The ride to danger

Abhishek Sircar, an employee with Syniverse, remembers riding past a prominent junction, in the city when suddenly a boy on the bike next to his vehicle, began wheeling. Abhishek recollects that the boy couldn’t balance himself on the bike very well and indulged in the act only because his friends were egging him on.

Wheeling is emerging as a major threat to all motorists in the city. Although, the Bengaluru Traffic Police claim that they are trying their best to come down heavily on youngsters, indulging in such stunts, the activity continues in full swing, especially on NICE Road, Tumakuru Road, New Airport Road and near Hebbal Flyover.
Abhishek, who also happens to be a part of a riding group, says he finds the act of wheeling and drag racing most annoying and uncivilised.

“You can see that this category of riders don’t wear any safety gears and suddenly gather speed in the middle of road unmindful of vehicles around them. What is worrying is that they are not only unconcerned about their own life but also don’t seem to bother about the safety of people around them. Such acts are a reflection of a reckless mind,” shares Abhishek.

A regular racer, who didn’t want to be named, says  “I have been going drag racing and wheeling for almost a decade now. I was first introduced to it by friends when I was in college. We would initially bet with money or a weekend treat at a pub. But I stopped last year after I broke my right leg and landed up with multiple fractures,” he says.

Accidents during wheeling and drag racing is common yet youngsters don’t seem to get the message, observes Kalpana Sharma, a homemaker. “There are professionally trained stunt riders and you know the difference when you watch them perform. We regularly see amateurs doing it on just to impress their peers,” says Kalpana, who feels all those who are tempted to indulge in such dangerous acts must spare a thought for their families and for their own life.

Professional riders and bike stunt enthusiasts point out that for any motorsport, the first thing that is scrutinised is safety and the second is discipline. They say both these aspects are missing when it comes to drag races and wheeling. Jupsy Kushalappa, a trained stunt rider and a part of Team Zero Gravity, say professional stunt riding is a disciplined sport that requires a lot of dedication.

“Legal bike stunts are done in a controlled area complete with all safety gears, away from public glare and with police permission. Anything else is considered a nuisance because those who perform such stunts don’t have a clue what comprises stunt riding,” reasons Jupsy.

There’s also a difference between passionate riders and amateurs ones, says Jupsy. He adds that passionate riders never violate the basic rules of riding.  Psychologists elaborate that such acts fall under the category of ‘anti-social behaviour’ and there are anti-social tendencies present in everybody but it is controlled because of social conditioning.

Dr Roshan R Jain, senior consultant-psychiatry, Apollo Hospitals, says youngsters who are tempted to do wheeling don’t fear anybody including the law and don’t have any social responsibility.

“We have seen many youngsters who indulge in speeding and land up in the ICU battling for life. We have to counsel not only the patient but their families as well. The only way out of this is strict enforcement of the law and education just as it happens in countries like Japan where people are trained to conform to certain social behaviour,” says Dr Jain.