Cute little kids riding on a bike, looks nice, isn’t it? It is a great source of satisfaction for the parent who can proudly claim that my child has grown up.
Wow! What an accomplishment!!
Now let us consider 6 scenarios:
1. The kids zoom around city, have all the fun they want and nothing happens. A happy event for every one. No one will even notice or talk about it since all is well that ends well.
2. The kids zoom around the city but then, thanks to the condition of the road, the bike slips and they have a fall. Luckily, no one gets hurt. They are strong lads. No damage done so they pick themselves up, a fee eyebrows are raised and they get back to business again. Life moves on. Bad incidents need to be forgotten and such falls can always be blamed on the pathetic condition of the roads. The Government is to blame and maybe even the Traffic Police. It is their fault. Not that of the kids.
3. The kids zoom around the city and thanks to the wonderful power packed into their bike, they hit to divider. They have a fall, the vehicle gets damaged. The eyebrows are raised even more. Why can’t they make stronger vehicles? In good old days the bikes used to have metal exteriors so nothing used to happen. This is all the fault of the manufacturer and we can do nothing about it. If they have a licence, insurance might be claimed, otherwise, the parents save themselves of the embarrassment by sweeping the matter under the carpet. Hush, hush!!
4. The kids zoom around the city, have a greater fall and one or more get hurt.
Unfortunately the damage is rather serious and it calls for hospital expenses. Maybe the one in the drivers seat gets the blame. The surgery is done if just a minor treatment does not suffice and life moves on.
5. The kids zoom around the city and accidentally happen to hit someone. It is not their fault. The person just came in their way and it could not be avoided. The poor parents pay a compensation, lots of eyebrows are raised and maybe now it makes it to the newspapers but life moves on.
6. The kids zoom around the city and something more serious happens. God forbid, but it does happen. Maybe a life or two is lost but then life is quite cheap in a city like ours. A few families are shaken up. There is an even more gory story in the papers, a few stupid and inconsiderate people even click photos but soon it is forgotten and life moves on. If another vehicle is involved, especially a larger on like a truck, then the bigger criminal is blamed, the cops are blamed, the roads are blamed, there are a few protests but life moves on.
Such incidents are common and we have raised the issue several times before. Nothing seems to change on the ground. Sadly, all the parties involved do not seem to care unless something really unfortunate happens. Kids without licence, both boys and girls, especially those riding triple seated, pose a grave danger not only to themselves but also others around. And this crime is not restricted to one age since we can see adults and even complete families indulging in the same.
But life moves on and in a vastly populated country like ours, life is very cheap.
This could be your child, your relative, your friend, an entire family or maybe just someone whom you dont know or it could be you, but shouldn’t we make it everyone’s responsibility to see that this comes to an end?
Definitely not a joy ride……