The Indian Motorcyclist

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The Indian Motorcyclist

Several solo cross-country adventures to raise helmet awareness and improve the safety of Indian roads, Vinay Maurya is a man on a mission.

Words by Vinay Maurya

Vinay Maurya and his Royal Enfield motorcycle

Photo supplied by Vinay Maurya

The thing about the open road is that it never seems to end. This is India, after all. Not a small country. The roads are long, and sometimes, after hours on the motorbike, and when I think I’m reaching the end, it’ll branch off. Then I have to make a decision. I guess that’s what I find most exciting, the spilt decisions and the endless adventure the road presents.

I have been riding motorcycles for well over a decade and have made countless longdistance journeys across India, even taking amateur bikers on state-to-state scenic tours. I was always seeking adventure, but the purpose of those journeys changed in recent years. In 2013, I witnessed a road accident while travelling from Karnataka to Goa on Highway LF17. A really terrible accident involving a young boy. I remember turning away and my body shaking all over. The laws are not very stringent in India, and you’ll often see people speeding, skipping traffic lights and riding with a helmet. A young policeman at the scene of the accident turned and said to me, “Helmet pehna hota toh shayad bach jaata” (“they would have survived had they worn a helmet”).

I researched online and discovered that around 400 deaths happen every day in India because of drivers and the holes in road safety. There’s one death every 17 minutes on the road, according to the Indian Government – that’s shocking! What I found even more surprising was that I still saw so many people riding mopeds and motorbikes without a helmet. It just didn’t appear to be a consideration for people, and nothing is taught in schools to change this. Things are a little better in Mumbai, however, once I cross Dahisar, you hardly see anyone wearing a helmet. Remember, this is India and everyone rides, so that’s a lot of helmetless people.

If proper safety precautions were in place, then serious accidents could be prevented. That’s not rocket science. Things are gradually getting better now, but a few years ago, when I witnessed the road accident, the public just wasn’t aware of proper safety precautions. In Mumbai now, the police can pull you over and take away your bike on the spot. It’s not just a monitory fine, but the vehicle can be possessed too, along with your license. Initially, there was a lot of outrage about this. Not that long ago, people were drinking and driving without a thought, but that is all beginning to change.

Rashtrapati Bhawan, President's Estate, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Photo by Mohd Aram

It just so happened that while I was looking into this, I saw a video online by Sachin Tendulkar, the former international cricketer and captain of the Indian national team – the Maradona of cricket! In this video, Sachin was talking about road safety and raising awareness about wearing helmets. That caught my attention! Such is his influence and appeal, and the video went viral. That was all the incentive I needed, and I set out with a new purpose. It was the same me and the same motorbike, but the message was different.

I decided on the hashtag #HelmetDaalo for a new safety campaign and began planning my cross-country journey. Planning took six months and would include many of the towns and villages that I had passed through previously, but new ones too. My day job is as a communications consultant based out of Mumbai, but all I needed to continue with my work would be my laptop and a healthy internet connection. That was possible. Everyone seems to be working remotely because of Covid right now. They’d be challenges, but as long as I managed my client’s expectations and checked in regularly, it was doable.

So, I considered myself ready, but I wondered whether such a message and journey would be well received by the Indian public? Would they even care? Yes, people want to avoid accidents on the road, but would they listen to me, speaking and sharing this message on the back of Sachin Tendulkar’s video? I decided to do a test ride to begin.

Leaving Mumbai on my Royal Enfield Thunderbird, I travelled north to Maharashtra and Gujarat. It took me five days, covering 2,500 kilometres. I sped across a wild and dry landscape, stopping in towns and small villages, staying one night in each place and then moving on. The expanse of the landscape meant that I would often be travelling all morning or afternoon before I’d come upon somewhere to stop. Upon the advice of another rider I had met in Bhuj, in the state of Gujarat on the western coast, I skipped the tourist spots of the Great Rann of Kutch and its salt marsh. I travelled 120 kilometres instead into quieter places where I discovered the white deserts of Kutch. This is one of India’s hottest regions and the site of the famous Rann Festival held from November to February. When cyclone Ochki was due to hit Ahmedabad, the largest city and former capital of Gujarat, I was drenched while riding the roads – lucky not to have been blown into the air.

Kerala on the Malabar Coast, India

Photo by Shivam Dewan

At one point on my journey, before reaching Ahmedabad, I saw a helmetless rider and pillion (a seat or place behind the person riding a motorcycle where a passenger sits). As I pulled up beside the rider, I handed him a sticker with the hashtag #HelmetDaalo printed on it and signalled my helmet. Then, I set off down the road. After a few minutes, I noticed that the rider was still behind me, gaining on me. I slowed down, expecting some sort of confrontation, but noticed that the rider was actually now wearing a helmet. He told me that he had one on him and from now on would always wear it.

In another instance, an old man approached me as I was leaving a village. He pointed to India’s flapping flag tied to the back of my bike, smiled, and then asked me who I was and what I was doing? I told him about my journey and the message I hoped to spread. The man then called his son on his mobile phone and asked him to come downstairs and meet us outside. He introduced me to his son and made me explain again. Then he said that he would take his son to the helmet store that very day and made him promise never to ride a motorbike without a helmet.

With the practice run behind me and filled with enough confidence that the public was ready for such a message, I planned another journey, a longer journey, one that would take 45 days and cover 11,000 kilometres – reaching 10,000 people, at least. I would reach out to more schools, universities and riding groups and take my message across the nation. I released videos, too. The message was spreading – “Promise me, app helmet daaloge!” I also sent out stickers as well as handing them out to the public. Social media plays an important role, too, of course. While travelling, I can meet hundreds of people. With social media, I can meet many thousands. I can reach people and inspire them to do the right thing. If I can inspire even one person a day, then that’ll make a huge difference.

I set off again, this time with the message already heating up and a more open road ahead. This time, the journey would take me through all the Indian states: from Delhi and Rajasthan to Haryana, Punjab, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar, Pradesh, Himanchal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Odhisa, as well as the Southern states. Given the size of the country, I had to make sure that I had enough time.

Vinay in the tall grass of the Indian countryside

Photo supplied by Vinay Maurya

In my last trail run, I visited the hot deserts of Kutch, and this time, I planned to visit the cold deserts in the Himalayas, stretching from Ladakh in the north all the way down to Kinnaur in the south. I was able to see and experience my country in a new way while spreading a positive message, although the roads are difficult and often dangerous. Not just speeding and helmetless riders, but many of the roads are full of potholes. Not to mention random cows and dogs that wander the highways. Any red light stop is also an opportunity for people to run up to you, either trying to sell you something or asking for money.

Things were already starting to happen with the Ministry of Transport and Highways creating an amendment that saw every law broken on the road and would be followed up by a heavy fine. It used to be easy to get away with things in India, lazy police work or riders bribing the police, but now things are digital; it’s a lot better. Cameras are in operation, and police can scan licences and number plates. Unsurprisingly, this caused more outrage among the public, despite it being the safe and best outcome. Still, I met other people on the road who were listening to the message and, more importantly, beginning to act.

I continued to hand out stickers and post on social media, and I spoke in schools across the country about the importance of wearing a helmet. Every school and college I spoke at, I received a good response. The kids love seeing me all geared up in my riding leathers and GoPros. They ask questions about my motorbike and all of the places I have travelled to. A lot of the kids tell me that they want to travel more and experience their country more. My plan for this year is to speak at a lot more schools – I’m aiming for 100 schools! More trips are already in the planning stages. The message of road safety still has a long way to go.

I hope to travel much further in the future. I’m dedicated to spreading helmet awareness but am bound to the road, too – I have learnt so much more on the road than I ever did in school. The road has helped me mentally and taught me a lot of life skills. It has also shown me many different sides of my country. As a city boy, I think about leaving the madness behind and moving to the mountains one day. The landscape of Mumbai is nosy and chaotic, filled with McDonald's, Dominos and KFC. The city is never not busy, but then everywhere seems slower than Mumbai.

Vinay Maurya is a Communications Consultant from Mumbai. He continues to ride across India for helmet awareness, documenting his travels and interactions on social media while promoting the hashtag #HelmetDaalo. Follow him on Instagram at @theindianmotorcyclist