JOIN USDrag racing has claimed the life of yet another youngster in Bengaluru. The accident happened in the early hours of Sunday, when the 16-year-old victim and his two friends, all minors, were racing on the elevated Hosur Road flyover. The trio were driving at speeds of 150 km per hour, when one of them lost control of his car and collided with another. The impact of that forced the third car to crash into the median before it hit a mini-truck on the other side of the road. While one boy was killed on the spot, the other two were injured. Police have registered cases against the two teens who survived as well as their fathers for allowing the underage boys to drive. What may have started off as a night of wild fun for the trio went horribly wrong; it ended in terrible injuries and death for one of them, and tears for their families and friends. Life will never be the same again for the two survivors, who will have to live with the guilt that their recklessness resulted in their friend’s life being snuffed out.
Drag racing is not uncommon in Bengaluru. Every night, but particularly on weekends, several roads in the city turn into racing tracks. Popular stretches are Davis Road in Cox Town, MG Road, Bannerghatta Road, Devanahalli Road, NICE Road and Mysore Road among others. Youngsters gather here with their motorcycles and cars and race on these roads after midnight. Many perform stunts on their bikes, while a crowd cheers them on. Bets ranging from Rs 5,000-50,000, sometimes much more, are placed on the drivers. Although it is illegal, neither the racing nor the betting is clandestine. Social media and racing chat rooms are replete with announcements of the venue of these races and wheelie contests.
So, why aren’t Bengaluru’s cops cracking down on this illegal and dangerous activity? They do but only intermittently, when lives are lost in an accident and public outrage forces them to act. After a week or so of booking drivers for over-speeding and seizing their vehicles, police pressure on racers eases and the racers are back in action. To halt such racing, police action must continue throughout the year. Parents have a big role to play in educating their children about the importance of respecting the law. They must stop allowing their underage children to drive vehicles. Claiming ignorance of their children’s activities is not a valid excuse as the latter’s over-speeding not only jeopardises their own lives but also that of others. Police and parents must work together to make youngsters aware that speed thrills but kills.