Drag racing on Saturday nights

I used to bring my TVS Wego scooter to office earlier. But a truck and a car came close to kissing my scooter around three months back and there was fatal accident involving a couple on the Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR), which made me change to my car for good. Plus advice from friends and family. After all, life is important than speedy access to home, isn't it?

(image source: wwwmotorcycleclassics.com)

However, old habits die hard and since I was required to work this Saturday, I thought I might take the two wheeler to work for that one day as there might not be much traffic. And I did.

Work got over by 7:30 pm and I was on my way back. On the main road of the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), suddenly, out of the blue, two motorcycles sped past me, one almost taking a cut in front of me. They went and stopped a few metres ahead. Two men in each motorcycle. The riders revving up the throttle as if at a race. I then realised - they were indeed at a race. They were racing against each other. The only issue was that they were racing in the middle of a thoroughfare used by the public.

When I rode past them, seemingly oblivious of their presence, they came once again from behind and sped past me. Then from nowhere came two more riders and the speeding started. Now, I could not race with them as that was not what I wanted. I wanted to avoid them. So I stopped my scooter and took out my phone and started potting around aimlessly, waiting for them to leave. And leave they did, to my relief. I was glad that I did not have a lady pillion rider with me or else things could have gone worse. Many riders pass comments at fellow public and indulge in teasing. They sometimes get physical too.

What were these people doing?

They were indulging in an 'illegal' sport called drag racing. What is drag racing? Well drag racing is an unofficial race between cars and cars or bikes and bikes which is played out all over the world. It is mostly illegal and played out at places with limited police presence. Hollywood movies like Biker Boyz, Torque and the Fast and the Furious series have glorified these unofficial racing stunts to such an extent that these have caught onto youths in our cities. However, in some countries, drag racing is legal.

But in India, the drag races that happen are street races and are not legal. For instance, in Madras, it happens on the Beach road near the Marina, Elliots Beach road at Besant Nagar and the ubiquitous East Coast Road (ECR). In the wee hours of the night / dawn, it happens on other major roads too. The Madras-Bangalore Highway (NH4), is another example. I have heard that it happens at the Worli Seaface, Carter Road, Bandra in Mumbai and on the Pune Expressway. I am sure there are other places too, like I found out at BKC.

No wonder, with the BKC almost empty on Saturdays, the biker boys have a free run. These races are done for paltry bets and are used to show the prowess of the racers on the road. Many times, rich kids also use these races to show off. With bikes becoming more powerful and superbikes being imported, availability is no more an issue.

The issue with drag racing in India is that it happens with common public on the roads and at such speeds, someone can get hurt, sometimes even fatally. There have been any cases where innocent bystanders walking on the roads or waiting for public transport have got hurt due to the antics of these people. Many vehicles go haywire during such races and cause accidents. Sometimes parked vehicles bear the brunt. Many a time, the racers are drunk and intoxicated with paan. This makes your presence on such roads even more risky. You could get maimed for life!

It is difficult for the police to monitor as these people have a network and they do it where they want. It is well co-ordinated. it is frightening to be on roads while these races happen - you can consider yourself lucky if you were present and nothing happened to you. It all happens in a flash. With a lot of vroom and noise, these vehicles power on the roads with excited youth seeking some cheap thrills. They power ahead as if they are flying on German Autobahns.

The issue I am concerned with is not the lives of these racers. It is the unsuspecting public that use the thoroughfares. I am afraid that law enforcement cannot do much about this. As public, we need to take precaution.

I don't think my Wego will go beyond Chembur. Anymore.