Beware, the Leaky Cauldrons
Overflowing water tankers, vehicles leaking oil and other garbage on the road is the bane of a biker’s existence. Aninda Sardar found out the hard way
JUST LAST WEEK I WAS WAXING eloquent about the highs of the previous year with a bunch of colleagues. But life is full of ironies and in a bizarre twist I find myself writing my very first column of the new year about a low. Just the other day I was on my way home astride my long-term Mahindra Mojo. Admittedly, it’s not a perfect bike but I don’t mind its shortcomings too much. After all, how much of handling prowess and power can you really experience when you’re cutting across a crowded city through stop-n-go traffic. So far, it has not let me down on my home-office-home commutes.
That day, however, was different. As I turned into my lane, which turns off from the main road into a fairly steep slope, quite suddenly I felt the front end of the bike wash out from underneath me without even the slightest hint of a warning. The next thing I knew the Mojo and I were sliding down and came to rest at the end of the 10 to 15-metre slope.
My first instinct was to curse the bike’s inability to cope with turns, bad geometry, etc, but as my brain stopped racing and my lungs returned to breathing normally, I realised that there must have been some other reason for the bike to have behaved so unpredictably. After all, I turn into that same road once every day and sometimes even more if I use the bike to run errands. And never once before have I fallen, either on the Mojo or on any of the numerous motorcycles and scooters that I have ridden home over the past two years. What had changed then? Why did I fall so suddenly?
Unable to control my sudden surge of curiosity about the incident, the discreet investigator in me took over and I walked back up the slope after picking up the bike and putting it on the stand by the side of the lane at a visible spot but well away from any traffic.
On closer inspection I realised that the reason for my tumble was a large patch of oil that had been spilt on the road. The telltale tyre mark on the patch reconfirmed my assumption.
It’s really strange, isn’t it, that there are so many water tankers that ply in our cities without covering their storage tanks with such brazen impunity. It’s such a common sight to see a large streak of water on the road that usually finishes in a tractor pulling a water tank without a cover. The spillage is, of course, caused by the constant jumping around of the tanker on our roads and the sloshing around of the water. And this happens in cities across the country, be it the national capital or some tier III town in central India or any other part of the country.
Then there are the leaky vehicles that spill oil wherever they stop, even if only for a minute or two. Does anyone ever stop to think what effect such spillage could have in a country where a majority of the working class commute on twowheelers? I think not. Our apathy to the convenience (or inconvenience) of others is indeed legendary.
Now, it isn’t as if you will not see a single oil spillor water on the road in any other country. The difference is that there it is more the exception than the rule. It is not a daily occurence. In our country, it is.
What can we do? Precious little, really, in a nation where people can’t be bothered to look before crossing a road. However, as a biker (or even a car owner or perhaps both) you can, of course, make a New Year resolution to ensure that your bike or car at least isn’t a leaky cauldron that might be the bane of existence for another fellow biker. In the mean time, keep wearing proper riding gear and definitely a good lid. For all you know there’s an oil patch on you’re way home this evening.
On that note… ride safe and have fun! Until next month then…
Our apathy to the convenience (or inconvenience) of others is indeed legendary