A bike rally was flagged off by ARTO Anantnag Dr Mohammad Zubair Lattoo from Harnag Railway Station Anantnag today to spread road safety awareness in the district. The rally traversed through different regions and finally culminated at the Daksum area of Kokernag Sub Division. The rally was organized by the Motor Vehicles Department Anantnag in collaboration with Automobile Dealer Association of Anantnag.
Dr. Zubair said that Road Safety Month is a national event aimed at raising public awareness about rules and regulations on road safety and to urge people to follow them. It educates drivers and pedestrians about safe driving and importance traffic guidelines. Not following the rules and guidelines is a danger to both the drivers of the vehicles but also the pedestrians and others.
Teenagers and youngsters mostly in the age group of 16 to 22 are ruling the roost during wee hours of morning or late hours of evening, performing bike stunts and scaring fellow motorists. They are regularly posting videos of their bike stunts like racing, wheeling, stoppie, high-chair and no-hands driving on different social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
Some have opened You Tube channels also giving open invitation to other youngsters. Parents should come forward and counsel their wards and not allow them to buy expensive bikes and restrict them from racing on roads. Shakir Ah , a biker opined that as a responsible biker, it is important to follow rules and always wear a helmet while riding the bike to avoid accidents. Millions lose their life and millions get injured mainly due to lack of obeying traffic rules.
Arshid Hussain, another city biker, is of the view that wearing helmet and safety gear should be taken seriously as accidents can be fatal.Dr Zubair appealed to the people to follow all road safety rules. Drivers of two-wheelers and pillion riders must wear helmets. He further said that our District is witnessing a rising trend of bike stunts on streets which is a serious cause of concern for our society.