Respect our space, drive responsibly: Enthusiasts cyclist spread awareness
Bengaluru: A group of around 25 cycle enthusiasts have organised a solidarity ride on Sunday to spread awareness among road users to respect the space for bicycle riders in and around the city, following Thursday’s accident where a 38-year-old woman cyclist, Maneka Gulvady, was mowed down by a speeding cab on the International Airport Road.
The solidarity ride has been organised to go beyond condolences and prayers for the deceased and create an awareness to share the space for all road users – be it pedestrians or cyclists, members of the group stated.
“We are catching up at Town Hall at around 5.30 pm and from there we will ride our cycles towards Freedom Park and then do some loops within the Central Business District (CBD) areas in and around M.G. Road and Brigade Road to spread the message – Not to treat us as nobody on roads,” said Pawan Kumar, a cycle enthusiast from a group called SimplyPedal India.
“We have spread the message through word of mouth and social media invites to other groups of cyclists in the city as well and we expect a good turnout on Sunday,” he added. The awareness ride is also to instill confidence among cycle users, who have become scared following the Thursday’s accident, a group member said. “If the cab driver had followed traffic rules, by not over-speeding and not overtaking from the left, Maneka would have been alive,” the member added.
“All we ask is a little space for us on the road and be responsible drivers. A bicycle hardly occupies one foot or two of a spread of the total road space and a little bit of extra cushion space and it’s not that we are invisible. All of us do wear helmets, and ride with safety gears. We do have a proper backlight. We also wear reflective vests if it’s a night ride and we are well prepared in terms with making ourselves visible,” said Pawan.
“When a new rider comes along with us, we make sure that they ride in the middle of the pack so that safety is more for them. Its give and take, other road users should not take us for granted, and of course we are not taking them for granted either,” said Sumanna, another cycle enthusiast.
Although it’s good to have dedicated bicycle lanes, we are not demanding them as we cannot expect a dedicated lane wherever we take our bikes. We will use all rideable roads, but all we are asking is respect our space by driving responsibly,” Pawan added.
