[Tony2298]

Hello all

It seems like RTO, Traffic Police etc are on a money-minting scheme starting from the new year, if charging hefty tolls for poor quality roads marred with diversion wasn't enough they have now started keeping speed guns on smooth stretches of the NH48 since they know people would speed up to make up for the time lost while managing diversions.

The victim in question is yours truly who has been issued two speeding tickets consecutively, all from mobile speed guns, I did spot a couple of RTO jeeps adjacent to the highway but they had their trunks closed without any visible personnel around the jeep, it seems like they've found a better camera which can work even at a distance hiding in the background and catching the cars off guard.

This is what makes me really frustrated, for law enforcement authorities car owners are a very easy target, first of all the current taxation terrorism feels like as if we're committing a grievous crime by helping the economy when we buy cars and even after paying ridiculous high amount for fuels and tolls, if we try to keep a good speed on the highway(read 80-100kph) we're penalised for that, yes speeding is one of the important factors for road fatalities but equally dangerous factors are defective road layout, presence of deep potholes on middle of a highway, presence of large number of unfit vehicles with non-functional lights, widespread non-usage of helmets by two wheelers who have the guts of riding the wrong way on middle of a highway, all these factors combine to cause accidents.

I as a car owner feel extremely dis-satisfied with this move of step-motherly treatment to just car owners by government. What exactly is our fault, buying cars from our honest heavily taxed income, then paying a hell lot of taxes to procure them, again pay taxes to buy fuel, pay tax to maintain them and pay tolls to use them on public roads which are marred with diversion slowing us down and when trying to make up at relatively smooth sections getting speeding tickets worth hefty 2000INR each!

I'm just gonna use something like RadarBot or Waze from now on to detect these speed cams since nothing is gonna change however hard I try. Sad state of affairs .

Thank you
Tony

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

Hello all

It seems like RTO... Sad state of affairs .

Thank you
Tony

Time to put a speed governor on private cars.

The 50 kmph speed limit near Khandala ghat and 40 kmph near Karnala make you want to walk instead of driving. Add to the the heavy trucks following you while you decelerate suddenly from 80-100kmph to 50 kmph and risk getting rear-en"dead"

P.S. I have observed that some of the expensive cars or even modified budget cars like Swift have such tiny and thin fonts on the number plate and they are the ones that over speed a lot and not get caught on camera.

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by RavSam

Time to put a speed governor on private cars.
P.S. I have observed that some of the expensive cars or even modified budget cars like Swift have such tiny and thin fonts on the number plate and they are the ones that over speed a lot and not get caught on camera.

It is exactly why they've done such a mod, earlier I used to curse these car owners for removing the standard HSRPs to install these unscientific plates and often number is written in Marathi/Hindi that too at a tiny font which is illegible to even human eyes forget about the speed cams,.I now get why they do so, as they say modern problems require modern solutions.

Sadly however Maharashtra govt has that covered too with instructions to install HSRPs by 31st March 2025 in all vehicles, failure of doing so will hold the owner liable to, you guess that right, more challans.

On one hand traffic police and authorities are unable to control traffic jams on both highways and urban roads, roads are filled with potholes and cracks with no possible remedy planned to these existing problems but equipping themselves with state of the art modern technology to intercept the car owners for petty reasons viz driving at 55kmph at 50kmph zone, violating non-existent signals and what not. At this point I really wish to emmigrate from this country altogether now.

The rant never ends.

Thank you
Tony

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

but they had their trunks closed without any visible personnel around the jeep, it seems like they've found a better camera which can work even...I'm just gonna use something like RadarBot or Waze from now on to detect these speed cams since nothing is gonna change however hard I try. Sad state of affairs .

Speed fines are just money grabs. Period. In the garb of safety virtue.

If they really cared about safety or rescuing lives, they would have first made sure that all roads are in proper condition, let alone properly designed in the first place. Then they would have enforced lane manners and making sure vehicles that cannot sustain a minimum speed are not allowed on the road (if there is a concept of minimum speed in India, that is). Then only should they go behind speeding fines to deter speedsters/speed junkies. Not the guy going 90km/h on a road that is designed for 100km/h but has a legal speed limit of 80km/h.

If speed really kills, they should be enforcing proper speed limits in school areas, residential areas and places with high pedestrian traffic. Nope. We have schools that have their main gates open onto 6 lane roads (no concept of zoning) and also pedestrians forced to use the two wheeler highways called footpaths.

[kgt.v8]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

It seems like RTO, Traffic Police, etc. are on a money-minting scheme starting from the new year, if charging hefty tolls for poor quality roads marred with diversion wasn't enough they have now started keeping speed guns on smooth stretches of the NH48 since they know people would speed up to make up for the time lost while managing diversions.

There is no camera installed on junctions where it is known that 2 wheelers, tractors, etc. will be coming in wrong direction. This is a sad state of affairs and we should make a noise about this on social media to get attention and not take us for granted.


You may have a local 2 wheeler overtaking you and this 2 wheeler does not pay any toll tax and will not even get a challan for over speeding. There are sections in Hyderabad where 60 kmph is the speed limit, cars are driving at 60 kmph while Activa and bikes without proper number plates are speeding above 70 kmph and overtaking from anywhere they find a spot to overtake.


States are resorting to such malpractices to extort money from the good citizens who are already paying taxes. I was told by SA that a government car that came for servicing had ₹50k unpaid traffic fine, it happened to be caught and eventually something was paid. I am pretty sure the fine was paid from the tax money and not from that government service person's pocket.


India needs a better law system like developed countries where customer should be able to sue the service provider directly if the service provider is unable to provide the service for which payment was taken.
Example scenarios where customer should be able to sue service providers:
1. I take a highway and pay toll. The highway speed limit is 80kmph. The highway sections were bad that average speed cannot be taken beyond 40kmph or there are diversions which result in traffic jams. I as a customer should be able to get toll refund because the toll money is not put to use correctly to maintain the highway.
2. When car tyre damages due to a big pothole on a toll highway, customer should get tyre reimbursed from the toll company.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

Hello all

they have now started keeping speed guns on smooth stretches of the NH48 since they know people would speed up to make up for the time lost while managing diversions......

Tony

Frustrating experience and sorry to see what you have faced. Where exactly were these speed guns placed, so that other drivers are aware? We can at least learn from other's experiences.

[SNayak]

NH 48 is one of my favorite highway in Karnataka. Roads are mostly good and you can keep up with a good speed. Never had this speed camera traps before and sad to see that they have started now. Rather than focusing on good upkeep of the roads, ensuring lane disciplines the focus has been minting money from the innocent tax payers

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by kgt.v8

There is no camera installed on junctions where it is known that 2 wheelers, tractors, etc. will be coming in wrong direction. This is a sad state of affairs and we should make a noise about this on social media to get attention and not take us for granted.

Exactly, the fact that Govt is being such harsh to us car owners feels less like a democracy and more like a dictatorship. Bound to happen when a country with more 200crore population has only 2% taxpayers.

You may have a local 2 wheeler overtaking you and this 2 wheeler does not pay any toll tax and will not even get a challan for over speeding.

While you're wearing a seat belt but the two wheeler not even wearing helmet and God forbid he touches your car and skids off the bike, unless you don't have a dashcam you're the guilty and subject to mob violence and later police harassment.

Example scenarios where customer should be able to sue service providers

One more example and I guess it was even stated by Transport minister that if you've to wait at a toll plaza more than 3minutes the toll charges would be waived but here we're waiting for 15-20minutes at toll plaza to pay hefty tolls for 3rd quality roads. Don't wanna include politics and move off topics but rightly said

In India we pay taxes like Canada to get services like Somalia.

Originally Posted by hrman

Frustrating experience and sorry to see what you have faced. Where exactly were these speed guns placed, so that other drivers are aware? We can at least learn from other's experiences.

Man, these were mobile speed cams mounted in interceptors, so beware and extra cautious to spot SUVs marked as Police, Interceptor, RTO and general rule, adhere to the limit the local traffic is driving, if you spot a smooth highway stretch but find local traffic driving relatively slow, don't just overtake, have a good look around and chances are you'll find the aforementioned jeeps which are ready to pounce on you.

I was issued these tickets on MH section of NH48 mostly near Satara, Karad and Kolhapur stretch and also on old Mumbai-Pune highway too. In comparison I really LOVED using the Bangalore-Mysore expressway which does have speed cams but has bold sign boards too which clearly warn you of comfortable and reasonable limit of 100kmph. Same goes for Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway too.

Thank you
Tony

[Thyag]

All challans issued under rule 167 in electronic form using auto-generation of challan through the electronic monitoring and enforcement system shall be accompanied by the following information;

(i) clear photographic evidence highlighting the offence and the license plate of the vehicle;

(ii) measurement from the electronic enforcement device;

(iii) date, time and place of the offence;

(iv) notice specifying the provision of Act that has been violated;

(v) certificate as per sub-section (4) of section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act 1872(1 of 1872), which,-

(a) identifies the electronic record and describes the manner in which it was produced;

(b) gives such particulars of any device involved in the production of that electronic record as may be appropriate for the purpose of showing that the electronic record was produced by a computer

But who is going to go lengths contesting with government agencies, they will not stop milking until the last drop of blood from common folks. Like someone mentioned above migration from this country as early as possible is the best option available - not everybody can afford though

[Garth2016]

Radar Bot has been a lifesaver at times.
Also, I got a challan when going 83 in a 80 kmph zone, all thanks to a mobile speed gun. They have ZERO tolerance - which is unfortunate quite honestly.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

I'm just gonna use something like RadarBot or Waze from now on to detect these speed cams since nothing is gonna change however hard I try. Sad state of affairs .

I completely feel for you. One of the main reasons I have almost given up on driving in India. Its a big headache from honking to non-engineered roads and everyone in a hurry to not reach anywhere on time.

Once I was challaned for not having a black strip on my headlight while crossing Punjab in the daylight. The cop told me its a law to have those strips. I was like OK, but I'm driving in the day when headlights won't be used and by the time the sun would set, I will be cozy at my home.

Cops - But you can and we have to challan you.

[RM Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Tony2298

I'm just gonna use something like RadarBot or Waze from now on to detect these speed cams since nothing is gonna change however hard I try. Sad state of affairs .

Thank you
Tony

I don't think apps like RadarBot or Waze will be very helpful in cases mentioned. As far as I understand these apps warn about cameras which are at fixed locations.

Interceptor vans are mobile and they keep changing locations, so I guess best way is to adhere speed limit and just stay alert looking for these vans.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by Garth2016

Also, I got a challan when going 83 in a 80 kmph zone, all thanks to a mobile speed gun. They have ZERO tolerance - which is unfortunate quite honestly.

The car / bike speedometers have 10% positive error. 83KMPH on radar gun would mean you are showing 90KMPH on speedo. This positive error is to ensure that vehicles follow speed limit.

You can check the positive error using any GPS Speedometer.

[heydj]

Thats why its best be in cars like Jimny as there is never a hurry. On serious note dont break law instead of questioning the law.

[Jeroen]

I see these sort of rants all the time on all the car forums all over the world. Irrespective which country there are always those who believe the government should be doing all kinds of stuff, e.g. Repair roads, better signage before they should penalise peoples for speeding.

Personally I don't think this how these things work. And yes, people are ranting and raving here in the west and in the Netherlands over speed cameras.

I see it differently. There is a speed limit and you are obliged to stick to it. If you don't you are likely to find yourself fined. It is entirely up to you. It is totally avoidable too.

I have never understood why the government not doing certain things should grant me an exception to break the law. I think it is lack of a solid moral compass. What you do and don't should be based on your own values. Not what others (e.g. Government, police) does or does not.

Jeroen