Team-BHP - Speeding fine on Mumbai-Pune E-way raised to Rs. 2,000

Quote:

Originally Posted by tushar_j (Post 5221468)

For Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the workaround which every driver I know uses is - speed all they want, then at one of the food plazas, take a break which exceeds about 30+ mins. So when you reach the 2nd toll, the timing does not indicate that the driver has oversped.

I'm sorry - they actually do this? How? Fastag scan timestamps?
This is the first time I'm hearing of this:coldsweat

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunny29584 (Post 5221250)

Also I feel increasing fine should be backed by easier, better and faster resolution to wrong fines.

Speaking of wrong fines, I am challaned not nice but thrice for over speeding in August 2021. The only issue here is that I sold my car through Spinny in February ‘21. Spinny confirms they have completed all transfer formalities.

The Grievance I raised on the MahaTrafficApp says grievance DENIED. It’s is my fault that someone is driving their car at high speed but because I owned the car once upon a time I have to pay the challan.

MH police are ruthless thugs. A real clean up especially on this expressway is needed really fast

Quote:

Originally Posted by tushar_j (Post 5221468)

Not sure whether the intention is to really save time between the two toll plazas or anything else.
Because, by ‘speeding’ all they want, some lives may be unnecessarily put in danger.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tushar_j (Post 5221468)

This was done a few years back and doesn't happen anymore. There are now speed cameras and challans are generated online.

The way the speed limits are set are too arbitrary. The expressway is still better off, I have seen friends get challaned on the Aurangabad highway saying speed limit is 74kmph! Show us one board that displays 74kmph as the speed limit. Another instance that comes to mind is someone from our Ford group got fined on a road where the speed limit was apparently 30kmph :Frustrati

I really wish I was a lawyer in such situations to be able to challans such arbitrary rules.

This is just ridiculous. It’s alright to have speed limits to ensure safety but it need to be clearly marked. There are sections on the Bombay Pune Expressway wherein the speed limit reduces to 70 and I have got fined for being on 75. I do not remember reading a sign which states that the limit is 70 instead of 80/100. Now doubling the fine is just daylight robbery. The same thing on an European highway, it would be brought to notice multiple times that you are entering a lower speed limit zone.

The worst is the MTP app. I had a few fines pertaining to crossing line on a signal and parking fines with incorrect evidence. I raised a dispute on the app. I got a reply stating that everything is in order and I need to pay the fines. The worst part, I cannot raise a dispute again for the same complaint.

ABSOLUTE NON-SENSE and a trash system completely designed to make money instead of ensuring safer roads. A road in the neighbourhood near the chief ministers residence has a no park zone on one side of the road. But when the NETAS are visiting, they park everywhere without considering public inconvenience, coz obviously they are above the law.

As a general practice, I always put my car in cruise control with 100kmph(true speed would be close to 90 accounting for speedo error) on expressway but as many have pointed out, these cops have speed guns on the steepest slopes where even with engine breaking your speed will be slightly higher. I got challaned only once where my speed was 93kmph where the speed limit was 90, never have I ever seen a sign of 90kmph.

Also I strongly feel there should be a minimum speed for the fast /overtaking lane, and failing to achieve that speed should also be fined equally.

Irrational speed limits and inadequate warning before reducing the allowable speed are clearly wrong. No one will disagree.

Why hasn't any person approached the court of law against such practice?

Why hasn't any hyper active and super efficient political party launched an agitation "in the interest of common man"?

Has any electronic media or print media raised a campaign against this practice?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tushar_j (Post 5221468)

For those quoting this message, this was in 2012. At that time there were no cameras, and enforcement of speed limits was not so strong.

The new blue coloured boards ( placed about 2 years ago ) consistently indicate the speed limit for cars as 100 kmph.This is for the straight stretches of Pune--Lonavala and Khalapur--Panvel, except inside Kamshet Tunnel 1, Bhatan and Madap tunnels where it is 80.

Speeding fine on Mumbai-Pune E-way raised to Rs. 2,000-screenshot_20211226073420.jpg

However, on these same straight stretches, there are still the old ones existing on the medians and on the sides mentioning speed limit as 80 ( circular white boards ) that create confusion. I guess this is what many BHPians are pointing out that there are irregularities between successive speed limit boards placed within few hundred metres. On the ghat section it is 70,60,50,30.

That said, I have been challaned quite a few times for doing 103 or 107 kmph in a 100kmph zone. The driving discipline on Expressway has surely improved, since atleast 2015.

To add, there are a lot many parts moving in this entire "Curbing The Expressway Over Speeding" project and this comes with loopholes that I heard from trusted sources.

1. The camera's between Pune to Talegaon toll plaza do not register overspeeding vehicles post midnight. Tried this in 6 instances and never been fined for it.

2. Speed cameras are placed at regular intervals throughout the expressway however, you will be fined for only one instance of overspeeding even if you clock it at every speed camera.

3. Seasoned errant drivers that shuttle regularly between the expressway have now started using a different strategy where they overspeed just between the cameras. This has now become even more dangerous because these vehicles now tend to drive 120+ between cameras and then suddenly break right before the mark. You can witness this your self when you drive.

4. You also see frequently traveling heavy vehicles driving on the extreme right lane which proves that the fine system is flawed since these drivers have the audacity to still not observe the lane discipline although they definitely cannot afford the fines. This includes the govt. Shivneri (Mumbai-Pune AC buses) buses as well.

5. The camera do not capture tailgating vehicles.

I understand the objective behind trying to make regulations better for the citizens but if that needs to be I don't think overspeeding tops the list of violations that need immediate attention. At certain steep gradient sections we have all the lanes occupied by heavy vehicles trying to climb the slope while light vehicles try to make risky swerves in between them.
The toll plazas for gods know why, has the fastag entries in the middle gates of the expressway forcing all lanes to start shuffling themselves before the toll plaza which is more dangerous.

The majority of the accidents that have happened are because of light vehicles making overtakes within the heavy vehicles breaking distance and then fail to execute.

Some relevant trivia:
1. This is possibly the highest toll rate road across India - Rs 3 per km for cars. Yamuna expressway may be close but it's far ahead in terms of surface quality / upkeep

2. It's classified under state highway. Not being an NHAI road, the contract terms are open to whims and fancies of the state government (general trend is that state concession agreements are way more lax than NHAI ones)

3. On paper, this road collects revenue of ~2.5 Cr per day (slightly dated info). The open secret is that almost 30% of the traffic is shown toll exempt (in rupee terms, it will be around 1.0 cr per day). None knows whether it's actually exempt or just a conduit to take staggering 1 cr out of the system every day

4. This asset had been a milch cow for all stakeholders - state, contractors and all kind of vested interests. But greed has no limits. Now, the parties are milking this abomination of expressway through speeding fines. Original proposal was to raise the speed limits to 120. Looking at the hefty collections, it may never happen

Quote:

Originally Posted by tushar_j (Post 5221468)

So when you reach the 2nd toll, the timing does not indicate that the driver has oversped.

That might be the reason many drivers are not fined even if they cross the 60 kmph limit while coming to Khalapur toll plaza from Lonavala. I saw a flash when I was coming down the slope and I was over 60 kmph but did not receive any fine. May be due the total timing reason or may be due to the max 80 kmph I maintained for entire stretch.

I may sound stupid but doing 80 kmph in middle lane is not less than watching a horror thriller movie. I frequently get buses tailgating me and someone cutting into lane always because some moron is driving at 80 kmph in top lane.

This expressway was created with the intention of providing a faster route between Mumbai pune. Now it has become a hunting ground for traffic guys who hide like Jim Corbett in Shiwaliks and their sole intention is to aggregate as much revenue for the government as possible. Looks like the revenue collection was not upto the mark and hence the decision to double the fine.
On one side people are being penalized for overspeeding at 65 km on a 60km limit stretch while tinted fortuners are hardly stopped, and guess what they are exempt from paying the toll.