The warning came true in my life, just this Wednesday - my first in close to an year and half. Except that, I was the one going fast as crazy. But not my mistake, it was 9am, an empty flyover - i was easily doing 70. This guy, let's say Tughlaq (apparently going to a gym in the other side of the city at 9am on a weekday) on an Activa was driving on the rightmost end of the road at 30 maybe and suddenly decided to come left after I blew the horn. There was another bike on my left and a collision was inevitable. He couldn't control his rear tyre slipping, fell down, blocking my way and I fell too. (I'm guessing he pressed both brakes hard thinking it would save him from falling.) End result, both of us were pretty badly hurt - him more than me actually.
I have always believed that "Speed doesn't kill, insanity does". While going that fast might sound insane to a few, it wasn't actually. Going slow on the right side of an empty road is insane according to me. But there was my mistake too. While I do that speed almost everyday on that road, on Wednesday my mind wasn't there. I was riding, kind of, sub-consciously and didn't notice his moments until too late.
I had my helmet, jacket, shoes on though. So, even though I had a much worser fall than him, I was relatively less injured. I have got bandages on my left ankle, left knee and both wrists, and lots of minor scratches on both legs. Obviously, no more bike or car atleast for another week. But him, he didn't wear his helmet and got hurt on the face and jaws, apart from the hands and legs.
Moral of the story -
1. "Wear your helmet - Always."
2. "Don't go too fast. One idiot on the road who doesn't follow the same traffic rules as you, and your life could change in a second."
3. "If you think someone is right next to you or might even collide with you, then try to go faster. Don't even think of braking."
pretty fast..in hyd???
ReplyDelete70,,is like the avg speed of drivers in delhi...(i'm usually on the higher,rather than the lower side of the avg... :))
But anyways,,congrats on the non-broken jaws and face,,but maybe a face restructuring would make u look better!
Biker note: If ur turning, and ur rear tyre starts slipping out, what do u do...break??
ReplyDeleteNO!!!
You open up the throttle and accelerate out of it!
:D
Scary, but true!
Funda behind it - Acceleration means more amount of tyre goes against the road,,,consequently, more friction!! Think abt it...
Totally agree with third point of going faster from there...Braking does no good in those situations...Ive done it a couple of times while driving my car and works well! :)
ReplyDeleteRegards your first comment, Adi - don't compare Apples to Oranges.. its just that your roads are more like highways.. in Delhi, if you are going any less than 50, you would be run over by a truck..
ReplyDeleteand regards your second comment - I have heard this from you before as well and I agree..