Disappointed with the Assam transport officials imposing fine on vehicles for ‘over-speeding’ on the four-lane national highways in the state, All Assam Engineer’s Association (AAEA) urged the transport department to revise the policy immediately.
The association said that this drive has been turned into a revenue generation scheme in the name of initiatives to diminish road accidents.
The Assam transport department has lately started a ‘fine-collection’ drive which amounts to Rs 2000 at a time, on the national highways citing over-speeding of vehicles even as in some locations the marked speed is as low as 40 km per hour on the national highway. And this is not only on the stretch along the Kaziranga National Park where the speed has to be regulated due to threat to the wild animals.
The association said that the specified speed limit is too low as compared to the national standards, which allow a private vehicle to move with 100 kmph on NHs and up to 120 kmph on expressways.
The forum of graduate engineers mentioned that Union road transport & highways minister Nitin Gadkari recently advocated for the increase of maximum speed limits by at least 20 kmph on multi-lane roads as India has lately improved the quality of highways.
“As Assam has been panelising the high-speed drivers, one should assume that the quality of four-lane highways inside the state is not up to the mark. If that is true, why the travellers are being forced to pay money in all the toll-gates here?” questioned the AAEA adding that the automobile science narrates that if a vehicle is driven in a relatively lower speed, it consumes more fossil fuel every minute. This means more deposits of carbon and carbon monoxide in the air.
“The most fuel-efficient speed is prescribed as around 80 kmph for the light motor vehicles. It also depends on proper tire-pressure, aero-dynamism, driver’s skill – not to use brakes unnecessarily and accelerate suddenly,” elaborated AAEA president Kailash Sarma, working president Nava J Thakuria and secretary Inamul Hye.
The association urged the state transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary to look into the matter seriously.
