Do Superbikes Kill People?

I have followed this Delhi Superbike Accident incident very closely primarily because it happened just a stone's throw away from my brother's office. Here are some of my thoughts.

You can wear all the safety gear and glue in all the action cams on yourself, but at the end of the day, if you're going to ride like a doofus just because you want to wreck people's peace with your annoyingly loud exhaust note, you'll get no sympathy from me. You've painted a bulls eye on every 200cc+ geared/ungeared biker in town for the next two weeks. We all know how that usually ends. People generalize you, people stereo-type you and people even murmur behind your back that you're a "rich" or "spoilt" individual because you own a lifestyle motorcycle. Every time your crash because you couldn't tame that split - second adrenaline rush of yours, we all suffer. We all.

Just today, I came to know that Delhi Police shall launch a crackdown against bikers. Mind you, a quarter of these bikers will be the guys who don't let their hormones get the better of them and ride responsibly, even though they have a liter class machine under them. They'll be un-necessarily stopped, questioned and after finding no legal fault, they'll be challaned for having their number plate pasted on their front mudguard.

One man's (he is not a kid that you'll blame his father) fault, and the entire community suffers. I have ridden on that very same stretch as these three naive individuals umpteen times. Jay walkers galore, at any time of the day. Me however, even in the darkest of hours (12-3 AM) when there's not a soul in sight, have never gone above 60 kmph because the road has uneven bumps and a slight zig zag that most new riders will be unable to see before hand and take precaution. Just because the road lane dividers are painted in fresh white, it doesn't mean you simply take off assuming that there'll be no danger.

Regarding the 17 year old kid who crashed his 390, yes, I will blame his "biker' father. You bought a bike and illegally handed it over to your adolescent kid to ride, who probably doesn't even have a DL. Lots of stick to KTM too, for not verifying his documents and focusing more on meeting crowd targets. Both ought to be taken to court, in my opinion.


At the end of the day, all I expect from the sane, passionate and enthusiastic automobile community to not stereo-type. Not every KTM rider is a squid. Not every super-biker is reckless. Yes, there are many, but I and every other biker I personally know are absolutely not so.

The author of this article can be reached at thebarcalad@gmail.com. He has also given an interview on All India Radio on “Safe Motorcycling on Indian Roads” which can be heard here.

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5 comments :

  1. I have heard worst arguments with the super-bike accidents that have come in the news. It is stupid to say that you should stop selling super bikes. I had also read somewhere that recently even Supreme Court suggested that government do something to stop cars from speeding.

    If everything can be controlled by the government, should they not start with something better? Like educating people? Do not stop us, legitimate people from having our machines.

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