To Speed or Not To Speed : SPECIAL FEATURE REPORT

To Speed or Not To Speed, that is the question. On June 27, 2021 was like any other weekend for the bunch of youngsters speeding on the Gurugram-Faridabad highway near the Delhi border.  This long stretch of road does not have a single speed breaker, nor are there speed limits mentioned here and nor are there any speed cameras to check erring drivers.

Youngsters on high speed motorcycles and remapped cars were driving at insane speeds as though it was a race track, putting to risk the normal traffic, cyclists and occasional runners. What were they trying to achieve? They went up and down the road at breakneck speeds, exceeding 175kmph to 180kmph easily. The speeds were dangerously insane.

If the cops don’t take control of this stretch soon, or similar stretches across the country, mistakes are bound to happen.  Accidents and deaths cannot be ruled out in the near future. Speed, they say, thrills, but kills too. How is that when speed limits on Indian roads range between 30kmph (in service lanes and residential areas) to 50 and 70kmph on normal roads to 120kmph on some highways, these motorcyclists and car drivers are able to drive so dangerously on this highways?

Is the law an ass? Or are people absolutely mindless or insensitive when it comes to following the law? Or is there fun in breaking the law? I am talking about disobeying speed limits and racing on public roads. I have more questions than answers today.

Why do Indian drivers slow their speeds just before they come near a speed camera? Why do they accelerate their vehicles, the moment they cross these speed cameras? Why do Indian parents drive their vehicles at high speeds with their kids on their laps?  Why do vehicle manufacturers make vehicles that can travel at insane speeds when the speed limits on national highway in India are barely around 120kmph?

If cars and bikes are meant for the tracks, why do they ply on public roads, and why not on tracks? Why do people fiddle with their car’s Electronic Control Unit or ECU? This fiddling process was once called “chipping”. It involved swapping the factory fitted microchip with an aftermarket smartly programmed chip. The fiddling has now taken a more refined word - “remapping”. It’s basically rewriting the vehicle’s ECU programme and uploading the new software from the laptop via the car’s Onboard Diagnostic Port (OBD). The intention is only to boost the power and torque so that the vehicle can attain insane speeds. Are the traffic policemen in India aware of these at all? If they are, what are they doing to discourage this?

Remapping a vehicle and boosting a vehicle’s power with new performance parts are usually done by racing enthusiasts. But then that kind of vehicle is not driven on public roads but is rather taken on a flat bed vehicle to the racing track where the vehicle can be driven in a controlled environment.

Talking about performance, what about decibel levels emitted by vehicles? Youngsters change their entire exhaust systems in bikes and cars to get that extra oomph from their vehicles. Car drivers can activate their valvetronic exhausts by the switch of their remote key and   ensure that their vehicles emit a loud throaty sound and even perform powerfully. Are the traffic cops aware of these modifications done by people? Do they know how to discover the add-on parts that make a vehicle roar?

In order to understand this insane manipulation of technology to boost vehicles and the dangerous driving and riding habits of the young,  it is important not just for the public, but also for bureaucrats, politicians and the entire police force to come together and debate on the dos and don’ts of driving and riding at such high speeds. Even vehicle manufacturers need to take the blame. They need to explain why they make high speed vehicles that are finally to be driven on public roads? It’s time for a lot of answers. Should these vehicles not just be for the tracks?

It’s time to realise that public roads are no race tracks and that your ordinary cars and bikes are not meant for racing.

India is an overpopulated country with far too many people and stray animals. Besides we are a country, with far too many people sleeping on road dividers and walking on the roads for lack of footpaths.  You have got to drive carefully in such circumstances!