Stunt Riding, an extreme sport that involves acrobatic maneuvering of the motorcycle and sometimes the rider himself, is fast becoming a fad, with many youngsters going that extra mile to fuel their passion. But in doing so, most of them are simply ignoring the fact that they are living life dangerously, and often on the wrong side of the law.
All that can change, though, feel experts. If performed with the right gear and at the right places, stunt riding can be as safe or as risky as any other motorsport and can prove to be a major crowd-puller like that in the US or the UK. In India, however, the sport has always been associated with news that is, most often than not, tragic. Take, for instance, the recent incident in which a teenage biker, found to be performing deadly stunts in the middle of the night on the capital?s roads, lost his life to police firing. While the incident once again highlighted the aspect of safety on the city?s roads, enthusiasts feel that it?s the lack of dedicated spaces that are encouraging stunt bikers to come out in the open, and with dangerous consequences.
Arun Thareja, an ENT specialist and founder of the Group of Delhi Superbikers (GODS), acknowledges the need for designated spaces, but also feels bikers need to change their mindsets. ?We have a track in Greater Noida for racing activities. For practising stunts, a parking lot is also good enough. The most important thing is to change one?s mindsets,? he says.
Michael Alexandre Saidi of Vintage Rides, a professional motorcycle club founded six years ago, is of the view that every biker must know his limitations and should practise and perform stunts in open spaces. ?Every rider must know that performing stunts on roads are dangerous as it can kill or injure anyone. As the number of stunt bikers are increasing in India, we should create proper places for these riders too,? he says. Vintage Rides consists of a highly experienced team that has travelled together over thousands of kilometres in Europe and India.
The number of biker groups in the capital may not be more than a dozen, but the number of youths who have started indulging in such stunts on the roads is increasing every day.
In June, during the Shab-e-Baarat festivities in Delhi, more than 2,000 unruly bikers not only disrupted the celebrations by performing dangerous stunts on the streets, but were also allegedly seen misbehaving with women. Following this, the police arrested about 90 bikers and are now contemplating installing CCTV cameras around the city.
However, this phenomenon is not new. Many stunt bikers have taken the law into their own hands and created nuisance on roads. Late last year, two bikers on Mumbai?s Mira-Bhayandar road rammed into a 63-year-old man killing him on the spot. In the first half of the same year, a 24-year-old man, part of a race in Mumbai with around 30 other bikers, was killed after he lost control of his machine. Recently in Chennai, the police arrested six youths, three of whom were under 21, for illegal bike racing. In Bangalore too, drag racing continues to be a menace, with 300 of them on an average being booked every year. Drag racing and stunt biking are regular affairs throughout the country and no law seems to be a deterrent.
Recently, following a series of meetings with the cops, the Mumbai traffic police decided to seize vehicles used in street racing and book offenders under Section 279 (endangering life through rash driving or riding) of the IPC, which carries a jail term of up to six months and/or a fine of R1,000. In most cases, street racers are booked under Section 189 of the Motor Vehicle Act, and let off after a paltry fine of R500.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court directed the state government and the police chief to explain the steps taken by them to prevent bikers from performing stunts in public places like the India Gate area.
But what exactly makes these youngsters to come out on streets and perform daredevil stunts? Is it an offshoot of movies like Ghost Rider and Dhoom, where actors can be seen indulging in various stunts, absence of designated spaces for stunt racing like ?skate? or ?BMX parks?, or a total disregard for the law?
?In the US and the UK, people have a fear of the law, which is missing in India,? says Thareja. ?People who are found playing foul with rules there can face harsh punishment like cancellation of licences, etc. In India, however, everyone knows that he/she can get away by paying a meagre challan of R300 or R500 or spending a night in jail. This needs to change,? he says, adding, ?No doubt, the Delhi police?s action was wrong, but the onus is on bikers too.?
Mikhil Mohan, a stunt biker from the Chennai-based Ghost Ryderz, India?s first professional motorcycle stunt riding team to be chosen as the brand ambassador of the XDL Sportbike Freestyle Championship 2013, rebuffs the police for lacking the expertise to stop the ?rowdy riders? in Delhi. ?This shows the incapability of the authorities to handle a pressure situation,? he says.
However, Mohan believes that the kind of behaviour shown by the bikers in Delhi last month is anti-social and in no way represents the biking fraternity. ?You don?t become a cricketer just by wielding the bat. Similarly, how can any anti-social element belong to a biking fraternity or be called a stunt rider just because he was riding a bike?? he questions.
Mohan, who has taken part in 190 professional freestyle stunt riding events around the globe, practises stunts in closed and controlled environments. ?We are a 30-member team, of which five are professionally trained freestyle street athletes. Our main practice sessions take place at an abandoned air strip in Chennai.?
Another problem with bike stunts in this part of the world is that it has not been accepted as a sport. Parents stop children from taking to stunt biking because they are either afraid or don?t consider it legal. However, in countries like the US, stunt biking is a major adventure sport.
In a controlled environment, motorsports are as risky or as safe as any other game. An example could be the bikers from Indian Army who are quite popular. Every year, during the Republic Day parade at Rajpath, these bikers display a spectacular repertoire of stunts on their bikes. These include a rider climbing a ladder atop a running bike, formations of bikers crossing each other through gaps at controlled speed and human pyramid formations.
