Bengaluru: Effective August 1, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has imposed restrictions on certain vehicles from plying on the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway due to increased accidents reported on the route. To enhance road safety, the NHAI has prohibited the movement of two-wheelers, autos, tractors, non-motorised vehicles, multi-axle hydraulic trailer vehicles, and quadri-cycles on the expressway.
Concerns over the safety of commuters led the state-owned NHAI to form a committee of road safety experts to conduct safety inspections along the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway. Since its opening in March, there has been a rise in accidents, prompting the need for stricter measures.
The decision to restrict high-speed vehicles on the expressway was based on the recognition that certain slower-moving vehicles, such as two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and non-motorised vehicles, face increased vulnerability when sharing the road with faster vehicles, compromising overall road safety. As per the notification issued on July 12, the prohibition will be enforced in accordance with The Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002.
The banned classes of vehicles include motorcycles (including scooters and other-wheelers), three-wheelers (including e-carts and e-rickshaws), non-motorised vehicles, tractors (with or without trailers), multi-axle hydraulic trailer vehicles, and quadri-cycles.
The NHAI assures that alternative routes and roads are available for these restricted classes of vehicles. The Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway has been developed as a high-speed corridor, with speed limits for various motor vehicles varying between 80 km/hour. The 118 km long expressway project, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March, involved six-laning the Bengaluru-Nidaghatta-Mysuru section of NH-275 and is expected to catalyse socio-economic development in the region.
What the NHAI is doing is not just. Good roads and fast lanes are not just for those who have fast vehicles. It is the right of every citizen to use the infrastructure of the country. This is a resource of the country, and every citizen has been given the right to use the resource of the country that has been enshrined in the directive principles of the state policy of the constitution, say the road users.
It is just that high-speed vehicle users are not driving responsibly for themselves and for other road users. This has to be nailed into those who use fast automobiles. They are so dumb that they do not have knowledge of lane discipline or other road safety measures which is causing the accidents, the road users point out.