[GTO]

I love motorcycles. I cherish riding a liter bike. I don't understand them nearly as well as I do cars, but I'll never say no to taking a spin on a friend's bike, or renting one. Cars might be in my blood, but motorcycles do hold a special place in my heart.

Being candid here, the sole reason I don’t already have a motorcycle parked down my house is safety (or the lack of). Indian drivers have dismally poor road manners and all it takes is one distracted autorickshaw or unskilled car driver (we encounter both types on every city drive) to cause an accident. Indian roads are the deadliest in the world & we have the dubious distinction of having the highest accident fatality rate in the world! There are way too many morons to share our roads with and a car will give me 100X the protection of a motorcycle against these idiots. As if to make matters worse, post-accident healthcare is painfully distant in India; way too many injured people die waiting for the ambulance / hospital.

I was once going to buy a used R6 with beloved Mod Rtech. It was more or less a done deal. No more. I will NEVER own a motorcycle in India. At best, I would go for organised track days or occasionally borrow a bike to get my fix. In the USA, a biker is 35 times more likely to die in a crash than a car driver; am sure in India, that number is more like 50 - 100 times likelier.

Heck, forget being almost completely unprotected on a motorcycle, I have resolved to buy only 4 or 5-star rated GNCAP cars for myself from now on. On a bike, you have zero protection, but even in a zero-rating car like the S-Presso, the protection level is 100 times that of a motorcycle . And I would refuse to take an S-Presso on the highway...a motorcycle is a distant dream.

Have seen way too many sob stories from motorcyclists, known & unknown. Know of too many deaths or permanent injuries. My tolerance for pain is very low, even a minor muscle pull bothers me if it affects my daily routine. The thought of not being able to care for my family scares the heck out of me. Bikers can joke about the "cage" all they want, but when that cage protects me in a crash, I'll be the one laughing the hardest. Another reason I don't ride more often is because I don't miss it all that much = driving (a car) gives me 100% pleasure. Am lucky to be in a position where I can redline every new car launched in India, and have some nice cars in my own garage.

My question to the bikers of Team-BHP is this = how do you perceive the risk level of riding in India? Do you think the risk is acceptable? Or high? I can understand the guy with a 50,000 - 1 lakh rupee budget not having the choice of a 4-wheeler (cars cost a lot more to run too), but the enthusiasts riding bigger bikes surely have the automotive choice. Are you okay with the risk? Does it play on your mind when you are out riding? Doesn't it bother you that your body / spine could snap like a toothpick in even a medium-level crash? And if the answer is yes, how do you justify riding then? Not ridiculing at all = a genuine question.

How many BHPians have resisted buying a motorcycle for the same reasons as me? As the famous saying goes:

Motorcycling, is not, of itself inherently dangerous. It is, however, extremely unforgiving of inattention, ignorance, incompetence, or stupidity

Not to mention, unmarked speed breakers, mechanical failures, tyre bursts, drunk drivers, jaywalkers, animals running on the road...

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Motorcycle section!

[VKumar]

There are three variables here GTO, in my opinion:
1) Time - Night rides, early morning rides, foggy hours of winters
2) Place - City, expressways etc
3) Vehicle - Can it go faster or not than the ones which can pose an intentional risk.

If it’s a crowded city street, the iota of the risk is at the minimum level, but if it’s a high speed corridor, the risk gets multiplied by multiple folds.

I ride a Pulsar 220 and frequently go out for joyrides. If I am riding under 80 kph on a highway, I feel unsafe. The biggest issue is with the impatient car drivers (including me) as well as the bus drivers too, who simply ignore the presence of a biker while they start an overtaking manoeuvre. Particularly in Delhi NCR and the highways around, if you are on 2 wheels and you are slow too, you need to look the the RVMs as much as you need to look at what’s ahead, and this is irrespective of the road or lane you are in. Frequently we come across the drivers who overtake from left and even go till shoulders too, and then honk behind the bikers riding their at 60-70-80 kph on their 100cc bikes or scooters - to either go faster or ride further closer to the edges to let the overtaking vehicle pass. Same way, many people simply prefer to ignore the presence of two wheeler riders while shifting to left lane too.

Secondly, late night rides in Delhi and around, drivers turn something else after 10 pm, if you are riding a two wheeler, you need to be extremely cautious while entering the crossroads, turnarounds etc, if it’s a female also riding with you then things do turn worse up here in late hours, I have seen such stuff happen in my area - luckily MH, KA etc are free from such idiots at least.

Overall, if it’s a nice and quick two wheeler, you are comparatively safer, at least you will get injured or die because of your own foolishness (of going too fast to control).

There is yet another menace called “open the door”, which is quite common too I believe.

[Researcher]

Voted for high risk.

Over the years, the rising traffic, the lowering age of average riders (some even below the legal age of riding), and my growing age, I have felt riding to become riskier. Earlier I used to take two wheelers to places which were crowded or near to my home but cannot be done by foot due to the monsoon ravaged roads or if I had to carry something heavy, but nowadays, I prefer to take the cars out, even if it requires me to park a bit far and walk the rest. A few young rash bikers passing closely will definitely affect me more in a scooter than on a car, especially on imperfect roads and in bad weather.

But I do go out on two wheelers, especially when its very crowded or narrow lanes and sometimes on rides with friends. But that has reduced a lot. Again, I blame my age and option of cars. One thing I tell myself always is, "A dent on a car is reparable whereas a bodily injury may not be."

[ashis89]

Voted for high risk.

It has been 6 years since I gave up riding a two wheeler. All due to a major accident and no fault of mine. I lost some confidence and so did my parents.

Since then, I have not been comfortable riding again. Few kms on my father's Activa or on a friend's bike, once in six months, won't count I believe?

When I see that delivery guy zigzag through traffic and at unexpected speeds, I can't help but think - what if....

[shashank.nk]

I'm more a scooterist than a proper biker though I have a Pulsar 180,as I've used the bike primarily to ride within the city limits or at max the outskirts in the 10+ years and 40000kms I've done.

I would rate the overall risk as 'medium to high' depending on three things, the rider, gear and the bike/scooter of choice. I will let the other, more experienced riders share their views on what has kept them safe over the years than repeating the usual stuff which has already been discussed in detail on the forum.

I was reluctant to buy a 'big' bike until recently as the thought of being on a two-wheeler with just safety gear while impatient cars,SUVs,volvo buses zip past you at unmentionable speeds scared the crap out of me. I spoke to a few biker friends of mine and avid bikers on the forum as well and realised that almost all understand the risks involved and do the best they can to ride safely.
A bike with safety equipment and in top notch condition, safety gear of the highest grade your wallet can afford and most importantly riding safely with proper technique is all we can do as these are the only things in our control.

As for the other variables:
Unmarked speed breakers, tractor/bullock carts/rural bikers merging into the highways unmindful of others, squids, cow/dog/donkey/goat/sheep/camel and all other animals that share the highways with us...I thought long and hard and the only solution I've found so far is weekly/monthly/annual visits to nearby temple/family deity to sincerely pray I don't run into one at speeds when I hit the highways!

[Mafia]

I have voted high risk.

I have ridden motorcycles and scooters to a total of more than 150k km over 15 years.

The risk varies with driving conditions. Rush hour, twilight, night time, rain, rain and in the night.

I have had many tumbles over the years and consider myself really lucky not to have any major injuries so far.

I still ride 2-wheelers gladly

[BlackPearl]

I have voted for high risk. I used to ride a Yamaha RX 135 long time back and mostly used it on the highways or in low speed zones. I was quite scared to ride in the main city roads due to the unruly buses and autos. Then I went to USA and rode a Kawasaki 650 for more than 15 thousand miles on all types of roads. I had a few close shaves: once a pick-up truck jumped a signal and came right in front of me. Another time a lady in a car merging into the highway came straight into the middle lane instead of merging in her lane. Even then I continued to ride thinking that I would be able to save myself. Slowly that confidence has gone down after losing a few friends and acquaintances who were much better riders than me. I think I will not be willing to ride anymore unless it is in a remote area. My dream is to buy a pick-up or get a carrier for a motorcycle, tow it to Ladakh, Spiti or the north east and then ride my heart out!

[RiderZone]

In the end it's all about the Risk-Reward ratio. Motorcycling in India is extremely high risk, but there's nothing comparable to how fun, fast, and convenient it is. I try to mitigate the risks with high quality riding gear, plus generous insurance policies. Tolls and traffic jams don't exist for us, that's a good enough bargain for me.

[Divya Sharan]

Voted high risk, but it doesn't petrify me.

Getting into an accident is equally likely be it on foot, a cycle, a motorcycle, a car or a truck. Yes, I "may" survive inside a car, not sure if I'd be in walking/driving condition or not (just assuming the worst case scenario here).

I've a little over 11 years experience of using our roads on my own vehicles, therefore I may not still have the bragging rights in terms of experience in years, but I managed covering decent ground in this short while.

My Karizma ZMR has run for 1.25 lac km (11 years), Ninja 650 merely 12k km (2+ years), a humble Yamaha Ray ZR about 16.5k km (4 years) and Punto Evo some 61k km (~6 years).

Every time I hit the highway on anything except the scooter (that's only for city use anyway), I remind myself that I'm in no hurry to reach anywhere and I usually keep my timelines in check. I don't start late for long highway stints, I start before 4 AM and most importantly, I'm almost always well rested (barring a very scary situation once when I really felt sleepy on the Karizma).

Long rides/drives are always planned with not more than 700 km in a day and on those rare occasions when I'm going home by road - 900 km a day tops. But I prepare for them accordingly. Nothing is unplanned.

Yes, I've had ad-hoc trips too, but still I've managed to rest a bit beforehand.

Now, coming to the other idiot (apart from me) on the road, I've read multiple articles/Keith Code's books and blogs and browsed hundreds of titles on YouTube to improve my peripheral vision and how to ride/drive with caution.
I read and practice the same. Always observe and expect/estimate/approximate others' moves on the road, be it city or highway.
Anticipate! And never take anything for granted.

I never move according to the road or the machine, I stay within MY limits.
In numbers, it is always 90-110 kmph on the highway. Gives me decent FE too.

Apart from that, practice emergency braking. So many people think they can brake well, how wrong they are! Upgrade headlamps. Use common sense and leave ego at your doorsteps.

I've had a terrible accident with multiple fractures when I hit a dog at near 100 kmph on BLR-HYD highway. There was an entire pack darting across the road. I had no time. I did dodge one, but the next moment I hit a fat one. Poor thing died. I still mourn for it.
Initially I blamed the dog. Then I blamed myself. Then I started wondering if I could have avoided it if I was slower! Or faster!

But what happened, happened. I learnt from it. I'm very very wary of animals now, across the roads. I read often on how different animals move, post my crash. So, while I was lucky to have survived with just 17 fractures (due to riding gear and a great helmet) and recover and to have an awesome family who did NOT ask me to stop riding/driving long distances, I have evolved into a much better and informed road user now. One always learns, falls, learns and the cycle goes on.

Who knows my next flight may crash, but I still fly when needed, right?
Just be aware of the surroundings, laws and keep cool.

Remember to enjoy. That's most important!

[JayPrashanth]

Motorcycling: Inherently high risk in the developed world, and super high risk in India where traffic sense is generally a joke. In fact, Nicholas Nassim Taleb has even written about how risky motorcycling is in his book Anti-Fragile.

Do I ride? Oh, yes, across all kinds of roads, terrains and conditions.

Will it kill me someday? It could, but I strongly believe in 'whatever has to happen, will.' So, I don't really worry about dying when I get onto my motorcycle. Of course, I gear up every time, and try to stay out of trouble but to be brutally frank, living/dying while riding a motorcycle isn't really in the biker's hands in a country like India. Despite the best safety gear and defensive riding practices, there are way too many extraneous factors that could kill you on a motorcycle.

All said, there is one major thing every biker can do to reduce the chance of becoming a statistic. Stay within 100-120 Kph on Indian highways. Anything more than this, you're really asking for trouble. And it doesn't matter if you have a superbike that can stop on a dime, and has a 100 safety features working in tandem to keep you upright. It doesn't matter if you wear Kevlar all over and have carbon fiber surrounding your head. A stray dog or spilt diesel can make all these things irrelevant.

Cheers,

Jay

[The21st]

I always have had this doubt in my mind. Can someone clear this doubt please?

How safe is riding above 100 km/h on a highway with proper riding gear? Is it at least comparable to a car with a low safety rating? On those highways, many people try to clock a particular speed. Some people cruise at 120 km/h. I feel they are safer than those guys racing on the streets. If you search on YouTube something like "NS 200 vs RTR 200" or " NS 200 vs Duke 200", you will find a lot of videos. Watching them driving scares the hell out of me. There are a lot of videos. They are riding through traffic in a crazy manner.

In the majority of deaths cases I have heard of, person were not wearing a helmet. So how different will the condition of a person using all the quality expensive riding gear available and a bike with good safety measures be?

How safe is riding a scooter below 60 for short trips like grocery shopping? Is riding a bike better than using autorickshaw, because for very short trips, I don't think someone will use a taxi. Walking the short distance also is risky if the road doesn't have a footpath. What if someone loses control and hits us? At this point, usually I stop thinking much because further thinking will reveal that even stepping out of house is not completely safe or even inside the house, you are not safe. So, I think all this is a matter of probability. Waiting for expert opinions on usual reasons for death in a motorcycle accident. Many people are escaping without even a single scratch if wearing the right gear.

[MSC]

My experience of riding two wheelers in hills

I was born and brought up in Himachal Pradesh. I learnt to drive both two wheels and four wheels in the narrow single lane hill roads.
From what I have learnt is that, a two wheeler rider is at risk in hills or wherever he drives, the moment he steps out of the home.
Where roads are a bit broad, it helps a bit but not of much use. A two wheeler rider will more often than not, will always be ignored by other drivers. It makes matters worse if the vehicle from other side is a heavily overloaded truck or a state/ private transport bus. Such a poor hapless soul is ignored by almost everyone on road.
The narrow lanes require one of the two or sometimes both vehicles to move slightly off road so that vehicles can pass. Fellow riders must have observed this, the vehicle from other side is most likely not to move and make way for the rider. This thing is even more dangerous in case of monsoons or where roads are broken. The bike is most likely to skid off in slippery conditions. A rider is always open to elements like rain, wind, sun and even bugs. You never know when a silly bee decides to enter your thick layer of clothing. I have even been stung by a bee which entered my helmet from the underside despite wearing a balaclava and a high jacket.

[motorpsycho]

I voted medium risk, however would never ride at night, specially on the ORR in Bangalore. There are just too many rash drivers and trucks plying late at night. It is even worse if it rains.

However, I have toured on my motorcycle and usually off the highways and have found it to be a pretty low risk activity.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by GTO

My question to the bikers of Team-BHP is this = how do you perceive the risk level of riding in India? Do you think the risk is acceptable? Or high?

How many BHPians have resisted buying a motorcycle for the same reasons as me? As the famous saying goes:
.

Simple answer: Everytime anyone leaves home on any two wheeler, getting back home safely is a gamble and a whole lot of divine intervention in the mix.
There is a reason in most "developed" countries Motorcyclists are referred too as "Organ donors". On our roads it's even more scary. But that has never stopped me from riding. I have been riding motorcycles for the last 30 years (yes, have been riding way before I reached the legal age). I consider myself a relatively safe rider (could be highly misplaced) but there are times after I reach home and the euphoria dies down a shiver runs down my spine and I wonder how I made it back home alive. I say a short prayer and thank my guardian angel. So why do I ride, sorry I can't say... all I know is if I don't, I get clinically depressed. Is it safe? Heck no!
But hey on a lighter note: As I blast past a bicyclist on our highways with his/her skin tight clothes and plastic helmet I think to myself "Is this guy/girl nuts, placing too much faith in surrounding traffic not mowing them down and say a short prayer for their safety too." I think cycling on our highways is the scariest thing, where you are at everyone else's mercy.