of civil engineers. I.e., road grade, curve, safety features such as curbs and shoulders. This is, of course, not viable in the Indian context. Even on the vaunted Bombay-Pune expressway, it is said that there are some sudden curves, stops, and highway repair work.
	() Thanks