"arey bhai mamu a gaya jaldi helmet dey!!" isn't this a sight that i can assume all of us are accustomed to ??.. we might have been guilty of doing the same at some point of our biking life..

But the point of this post is not to spread yet another drive safe- wear safety gear campaign.... its a thought that had been niggling me for a long time but thanks to this forum i get a shout box and here i am with my post.
As always i fear i might not be able to put my point across with eloquence but lets just start with it, enough of the prelude!!
yesterday i heard about some acquaintance of my father who got involved in a freak accident sum how managed to survive only too be left as a widower for the rest of his life. i live in lucknow the land of kebabs and legendary lawless traffic where just about everyone is trying to overtake everyone from every direction with no functional traffic lights in the entire city barring hazratganj.
so on that unfortunate day the man nd his wife were returning from a private ceremony with the woman ol decked up on their priya scooter.. cautious as he is, uncle wore a helmet but just like it is always the female did not.. a dumper a cement mixing kind of thing was speeding across from their left and suddenly in a very bizzare manner the dumper sumhow clipped the wife's saree it got entangled in the machine nd she was dragged face down on the road for a good 200 -300 metres... imbalanced scooter made the guy also fall only too be saved by his helmet but seeing his wife die in front of his eyes as she succumbed to her injuries withing minutes only to leave a bone chilling narration for people like us ..
a professional biking community that we are we have upped the safety standards across the young un's and oldies alike but how often do we see aunties wearing a helmet??,a girl whizzing across on her scootey pep with her beautiful long hair making dozens oogle...women just wont wear it some are embarrassed to wear it some think their 5000 rs hair job would get spoiled some just enjoy the male attention sans the helmet
this is the third accident involving a female fatality that ive come across in my life only to wonder when will these improper perceptions change and when will the fairer sex realize accidents don't discriminate on basis of gender and their life is more important than their new hairstyle.. we as Indians lose millions to road mishaps every year ...police chek points keep a tab on guys without helmets only to leave them with 100 rs generosity gesture..
but what about the girls on their scootey's, thousands of women riding as pillion with no safety sometimes carrying handbags children etc with the husband gracing his cranium with an "isi branded mehnga helmet"
many might disagree with facts and figures varying from city to city but sumhow the experince in my homeland has been bitter and even in Delhi where even the pillion has to have a helmet [albeit a shoddy laborer helmet] ive never ever come across a female as a pillion with helmet. the thought process , the awareness the concern for their safety just doesn't exist.
i just take this opportunity to ask my fellow xbhpians as to how can we bring about this pertinent change and alter the perceptions of indian females thus making their lives safer and not a ticking time bomb everytime they travel on the bikes/scooters with their brothers/sons/husbands.

p.s i hope my post doesnt come across as chauvinistic and i accept all the criticism ... all i want is everyone to be safe on their vehicles including females..
im just wondering how do i ask my mother to wear a helmet next time she sits as a pillion

wilco
keep the blue side up!