As an exuberant youth in the 1970s, I was very fascinated with the vroom, zoom and ‘dhoom’ speed at which some my friends with more machismo and muscle could handle motorcycles with one famous brand appropriately called ‘Bullet’ ! In fact the scooters (and scootis) that we softer guys used, were a very poor cousin to these mean machines and the then heroes could manage all their filmy stunts and romance heroines equipped with those shiny symbols of power. Those cool dude with wheels, people would rave !
Cut to 2018 – in Mumbai’s horrendous traffic with innumerable autos, cars, buses, vans and trucks on roads with world-famed pot-holes (as in all major cities), we have the indefatigable bikers ( motorcycles are known as bikes by today’s youngsters ) all over to add to the general mayhem – with their foot on the gas, swerving, weaving, lane cutting, overtaking from the left and grazing the poor vehicles and motor cars which happen to be in their way – all done with alacrity and with the effrontery and bravado worthy of a crown prince ! But now, all this is so scary and hair-raising !
To look at the brighter side – bikers today almost always wear helmets ( ever vigilant cops make them pay heavily otherwise) and with backpacks, are well protected in case of unfortunate mishaps. However, not only does this make them oblivious to others on the road ( I’ve often driving the car, tried many types of preventive actions through hand signals to them with no effect!) but with such great acceleration, there are always hazards out of the biker’s control, like bad weather, gravel or sand, potholes, and bad drivers and yes, pedestrians walking on roads with mobiles on their ears !
Young bikers with lady pillion riders tend to become more adventurous to ‘show-off’ their driving skills and expose them and others to risk. Knowing and staying within your limits can help keep you safe and choosing a bike that’s within your skill level can lessen the chances of a needless accident.
As a senior citizen and also regular car owner-driver, I am in a comfort zone that both my sons are not into bikes but I can easily understand that macho feeling of speed and power that attracts young to mo-bikes apart from their being far more affordable than cars. Someone had once said ‘.. riding a motorcycle is one of the most glorious and romantic activities I have ever come across’ – so true, but I would recommend, if it could be approached with a proper mindset and not as the race of life !
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