Letter to 'Letter to editor'

On sunday morning I read this article in 'The Hindu' written by a responsible citizen and it forced me to write my response on my blog.
One can refer the article on the link below:
http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/article454103.ece

Dear Madam Nalini L.
I can understand the issue you have been facing due to rash driving of bikers. I can understand the fatal accident of your neighbor (my well wishes to him/her for speedy recovery) and your past experiences that have forced you to write this article which for most part of it looks apt.

However, I don't agree the way you have defamed the bikers. It seems that you have a certain kind of notion in your mind regarding the bikers which got accentuated by your neighbor’s accident and the same is being propounded through this article without keeping any check on your personal grudges against the bikers.

I'm driving bike for at least a decade and for your information I have not been involved in any road accident so far (which I should not boast of). I never overtake any vehicle from left and I do understand the difference between those lines mentioned in your article and above all I learned riding bike with the help of my father (as he could not afford paying the fees). All the things that you have mentioned as regular trait of any biker don’t apply on me and for the matter of fact on many other bikers also.

I can give you the name of hundreds of bikers who follow the traffic rules and thousands of car owner/drivers who don't. If one starts collecting the data one will find more number of cars involved in mowing down pedestrians than the bikers but I don't want to make a case out of it because an offender is an offender doesn't matter he is on bike or in car. At one place you have pointed out that bikers even don't stop to help the victim of their rash driving as if you are well assured that all the car drivers stop to help the victim and take them to the hospital. With due respect I would like to inform you that there are hundreds of cases when the car drivers fled from the spot, I don't want to comment on those who stopped to help the victim because I still couldn't figure out whether they stopped to genuinely help the victim or just because they can't maneuver their car out of the spot because of its size or something else (I accept there are many who stop genuinely).

I could have accepted and respected your article from the bottom of my heart had you put forward your case against the offenders instead of making it against the bikers. I expect someday someone will notice a bike rider wearing shorts and getting involved in an accident and someone like you will make his/her observation that the riders wearing shorts are the one who always overtake from left, doesn't know the difference between those lines and the one should be blamed for all the accidents.

I hope I have put forward my point abundantly clear i.e. please don't paint everyone with a thick brush.

Abhishek Rai

Red and Green problems

I'm a daily commuter between Faridabad and Noida and it is being done on my bike. Although I have been travelling for more than three years between these two suburbs I have recently started facing a problem of its own kind.

The problem did exist earlier also but it was exposed only when I purchased my new helmet. I found a basic flaw in helmet design, at least for Indian road conditions, which makes me (the rider) blind of the parallel running traffic if the visor lid is down. Many times I have had near escapes as I was blind folded because of my helmet.

Finally I resorted to the option of driving with the visor lid open which makes me feel comfortable as it gives me complete view of what is happening nearby. But the problem doesn't end here. I encountered a new one which I'm sure must be troubling millions of Delhites these days. These are the new 'Heavy capacity buses', a symbol of modern Delhi and a part of face lift exercise. These Red and Green color bulls can be seen running almost in all the corners of Delhi. Now the basic problem with the helmet design gets compounded if I get stuck behind one of these mechanical monsters. Because of their heavy power engines and down-facing exhaust vent they make the life of passersby hell. Their monstrous exhaust system often creates a puff of dust behind it which makes one temporarily and virtually blind leave alone other health hazards of inhaling dust and other suspended particles.

My previous helmet was providing me the shield against this notorious halo of dust created by these monsters but the new one is not equipped with this ability. Being one who can't afford a car :(, I try to avoid getting stuck behind their ass as it can make my day a crap before starting it.

I wonder whether any of officers who monitored the road trails of these buses observed this problem. I guess due to pressing needs of approaching Common Wealth Games they ignored the basic issue which could have been easily avoided by just changing the direction of exhaust vent upwards. I hope at least makers of these buses (TATA and Ashoka Ley.) will notice the problem and try to come up with something that can avoid this menace.