[impala]

Originally Posted by am1m

For those using this new highway and other highways, is this really any more dangerous than what we see on other highways in our country?

The frequency of nonsense is a few times higher than other highways I have been, with a caveat that I have not been on highways any further north than Maharashtra for long distances. I have not till now seen four-wheelers coming in highway speeds against you on any of the lanes on other highways. Yes, there are occasionally vehicles coming on the left-most lane at low speeds but here expect a car or a truck to be barrelling down at you on the right lane! There are a few things at play here making the road accident prone.

• Roads are not smooth - Expect a light weight car to bounce around at some stretches. There are good stretches, but some stretches are even worse than state highways or MDRs on some other parts of the country.
• There are turns which I feel are too sharp for a road with 100kmph limit. Some careless drives do drift to the other lane.
• A lot of people who are driving have this express way as a new experience. This is a stretch popular for weekend getaways from Bangalore too. People just do not know to how to drive in such highways. On some other highways, I was able to follow one car or another at a fixed distance for at least a few minutes. But never on this road till now.
• Vehicle volume is high. Sometimes, vehicles just do no keep safe distance for the speeds as someone would invariably cut in ahead of you. I think the high volume of traffic, drivers not maintaining right speed for a lane and lane discipline just frustrate people and they start driving rashly.

Nevertheless, looks like the Karnataka law enforcement is waking up. They are sending a dossier to NHAI and also planning an audit. The highway saw 92 deaths till now! Link

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by am1m

For those using this new highway and other highways, is this really any more dangerous than what we see on other highways in our country? Idiots going the wrong way, speeding cars swerving between lanes, idiots parking on the road to enjoy a meal or selfies, bikes going slow in the fast lane, cutting across at random, tractors, incorrect banking on curves...all sound pretty much like any highway I've been on. The usual defensive driving/riding tactics and quick prayer should suffice, right? Or is this one really more dangerous in your considered opinion?

My take on this:

Short Answer: Yes, it is definitely more dangerous than the other highways/expressways.

Why it is so? In my view:

Design Aspects: Probably the fundamental problem. Just to name a few

• There are design flaws. Many of which even to many of us regular road users, was obviously avoidable.
• In many sections it has a proper expressway like design. Long stretches with no exit, long flyovers, proper barricades. These are neatly done, wide, straight stretches. You drive like you would on an expressway.
• In many sections it is like a regular 6 lane road, just protected by fences on both side, sudden exits to towns without an additional lane defined happen, it is easier for people to dart across. But mentally most people will tend to drive like it is an expressway.
• The topography has made it look deceptive. You may see a long straight and a gentle curve, but you realize late that the curve is much sharper than you expected. Example is the Bidadi bypass exit when coming from Mysore. This belt also gets fairly heavy rains which make it even more dangerous

The people aspect:

• Foundationally this is mostly like everywhere else. Wrong side driving, lack of lane discipline, overspeeding- the usual stuff which are seen everywhere.
  
• Now consider the whole Mysore Region. If you see, there have been no 4/6 lane highways in the Mysore belt other than the old 4 lane highway. All areas around the Bangalore-Mysore belt, further towards the Western Ghats in the Coorg, Wayanad, Ooty directions. All 2 lane roads. Nearest 4 lane is the Hassan-Sakleshpur belt. So the local population along with a large section of people within Bangalore who would only be driving from Bangalore to these areas and have limited experience of a high speed highway. This lack of experience pushes up the danger quotient a little more. Technically if you look at it, there is no expressway in South India.
  
• Bangalore-Mysore is a densely populated belt. Which means local traffic is always high. This local traffic now needs to work around and with the expressway and all its design flaws.

So in summary, you take the design flaws of the expressway, add in the general lack of discipline of our road users and the fact that it runs through a densely populated belt and mix it with a population with a lack of experience with high speed roads- you get a potent stretch of road now in the news for all the wrong reasons.

What can be done: Yes, defensive driving, start early all of that. But also do not follow the same driving pattern for the whole expressway. A general rule of thumb is that all the new greenfield sections are more expressway like, Exercise more caution when you are in stretches which are expansion of the old road, and watch out for those deceptive sections where the topography can cause a problem.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Oppanna

I am a person who loves to stick to middle lane here and maintain steady 80 kmph.

Note that BMEW has (for the most part) marked speed limits of 100 kmph in the middle lane and 120 kmph in the overtaking lane.

Originally Posted by am1m

For those using this new highway and other highways, is this really any more dangerous than what we see on other highways in our country?

Personally, I feel in Karnataka the tendency to do dangerous things like driving on the wrong carriageway etc. is higher than in neighbouring states.

[megazoid]

The toll from Bangalore side is almost empty as everyone is happy negotiating the old stretch to join the expressway later, thereby avoiding toll. Similar story on the return leg too. Most folks dived out of some exit near Bidadi and reappeared again after the toll. The whole journey is a freaking stress giver. Terrible road manners. Driving a gypsy was fraught with risk as I wasn't even able to clear the mess to a relative position of safety.

The most relaxed part were the toll plazas themselves as there was hardly anyone taking them. I remember earlier discussions where the toll plaza was considered the bottleneck on an otherwise smooth expressway.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

My take on this:

Short Answer: Yes, it is definitely more dangerous than the other highways/expressways.

Design Aspects:
In many sections it has a proper expressway like design. Long stretches with no exit, long flyovers, proper barricades. These are neatly done, wide, straight stretches. You drive like you would on an expressway.

But mentally most people will tend to drive like it is an expressway.

You may see a long straight and a gentle curve, but you realize late that the curve is much sharper than you expected.

The people aspect:
Technically if you look at it, there is no expressway in South India.

This local traffic now needs to work around and with the expressway and all its design flaws.

So in summary, you take the design flaws of the expressway, add in the general lack of discipline of our road users and the fact that it runs through a densely populated belt and mix it with a population with a lack of experience with high speed roads- you get a potent stretch of road now in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Superbly captured. Reminds me of the early days of the Mumbai Pune Expressway. People were then dying like flies (okay, still are although somewhat reduced) with irresponsible driving and blanket over-speeding, tyre bursts, sudden lane changes leading to toppling of high GC vehicles, severe overloading of private vehicles, brake fade leading to tollbooth accidents, tailgating, blind overtaking without a clear view, pure ego clashes, highway hypnosis, aquaplaning and what not!

Your analysis of the greenfield bits are totally correct - you can get induced to drive fast and end up in a very dicey situation when the 'Expressway' veers back to the older curvy alignment.

[manjubp]

I never feared to drive on any of the highways either in India or abroad (except German Autobahns). Very regular to Bangalore-Mysore highway, with atleast 15-20 trips a year for last 20+ years.

However last 5-6 trips to Mysore on new express way is making me to think to skip this highway and switch over to Kanakpura road or via Bellur cross. It is pure madness with two wheelers and slow moving vehicles occupying all the lanes and switching lanes randomly.

Last two trips, via kunigal was very peaceful, though it took additional 30-40 minutes.

[salluks]

an alternate option is the old mysore road. its completely deserted to the point that even the signals are stopped now.

[srikanthmadhava]

Originally Posted by JithinR

But the pièce de résistance for this trip was when other vehicles who had encountered the traffic jam at the Mysore signal decided to then execute a u-turn on the over bridge of the expressway to head back to a previous exit point.

Checkout the below post. Cars, buses, trucks, everyone taking U turn at Mysore entry signal.

Originally Posted by srikanthmadhava

Used the expressway from Mysore to Bangalore last Sunday.

The opposite route (Bangalore to Mysore) was in absolute mess

I had tried out the Yelwala-KSR bypass while coming to Bangalore last time and it was in acceptable condition (not great, but way better than before). One good thing was that Google routed us to the expressway entry before the bypass road exit and it was worth it. Saved some time and escaped the slight congestion inside mysore city.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by salluks

an alternate option is the old mysore road. its completely deserted to the point that even the signals are stopped now.

As the expressway follows the old road alignment for all sections other than the towns, there is no old Mysore road that you can take end to end. You can take the road through the towns- especially ramanagara channapatna stretch, but other than that you have to take the highway or stick to service road which really does not make sense.

Also, considering the bypasses are the completely new sections of road and the best stretches ro be driving on, does not make sense to skip those on a regular drive.

Of course, if it is more of a nostalgic drive, then it would be good to coast through the towns- which are now more peaceful and even signal free

[binand]

From today's (27/6) Hindu:



Hopefully this will be a committee with teeth and implementation mandate.

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by binand

From today's (27/6) Hindu:

Attachment 2468652

Hopefully this will be a committee with teeth and implementation mandate.

In Deccan Herald

https://www.deccanherald.com/state/t...y-1231491.html

[speedmiester]

Personally even with all the design flaws and the crazy morons driving like maniacs, the new expressway is a boon for me. I have driven over a lakh kms on the older ones, so this is a major improvement.

Now I don't need to worry about town traffic and pedestrians, only thing to look out for are the pesky two wheelers and the maniacs driving like no tomorrow.

As I say this, there is news of a horrific accident involving the new KSRTC electric bus and a bolero on the expressway, sadly the driver cum conductor of the bus passed away in the accident.

KSRTC driver-cum-conductor dies as electric bus hits goods vehicle on Mysuru- Bengaluru Expressway

[paragsachania]

Akin to L&O cops announcing a ban on pickpocketing at Bus and Railway stations:

Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway: Ban on Bikes, Autos from July

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Akin to L&O cops announcing a ban on pickpocketing at Bus and Railway stations:

Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway: Ban on Bikes, Autos from July

Since there are multiple entry and exits, I'm not sure how this will be enforced. Feel sad looking at the state of affairs with people not understanding why a certain class of vehicle isn't allowed and then risking their lives.

Hopefully there will be some sort of enforcement done and that will work in getting slow moving vehicles off the road.

[Rajeevraj]

Drove again yesterday on the route. 20 min jam at the NICE exit due to long weekend crowd and police alternatively allowing traffic from the city on the main road and then from NICE exit. Expressway had traffic, but was mostly disciplined. Not sure if the proclamation by cops that interceptors will be stationed and license will be cancelled scared people into driving more sanely.

One thing I noticed is that restaurants and eateries are slowly setting up exactly at each exit points So that people can go in and out without any deviations. People who own land right at these exit points will be starting to make a killing now. Did not see any instances of the trend of parking on the expressway and making a gap in the fence to enter.

Read a news item that the 2nd toll is starting. Saw the preps going on for it.