Mumbai Pune Expressway: Rs 1000 fine for speeding between toll-plazas from August 1
The Maharashtra Highway Police has announced that from August 1, motorists will be fined Rs 1000 for speeding on the between the Urse and Khalapur toll plazas. These are at the Pune and Mumbai ends respectively of the six-lane highway and are 50 km apart.
The authorities have set a speed limit of 50 kmph in the ghat sections and a maximum of 100 kmph in the other section of the highway. The ghat section is 15 km long. The assumption is that vehicles keeping to these limits should take at least 37 minutes to complete the distance. Those who reach their destination toll plaza in less time than this will be fined Rs 1000, with repeat offenders being charged a premium.
All vehicles passing through the toll-gates will be monitored via CCTV cameras and will have their entry/exit timestamps noted. Offenders will be sent e-challans. If successful on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the system may be implemented across state and national highways.
The 94 km long Mumbai-Pune expressway is one of the busiest highways in the country and is notorious for its high number of fatal road accidents. In 2019, 39 people died on the expressway, 35 of them on the Mumbai to Pune lane with the Khandala ghat section being the most fatal