A new sensorless position estimation method for switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives is presented in this paper. This method uses the change of the slope of the phase inductance to detect the aligned position. Since the aligned positions for successive electrical cycle of each phase are apart by a fixed mechanical angle $45^{circ}$ in the case of 12/8 SRM, the speed of the machine can be calculated to estimate the rotor position. Since no prior knowledge of motor parameters is required, the method is easy for implementation without adding any additional hardware or memory. In order to verify the validity of this technique, effects such as changes in the advanced angle and phase lacking faults are examined. In addition, an inductance threshold based sensorless starting scheme is also proposed. Experimental results demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.