Sunday, July 26, 2020

Of Speeding Cyclists & Collisions!!



The lockdown has been lifted! Aha!!

And the young cyclists are back in action @ the SP tracks.
And this time I notice a sizable number of elders also joining this bandwagon (or cycle-wagon??)

Twice I got narrowly missed by a passing cyclist as I walked around the blocks. Both times the cyclists were very slow. So not much harm would have been done even if there was an impact.
And please note, I take Shelcal-500 (calcium tablets) daily and that guarantees me that no bone in my body will get broken – not even a hairline fracture, I bet!!

A few months back I predicted that in Sobha Palladian, one cyclist will bang into one pedestrian and break one bone.

And that had come true.

A couple of weeks back, a young speeding cyclist collided with a young playing girl giving her a fractured hand.
Very unfortunate.
And now I see this young one back in action on the grounds with her bulky arm in a sling but cheerful and playing!  (I think she was back in action the very next day ??)
Kudos Anandita !!

I am no Nostradamus.
But I will predict that such incidents will happen again.
However, the combination of such participants and extent of damages may differ – no denying.

There is nothing to be surprised or upset or outraged about such accidents. Nor does it make sense (in my opinion) to condemn such incidents so eloquently in our Whats App group.

We live in a community with aged folks, middle aged professionals, home makers, teenagers and kids full of energy and infants bundled up in their strollers.

And in such communities, elders need to take their walks, fitness folks must do their jogging laps each day, home makers must have their brisk walks, teenagers must get together and socialize and kids must burn off their energy with brisk activity!!!

And the space for such activities is never infinite.
And even though Sobha builders have provided us with  more than ample free spaces and open grounds, people will cross each other’s path, people will overtake one another, some will lose their balance and some will misjudge their speed and direction.

So, many times the coordinates for such activities will overlap at some destined time.
And at such times Sir Isaac Newton is most unforgiving!
(Newton’s Law = Two objects cannot occupy the same coordinates at the same time)
And so, this results in a transfer of momentum from one party to another.
And an accident happens!!

And I am perfectly cool with this situation and the risk of such things happening to me. I rationalize that there are equal chances of me getting hit by a speeding kid cyclist as by tripping over my own untied  shoe laces and falling, or tripping over a tuft of grass or skidding over a banana peel as I walk on the pavement along  CT  street.

But what I am definitely not cool is the barrage of Whats App messages that follow after every such incident.

Why do we have to have lengthy discussion on such issues.
Why do we have to start blaming and identifying who is at fault.
And why do we start suggesting Do’s and Don’t’s?
And why do we have to take sides with the children or against them.
Why do we have to start making more rules and restrict everybody’s movements even more.

No rule is fool proof and no activity is 100% safe – unless you are sitting or sleeping motionless in your room with the door safely locked!
And unless all senior citizens shift to Retirement & old-age homes where there are no kids or any potentially colliding objects.
And all joggers go to Kanteerava stadium and jog there each day
And all home makers go to Indiranagar park for their daily brisk walks.
And all kids go to footfall grounds/ skating rings /cricket pitches/ cycling tracks/ basketball courts/etc/etc to burn off their energy.
And the path around our block is reserved only for infants riding their prams and tiny toddlers with squeaky shoes!!

And I will guarantee you that none of these groups will be happy even in such ideal situations.

So, some bit of chaos is necessary and it is exciting as well .
We all must live together. 
And there will be incidents and some challenges.
Some hits and some near misses and some oops as well.
And those moments when we say, “thank God, it’s not me “
And ‘solpa adjust maadi’ as well.

And no denying,
Kids must cycle cautiously, especially while negotiating corners & bends
Senior citizens must be careful as well, when going around corners.
And a load of more moral preaching’s and motherhood statements…

But all said and done, the bottom line:-
All of us must be cautious & work harder to avoid another accident.

Until the next one happens.
How ironical!

Krish..

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