Mumbai-Pune Expressway: New speed limits, based on vehicle category, check details

New speed limits have been imposed for vehicles on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Sukhwinder Singh, additional director general of police (Traffic), Maharashtra, recently issued a notice in this regard.

The speed limits for vehicles are based on a survey conducted by a team of experts. The limits will be different on the ghat stretch and the rest of the route throughout the 94-kilometre fast lane.

The speed limit for vehicles under the M-1 category (carrying passengers up to 8 passengers including driver has been increased to 100 km per hour (kmph) in flat areas and 60 km per hour in ghat areas. For passenger vehicles carrying nine or more passengers including the driver (M-2 and M-3 category vehicles), the speed limit has been set at 80 kmph in flat areas and 40 kmph in ghat areas. The speed limit for goods vehicles (all N categories) has been fixed at 80 kmph in flat areas and 40 kmph in ghat areas.

The speed cameras will be used to monitor vehicle speeds. Check the table below to know the vehicle categories and their speed limits.

Category	Description	Passenger Capacity	Gross Vehicle Weight	Plain Road (Kmph)	Ghat Road (Kmph)
M1	Passenger Vehicle	Upto 9	N/A	100	60
M2	Passenger Vehicle	9 and more	Upto 9 Tonnes	80	40
M3	Passenger Vehicle	9 and more	More than 9 Tonnes	80	40
N1	Goods Vehicle	N/A	Upto 3.5 Tonnes	80	40
N2	Goods Vehicle	N/A	3.5 to 12 Tonnes	80	40
N3	Goods Vehicle	N/A	More than 12 Tonnes	80	40

As per the notification, practically, the speed of vehicles in the ghats is very low, and light vehicle drivers face difficulties in reducing the speed all of a sudden, and therefore, the changes.

Officials of State Highway Police, Pune division, said, “The decision follows the survey directed by our top officials and conducted by the State Highway officials including Pune division, Raigad zone, Panvel and local police on the expressway limit, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) and IRB Infra Development. Based on this survey, we had a joint meeting on April 15 in which a decision was taken. Speed cameras will be capturing the movement of vehicles.