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China, India fast-track BCIM economic corridor project
China and India are adding fresh momentum to the establishment of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor, which is expected to develop gradually before more ambitious goals are achieved.
Chinese officials acknowledge that unlike in the past, when it was perceived to be dragging its feet, India is now showing enthusiasm over the project, which will link Kolkata with Kunming, the capital of China’s Yunnan province, passing through Myanmar and Bangladesh, with Mandalay and Dhaka among the focal points. The focus on linking provinces and States — in this case, Yunnan and West Bengal — seems to have given a new impulse to galvanising the plan.
Under the scheme, called "shadow tolling", the discount will be available only for those who install a smart tag named "Fastag" in their vehicles. The government would pay the differential amount to the developers, which could be about Rs 1,500 crore from its total kitty of toll revenue.
Since NDA government came to power, several proposals have been brought on the table including allowing free passage to public transport and free travel for private vehicles within a district. "The new proposal could strike a balance between politics and finance," said a source.
In that video there is one guy whose job it is to collect the money from the car driver and hand it to the toll boot operator 2 feet away!
Still I'm impressed at how organized the traffic is, following lanes and everything. As a nation we need more experience of disciplined behavior and everyone follows the rules.
^that is because of the gap between the car and the toll booth person.. there are blockers to prevent vehicles to bang into the the structure.. i'd not design that way to be a hindrance to service.. a sliding struct (60* angle ) is enough.. just in case a vehicle or two runs over will slide back to road.
Hope someone comes up with the idea for a long suspension bridge for Mumbai trans harbor link, probably in top 10 longest bridges in the world. The financial capital of the country should have an engineering like this.
As per the ToI report on the latest accident near Jaipur involving the ex-cine star and now MP, the child who died was in the lap in the front seat of the alto which was hit or side swiped by the Mercedes. Why do people still carry young kids in the front seat, I clearly do not understand. Even if the Merc was at fault for this accident, how can well to do parents make such callous mistakes. Very likely even the seat belts were not used if available on the alto. What a sad state of affairs and this is only one of many happening everyday on our roads.
There are two problems with the kids in front-seat: the seat-belt will press against the neck (as opposed to shoulders for adults) when they pitch forward, and that the force of the airbag would hurt and likely kill them.
If it is true that the passengers in the car aren't wearing seat-belts and I don't think Alto has airbags - so it really doesn't matter where the kid was, front or back
At the Bangalore traffic signals, sometimes there is a "free left" sign, sometimes there is a "no free left sign" and sometimes there is none. If there is a red light and if there is neither "free left" or "no free left", what does it mean ?
I have not seen child seats used in India either, which should avoid any strangulation by seat belt on deceleration.
Injuries seen on the MP's face indicate quite likely she was not using a seat belt either. We need to take safety issues a notch higher in India, with so many highways opening up with people crammed in small cars.
At least kids in the back has some chance of survival, given the protection of seats in front. However, if they are in front, they will either hit the windshield slide under and get crushed. The more horrific thing is people keeping their kids on their laps and driving.
The attitude of many people is that nothing will happen. When i used to insist that my kid be in the back seats, the common response even among family was "there are so many kids travelling in front seat. nothing happens, why bother". One of two in newspapers hardly makes an impression, thinking it will never happen to us.
Some people, especially in IT and/or those who have visited abroad, use carseats. But its ridiculously low number.
At the Bangalore traffic signals, sometimes there is a "free left" sign, sometimes there is a "no free left sign" and sometimes there is none. If there is a red light and if there is neither "free left" or "no free left", what does it mean ?
Unless stated "no free left", I always used to take the left turn regardless of signal color.
Indians in general do not recognize the importance of safety. I remember one instance during a flight, a family was sitting in the emergency exit row and the man let his son sit next to the emergency door exit window seat. The air hostess explained that during emergency, the person sitting next to the exit should be able to open the door hence that seat has to be occupied by an adult. The man was not willing to understand this simple safety point and was more concerned about his son having a window seat and was demanding the air hostess to find another window seat for his son. When she couldn't find one, he wasn't too happy while swapping places. How the safety of people on the flight(including his own family) takes a back seat for this adult man and the pleasure of window seat for his son is more important to him still baffles me.
srin wrote:There are two problems with the kids in front-seat: the seat-belt will press against the neck (as opposed to shoulders for adults) when they pitch forward, and that the force of the airbag would hurt and likely kill them.
If it is true that the passengers in the car aren't wearing seat-belts and I don't think Alto has airbags - so it really doesn't matter where the kid was, front or back
Newer cars allow one to turn off the passenger airbag. Also many cars now will not deploy airbag unless the weight switch under the seat is triggered. For these reasons of uncertainity every state has its own standard of what is allowed. In mine it is 8 years and 80 lbs.
We had a long discussion some months ago about how manufacturers were disabling safety features for the Indian market to keep costs down. Most unfortunate.
NEW DELHI: To transform India's 90,000 kms of national highways into green corridors, the government will soon implement an ambitious policy under which one per cent of the road construction cost will go towards planting trees.
The government plans to create a brigade of 1,000 contractors to fulfill this ambitious task, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
"Now, we have taken a decision that one per cent of cost in construction is for tree plantation and other things. We are going to create 1,000 contractors in the country.
"They will have their own nurseries. They will plant new trees and create a green area on national highways," Gadkari said on the sidelines of an event on Waste Management.
He said if the cost of road construction comes to around Rs 1 lakh crore, Rs 1,000 crore will go for plantation.
If Gadkari can accomplish even half of what he is planning, it will change the face of India.
Under the rules of the Motor Vehicles Act, free left turn is allowed unless expressly prohibited. In contrast, under law parking is allowed on the road only if it is specifically earmarked. Technically you could be hauled up for obstructing traffic if you park on the road which does not specifically say 'No Parking'!
nandakumar wrote:Under the rules of the Motor Vehicles Act, free left turn is allowed unless expressly prohibited. In contrast, under law parking is allowed on the road only if it is specifically earmarked. Technically you could be hauled up for obstructing traffic if you park on the road which does not specifically say 'No Parking'!
Thank you sir. And yes - same confusion goes for parking too - there is "no parking", there is "Parking" and there is nothing.
Can you please point me towards both the rule ?
Regarding the Hema Malini, I think 2 things caused the aaccident
1) her driver was most probably over speeding(power and braking abilities of S Class) and did not slow down in anticipation.
2) the Alto driver cut into the Highway without slowing down, I see this many times in Highways and city roads. Alto drivers in many cases use thier car once in a while and are impressed by the power to weight ratio and sometimes causally ignore basic safety steps
In my personal experience, No amount of talking to my driver is able to bring him to defensively . Every driver whom I have told to stop be fore stop lines thinks I am fool.
NEW DELHI: To transform India's 90,000 kms of national highways into green corridors, the government will soon implement an ambitious policy under which one per cent of the road construction cost will go towards planting trees.
The government plans to create a brigade of 1,000 contractors to fulfill this ambitious task, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
"Now, we have taken a decision that one per cent of cost in construction is for tree plantation and other things. We are going to create 1,000 contractors in the country.
"They will have their own nurseries. They will plant new trees and create a green area on national highways," Gadkari said on the sidelines of an event on Waste Management.
He said if the cost of road construction comes to around Rs 1 lakh crore, Rs 1,000 crore will go for plantation.
If Gadkari can accomplish even half of what he is planning, it will change the face of India.
Oh NO! if they don't tell it, then this can be a future nightmare!
where they plant them is important... they must think expansions and multiple lanes first.
mostly people never look and bother to stop to merge safely...they will barge in and force the through traffic to slow down. even while starting off from a parked position, few ever check the rearview to make sure none are coming through.....
a friend of mine got hammered by the suddenly opening door of a taxi while she was doing some high speed running practice on a empty road...she fell on the ground and suffered red bruises and scrapes
nandakumar wrote:Under the rules of the Motor Vehicles Act, free left turn is allowed unless expressly prohibited. In contrast, under law parking is allowed on the road only if it is specifically earmarked. Technically you could be hauled up for obstructing traffic if you park on the road which does not specifically say 'No Parking'!
Thank you sir. And yes - same confusion goes for parking too - there is "no parking", there is "Parking" and there is nothing.
Can you please point me towards both the rule ?
I can clarify with regard to the law in TN. Under Rule 247 and Rule 371 of TN Motor Vehicles Rules the Commissioner of Police in Chennai and District Superintendent of Polce elsewhere, are authorised on an application from the respective municipal corporations to designate parts of the road for parking. By implication, parking of vehicles in any other place is a violation as it is presumed to be an obstruction to traffic. There is also a rule which empowers the police to remove an abandoned vehicle on the road. This too suggests vehicles can be parked only in designated spots. The other States too will have similar rules.
The difference between designated zones (Parking/No Parking) and areas where neither sign is present is this. A policeman can ask you to remove your vehicle parked on the road and you have to comply. You canot say, 'this is not a No Parking area'. Worse still, if in the opinion of the policeman your act of parking has caused obstruction of traffic, he can challan you or impose a spot fine. A magistrate would simply go with the version of the police if it goes to the Court.
A very effective way to enforce road safety, infact safety in general is to hold the employer responsible in all matter civil, financial and criminal. If you employ a driver in your for your taxi, bus, train business then you are responsible for his/her behaviour. You have to ensure that they are trained adequetly, you will have to be insured. Private comapnies will refuse to insure businesses where the staff are not trained.
The same should apply to chauffeurs that are employed.
IF Hema Malini's chauffeur is responsible then blame should pass to her. Why did she not check his driving license, skills and training.
In the UK and the USA, companies have to pay millions if their staff goof up. That's why they train their staff so well and value them.
^^^ The above is passing the buck. Most drivers in India are not permanent employees. They are usually on a day's contract to the vehicle owner. The only way to implement the above idea is to have a driver's guild or org which is vetted and people can rent drivers from this govt approved (skills and training tested) group. It will work in large cities or even tier-2 towns. In rural areas gaps will remain in skill and training mismatch. No easy solution, other than widespread training and a inculcating a deep belief counter to the prevailing one that their lives and other's lives are in their hands and not in god's hand, when on the road at least.
Putting up trees (not shrubs) anywhere near highways is a stupid idea, even more so in the median. In case of vehicles veering into the median area without barricades, it can be instant death. Then there is the maintenance and trimming of branches etc. that will be required periodically. Just open areas for median like in the US is the safest thing to do and least costly. Maybe let wild grass grow and mow it down every month or have wild flowering plants, or just leave it growing. With our cattle also taking to highways any cattle friendly plant species will cause more accidents induced by cattle. Saw plenty on the Agra-Jaipur highway itself three years ago.
Bade wrote:^^^ The above is passing the buck. Most drivers in India are not permanent employees. They are usually on a day's contract to the vehicle owner. The only way to implement the above idea is to have a driver's guild or org which is vetted and people can rent drivers from this govt approved (skills and training tested) group. It will work in large cities or even tier-2 towns. In rural areas gaps will remain in skill and training mismatch. No easy solution, other than widespread training and a inculcating a deep belief counter to the prevailing one that their lives and other's lives are in their hands and not in god's hand, when on the road at least.
over speeding on the road, aggressive behavior towards fellow drivers, resentment at not being given way, anger, excessive honking and road rage of any sort are social and personality issues. How are the employers liable for this??. specially when the drivers always chose to portray a reasonable and butter wouldn't melt in my mouth demeanor in front of their employers.
Bade wrote:^^^ The above is passing the buck. Most drivers in India are not permanent employees. They are usually on a day's contract to the vehicle owner. The only way to implement the above idea is to have a driver's guild or org which is vetted and people can rent drivers from this govt approved (skills and training tested) group. It will work in large cities or even tier-2 towns. In rural areas gaps will remain in skill and training mismatch. No easy solution, other than widespread training and a inculcating a deep belief counter to the prevailing one that their lives and other's lives are in their hands and not in god's hand, when on the road at least.
That's correct. The employer cannot also guess how a driver might drive in future. If you have let an adult person, duly licensed to drive the car, why should you be responsible ? You've done your due diligence.
OTOH, there is a larger point to what Haresh is saying. For instance, if one takes a cab from Bangalore Airport to the city in the middle of the night when most international flights in BLR arrive, then they'll see the cabbie skipping red lights at most junctions. It was worse before elevated highway was complete. It is a scary ride almost like the roadrash game. It is their life also at stake - not just the driver's - and hence it is their personal responsibility to remind the driver to obey the rules.
Now, the driver is the one who is (theoretically) knowledgeable about the rules, so you can't legally punish passengers for violation of rules they never did. But it is still in their interest to protest. How it would work with an autorickshaw driver (who jumps a red light) is not something I can guess.
Haresh wrote:A very effective way to enforce road safety, infact safety in general is to hold the employer responsible in all matter civil, financial and criminal. If you employ a driver in your for your taxi, bus, train business then you are responsible for his/her behaviour. You have to ensure that they are trained adequetly, you will have to be insured. Private comapnies will refuse to insure businesses where the staff are not trained.
The same should apply to chauffeurs that are employed.
IF Hema Malini's chauffeur is responsible then blame should pass to her. Why did she not check his driving license, skills and training.
In the UK and the USA, companies have to pay millions if their staff goof up. That's why they train their staff so well and value them.
If the accident happened in spite of Hema Malini carefully checking the driver's license, skills and training, then what??
surely, one is not going to buy a 70-80 lakhs mercedes and entrust the driving of the same to a complete amateur, no??
This is India and not america. They are in an even shittier condition than we are, just having more money and attacking every other country in the world and propping up dictators is no excuse to be quoting amreki practices. We do not need to follow their standards because most of the time they are not applicable or even valid for us
There are four main stakeholders to the better road safety and driving experience: Drivers (self and on hire), Road providers NHAI/State/Corporation/municipalities, law enforcement (police and traffic police in particular), and courts.
If you choose to fix driver' side of the equation, you have basically picked the biggest problem and most difficult to manage problem side of the equation. There is greater risk of fixing symptoms than the disease. Cultural issues are one of the toughest to fix. They can be fixed if approached correctly. As Modi ji puts, they need to be made a "Janandolan."
That brings us to the other stakeholder that are more manageable, chartered, who can be made more accountable. Rewards and recognition, and admonishments and punishments have a better chance to work with these.
Traffic Police must be provided with cameras. If not all but sufficiently large number of them. They must have a video / audio proof for giving tickets and must be held accountable for traffic situation on roads. Multiple mobile courts should be plying the roads daily to give instant verdicts else the vehicle will remain in confiscation and auctioned after some time. With this kind of evidence available, these courts must be mandated to provide verdicts within 3 days for at least 99% of the cases.
Independent surveys need to be conducted on how many (major and minor) violations takes place in a given city and area. That metrics must be tracked, monitored at public level, and brought down on a month/month or week/week basis. Similar such independent surveys should be used on all 3 chartered arms (road providers, law enforcement, and courts).
Till this metrics comes down to manageable levels, traffic police must be made to self fund their budget by issuing tickets and violations (fast track courts with video/audio used as decisive evidence). Politicians must go public on this that they will keep politics out of this. Political interference remains the bane of Indian society and the most weakest link in this solutions and in all such solutions.
They need to be empowered to also issue tickets to municipal/corporation authorities for upkeep of the roads, signs etc. As police (and traffic police) is made to enforce law more stringently, they should be rewarded more and punished /fired/jailed with no pension and benefits if found flouting the law.
In fact there were incidents where somebody survived because he /She was not wearing the belts. Car catches fire and you can not free yourself quick enough..You are done with.
Bade wrote:Putting up trees (not shrubs) anywhere near highways is a stupid idea, even more so in the median. In case of vehicles veering into the median area without barricades, it can be instant death. Then there is the maintenance and trimming of branches etc. that will be required periodically. Just open areas for median like in the US is the safest thing to do and least costly. Maybe let wild grass grow and mow it down every month or have wild flowering plants, or just leave it growing. With our cattle also taking to highways any cattle friendly plant species will cause more accidents induced by cattle. Saw plenty on the Agra-Jaipur highway itself three years ago.
Disagree.
In Kerala atleast, these trees on the median cut off the glare of night beams of cars from the opposite side, causes a lot of eye strain otherwise. They are usually well maintained and are of a tall shrub/short tree variety which does not grow to the sides. Talking about the NH47/ICT Road which I mainly use. I dont know about cattle eating the stuff ..... usually no one brings them onto the highway [maybe diff in other parts of India]
The varieties planted on certain sections of NH-7 (Kanyakumari-Hosur) are poisonous to cattle, so they keep off it is what I am told. My comments were regarding trees and not shrubs with light branches, even if they grow up to 6+ft tall. Anything with large trunks should be avoided. In Kerala there are coconut trees along most smaller roads and they add to the landscape and natural beauty, but highways are a different beast.
The point is not about trees as a reduction in the carbon footprint due to all the vehicles now added. Trees can be planted elsewhere too for that. Just preserve the western ghats it will help a lot.
Pick vegetation that will keep dirt off the roads. So we have to be very meticulous about it. I am not a big fan of lawns in American homes, but it does keep the dirt to a minimum that floats about. Such things have relevance even in India, if picked right with good horticulture inputs.
Safety minded people do make their drivers drive properly. Legality aside, morally the owner is at fault too as they have created a culture of driving that drivers have to fit to or they won't get or stay in job.
If speed zones are strictly implemented by the state, and the drivers are penalized when caught, then it will bring down the accident rates that can be attributed to this alone as the reason. If the fines are high, it is quite unlikely the owners can coerce the drivers to go over the speed limits. This would be fair to all.
I agree on the point you are making about thickening existing forest cover.. just like bringing back everglades, India should get the exact forest cover map that it had some 100 years ago. .. but then, many cities and villages are culprits.
I'd always support to grow organic vegetation and native plants.. btw, I hate the grass.. it is nice to keep dirt down and when mowed it looks green and good, but I am allergic to those grass mulches when mowed.
I used to be severely allergic to prairie grass while in Illinois. While in India my dust allergy basically incapacitated me for any extended outdoor activities. It was daily sneezing bouts, except the monsoons. Dampness had its own set of issues in old traditional homes.
They can perhaps stick to native species which are low profile and thick in vegetation, so as to keep the dust in check. Particulates in the air are quite high in India, at least this one component can be kept low by sustainable methods.
any cattle friendly plant species will cause more accidents induced by cattle. Saw plenty on the Agra-Jaipur highway itself three years ago.