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Save A Cyclist

A few days back, I was driving down the road from Galleria towards HUDA City Center(Gurgaon). In front of the Marriott Courtyard hotel, I almost hit a cyclist.

It was dark on the road, and even though I was driving pretty slowly, I saw the cyclist flash by and swerved just in time.

It was a close shave and very unnerving, and set off memories about an accident a friend had met with last year.

The scene was pretty similar. He was driving down on M.G. Road at night when he hit a cyclist from the rear because he didn’t see him until the last moment. The cyclist was pretty badly injured and had to spend a couple of days in the ICU. It was a very tense week for all of us, and thankfully, the cyclist made a full recovery. It did set my friend back a couple of lakhs in hospital and car repair bills though.

While cursing the administration for not having enough working street lights, I continued to wonder what could be done to make the roads safer. It hit me towards the end of the trip that we could probably get portable safety lights which could then be fixed on bicycles.

Reaching home, I called up Henri (who is an avid cyclist) and asked him if he had something similar, and if something like this could be done. He answered in the affirmative and was quite excited about the idea. We decided to give it a shot.

The next day, I bought a safety light for my maid. On switching it on and asking her what it was and how it might help her, she replied that she didn’t have a clue.

However, after I explained its purpose, she was quite excited about getting and using it. She was even willing to spend some money on it but just didn’t know where and how much to buy it for.

Most of the ‘poor’ folks, who use bicycles as their primary mode of commutation, don’t have any safety lights on their bicycles. I suspect they aren’t aware of it, and even if they did manage to find out, they probably wouldn’t know where to buy it or do not consider safety paramount enough to invest a few hundred rupees.

That’s why we decided to set up Save A Cyclist –

1.) To promote awareness about rear safety lights on bicycles among folks so that they can buy a few and give it to their maids, drivers, office boys etc.

2.) To procure these lights and distribute them to cyclists who cannot afford them.

More information about this initiative is available here: www.saveacyclist.in

If you can, do go to a nearby bike shop in your city and get a few. It only costs a few hundred bucks but has the potential to save lives.

Or you could help support us here 🙂

Drive Safe.

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11 Comments

  1. abhik,

    i read this last night. and it was there in my head this morning as well!

    kudos to dudes like you who think of wonderful ideas (and execute them as well) to better other people’s lives…

    in my view, you are truly a think + do person.

    so proud to have you as a fellow rodinhooder! 

  2. Thanks Asha.

    Yep, we can either complain or do our small bit to help improve things.

    The inspiration for doing came last year from ‘The Ugly Indian’ – An awesome bunch of guys in Bangalore who believe in the mantra of “Kaam chalu. Mooh Band’ and are slowly cleaning up Bangalore in small steps.

    Check them out if you havent heard of them before 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ugly-Indian/123459791046618

  3. Hi Abhik,

    That’s a nice thought and appreciable execution.

    But, doesn’t a radium sticker help as an alternative? 

  4. Aravind,

    Yep, we are planning to source reflective stickers and paste them on bicycles too along with the safety light.

    cheers

    abhik

  5. Hi Abhik… your initiative is super. It resonates a lot today. As it happens just last night I hit a pot hole in Mumbai and was flung off my bicycle. Ironically it was right outside Ambani Hospital’s A & E entrance. Fortunately I survived the fall (helmet + gloves) with a few scratches though the bicycle sounds like its crying when I ride. I’m a regular cyclist, I respect the traffic, and any accident is scary as hell. 

    Anyhow… my point is that back and front lights along with a helmet are a cyclist’s first line of defense. However, what’ll be super is if Save A Cyclist can activate a street awareness program for commuters. I have a digital agency and will be happy to collaborate with you on this, and I’m sure there will be other media professionals too who might want to join in.

    Here are a few issues that need to dealt with:

    1. Safety Awareness for Cyclists –  Importance of lights and helmets, rules of the road for safe riding

    2. Pothole Management – City administration typically needs to handle this, but if it doesn’t can citizens do something instead?

    3. Safety Awareness for Others – Most serious cyclists respect the road and the traffic, it’s a big versus small thing where everybody is actually bigger than you. However, there is too much apathy from others and that’s what truly endangers the cyclists. Something needs to be done there.

    Lots of wide points, sweeping statements in this comment… but with a phased out plan a lot of the stuff mentioned above can be achieved. 

    What say? Let’s talk.

    Tarun – 09930709028

  6. Thanks Tarun.

    Yep, its quite a serious but goes largely unnoticed. 

    We are taking a two pronged approach to this – promoting awareness and an on the ground campaign.

    We don’t want to sound just preachy but initiate action by action – The idea is to get everybody to do their small bit.

    We started out in Gurgaon but would definitely like to see this grow to a pan india movement and are on the lookout for folks to start city based chapters.

    Maybe, you could start the mumbai chapter with a small group of friends to distribute lights and promote the issue and its solution.

    And ofcourse, any help on creatives or otherwise is always welcome.

    Will call you sometime next week to discuss this further.

    Cheers

    Abhik

  7. Wow! This is so on the lines of what I was thinking a couple of days back, good to see it is already being actioned upon by a fellow Rodinhooder. 

    I bought a cycle a couple of weeks ago, and in a few days a safety back light after reading on all those cycling forums and groups that how necessary they are for safety of a CYCLIST. 

    And then when I went for a few rides in the evening last week with my helmet and safety light on, I saw a lot of factory workers and labourers riding their Roadsters in pitch dark without even a proper reflector, forget having safety lights. 

    And I was wondering we make such an issue out of our (the pada-likha cyclist who rides for leisure, as an option and can afford a cycle worth lakhs of rupees) safety as cyclists, but what about the safety of these hand-to-mouth fellow cyclists who ride the most basic cycle to work as they don’t have any other option. 

    And today I see this post! I am really very happy to see this initiative and would do my level best to promote it in all the cycling groups I am a part of.

    Would also propose a few funds collection rides for this purpose followed by a series of night rides where we catch hold of such cyclists on the road, explain them the benefits of having reflectors and safety lights, install them on their bicycles right then. 

    This shall definitely help increase bicycle safety awareness and help the cause.

    Thanks for the great initiative Abhik! 🙂

  8. Ankur Bhai….. Beautiful Thought you have of promoting it and raising funds from cycle groups. I am sure they would relate well to the cause.

    And Yeah… Abhik Bhai… is surely doing a great work in this direction.

    Best Wishes

  9. abhik & ankur… there are some real neat cyclist groups in gurgaon/delhi – perhaps you could tie up with them to popularise the cause?

    will pull out from fb and share with u…

  10. Hi Tarun,

    Another problem that I often encounter are that of the stray dogs that chase you. A couple of times I had been chased by the street dogs and had been bitten on one occasion. This is also a dangerous situation as often people tend to panic and try to speed up or become careless regarding the emerging traffic. It can lead to serious accidents. However, this is a typical problem where the BMC ( I live in Mumbai , therefore BMC) or the city Corporation body needs to do something about it for the safety of the cyclist. What we definitely need at this point is a joint initiative of the Civic body/ Corporation and the cyclists together. In the West, I suppose there are some ultrasound whistle that actually can ward off the canine population from attacking the cyclist or the runners ( many long distance runners use them while they train on the roads). Also, by and large there has to be regular campaigns on the benefits of cycling both in terms of health benefits and in terms of environmental benefits.These campaigns can potentially attract more and more students and professionals to use cycle as a medium of transport and this in return will perhaps make the Civic Bodies to take up initiatives that would benefit the regular cycle users in terms of safety and infrastructure.

    Arindam.

       

  11. Sorry, typo error…they are ultrasonic sound whistles.

    As far as raising of funds are concerned, several conventional and innovative initiatives can be taken such as adventure tours on cycle, cross country cycling and cycle races  and campaigns on cycles addressing social issues can be undertaken and the money raised through them could be used to help the people who cannot afford lights and other safety gears.

    Also awareness programs at school levels would be another way to popularize the use of cycles amongst students.

    I am sure that some of these programs and initiatives must be already in place and we surely can do a lot by actively participating in them. 

    @Abhik thanks for bringing in this topic into discussion and actively doing something about it. @ Tarun, hope to catch up with you soon.

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