It’s almost 4 am here and when I publish this post, most of you will wonder whether I’ve lost my sanity to stay awake and write this post at this hour? But I urge you to keep reading. I’ve had the thought of writing this post for last 3 days when I was going to my office. Not beating around the bush (as I usually do), I’ll come to the incident.
I was on my way to office at around 11:00 am, 25th Oct. Earphones on, I was listening to a Ted talk while driving my bicycle. At one point there was a guy ahead of me on his Honda Activa talking to someone on his phone while driving with one hand. Suddenly his hand (the one on Activa) probably shook due to something and his Activa nudged a nearby electric pole causing him to slip badly. I was a bit far and I parked my cycle on a side and people gathered around him (unlike I thought, they actually helped him get up). He was limping but was able to walk alright. Thankfully, he was wearing a helmet and that certainly saved his life. But the activa, its condition was worse than this:
Yes, I mean it. The condition was actually worse than this. While this easily could’ve been a major accident for his life, some divine power saved him. As all the people gathered around him were locals and I couldn’t really help (other than giving him water which I had at the time) due to the language barrier, I was on my way to the office. However, the incident made me think and decide on a couple of things.
- Always have a first aid kit in your vehicle. That guy didn’t have it; so he would have been probably taken to a doctor nearby.
- Try to have a water bottle with you always. You never know when it may come handy.I felt bad as my bottle was close to empty while I was leaving home. (I’ve made it a point to fill my bottle till half while going out)
These are secondary tips. Before the primary ones, I would like to tell that I myself have been in 2 severe accidents in my life. One was in December 2010, when I was riding an Activa (don’t blame the Activa’s now) and the çar in front of me swerved right without any signal and I crashed into it. The vehicle’s condition was similar to above and I was unconscious for about half an hour. It was the helmet that saved me as all the witnesses said I’d have been no more hadn’t it been for the helmet. (The condition was worse than this):
- Since that day, I made it a point to wear a helmet always. No matter the distance for which I drive. It doesn’t matter whether the police stops me or not. Because this little piece of wonder is not for policemen, it’s for you. It’s for your family, friends, the people who love you.
Again, early this year I was in a cab going from Gurgaon to Delhi on Delhi-Jaipur highway when the car in front of us suddenly applied brakes. The cab driver applied his brakes too but the car behind us couldn’t stop in time and rammed into us. Now, given that I’m here, writing this post, it’s all due to a device added to your cars called seat belt. My phone was on my lap and it flew and hit the windshield. Both I and my driver were wearing the seatbelts thankfully.
Needless to say, I always wear a seatbelt while sitting in a car.
Now coming to the primary points, while many of us continue to behave (unknowingly) in a reckless way while driving, this needs to stop. If not for yourself, please do it for the people you love. I know I myself was at fault for listening to a ted talk while driving and I’ve stopped doing that since.
- Please wear helmets/seatbelts. They’re for your safety and they really do wonders.
- You might be the most skilled driver on the planet but the driver ahead of you (or behind you) might be the worst asshole that roads will have seen.
- Don’t use your mobile phone while driving. I used to do it too. But as I said. I’ve stopped doing it.
- Remember your family, your friends, the people you love and the people who love you while starting driving. For their sake, drive safely.