Need for speed: Mumbai roads won't permit 80kmph limit

The condition of roads in Mumbai is such that no person would be able to drive his vehicle above the 80 kmph speed limit, the Bombay High Court observed while hearing a petition for strict implementation of speed governor norms.

A division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre heard a petition last week filed by a city-based NGO claiming that the provisions made for the installation of speed governors in vehicles are not being strictly implemented.

A speed governor is a device used to measure and regulate the speed of an engine.

The plea claimed that several vehicles, including school buses, in the city, violate the prescribed speed limit.

The bench, however, noted that the speed limit was infructuous.

"In a city like Mumbai, which road remains where a vehicle can go above the 80 km speed? The city has solved the problems and issues raised in this petition by its own," Chief Justice Nandrajog said.

The bench noted that with the present condition of roads in the city, the petitioner has raised a "non-existent problem". The court posted the petition for further hearing on November 14.

The Maharashtra government, in May 2017, directed for fitting the speed governors in black and yellow taxis, mobile app-based cabs and tourist taxis, small tempos and pick-up vans weighing less than 3,500 kg with a prescribed speed limit at 80 kmph (kilometre per hour).

Meanwhile, the high court referred to the Yamuna Expressway while pointing out the imposition of a speed limit.

"Authorities construct freeways and highways. In the beginning they say that one can cover the distance from one end of the city to the other in few minutes, but then they impose speed limits on the same road.

"When the Yamuna Expressway was constructed, it was said that people could travel from Delhi to Agra in less than two hours. But there is a speed limit of 62 kmph on the highway," the chief justice said.