India: Protests to ban superbikes as accidents rise

By APD writer Rishika Chauhan

NEW DELHI, August 21 (APD) - As the deaths due to superbike accidents have increased in India, protests to ban superbikes have also become common.

Last week a 24-year-old man died of his injuries after he lost control of his sports bike and crashed into a wall in New Delhi. Since then his family has been urging the government to ban super bikes in the capital.

The deceased, Himanshu Bansal, was riding a 600cc Benelli TNT 600i bike, which can go up to the speed of 200 kilometers per hour. Speaking to the media Suresh Bansal, the father of the victim said, “The roads in Delhi are not meant for super bikes. They are for foreign countries such as Australia and USA where the population is less.”

The local politicians have also supported the family’s views. “Ideally, in a city like Delhi these bikes should not be allowed so that children cannot force their parents to purchase such bikes,” said Jitneder Singh Shunty, a former legislative member elected from the area.

So far many people have died in India due to accidents related to superbikes, most of them have belonged to financially well to do families. For youngsters, sometimes superbikes become an object of showing their wealth and they do not pay attention to training required to control the super fast bikes.

Dr Arun Thareja, who is the founder of the Group of Delhi Superbikers, explains, "We get several calls from young aspirants wanting to join our group but a majority of them are in the show-off category so we reject them."

Thareja, who founded the group in 1999, blames parents for giving the high-performance and fast bikes to teenagers who don’t have sufficient driving experience. He has called for special superbike licenses with a minimum age limit of 25-years.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)