Originally Posted by
Bandicoot
My information may be outdated, but in the past I've been advised that late night travel on the new Mumbai-Pune expressway is dangerous owing to a large number of vehicles being driven rashly and at excessive speeds by tired and sleepy drivers (and no doubt a fair number of inebriated drivers at the wheels too - a problem all over India on the roads at night) leading to a high number of accidents. And at least as of 2014 there seemed to be a number of robberies reported at night on this highway. All this might have changed, I'm not sure; do check with a knowledgeable local.
This matches information my coworkers have provided. Nighttime / early morning is no better than daylight. Might be less cars, but the traffic being mostly trucks and lots of sleepy drivers make it just as treacherous as any other time.
Planned my travel so I'm not in a rush Sunday. Plenty of time to fly to Pune, get to the hotel and rest before going to my local office on Monday.
For reference, I booked the Niranta transit hotel. Even if any of the airport hotels are much nicer, I value the time saved (in this situation).