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YOUR KID'S ON THAT CYCLE, AND YOUR HEART'S IN YOUR MOUTH
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I cycle down from Ulsoor to school in 15 minutes if there is no traffic. I have fallen twice from my bike because of rash driving by buses and autos. Thankfully, I escaped with minor bruises. — Rajiv M.B.
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ARE YOU one of those who have wonderful memories of cycling to school? Perhaps your friends gathered together and you would all set off to school in a group, furiously ringing cycle bells and creating a ruckus on the road, racing down streets, showing off, often with legs splayed and arms raised? And after the day's exertions — scholarly or otherwise — pushed the cycle back home in a gang, laughing, chatting, bantering ... And perhaps you are now a worried parent, unsure about sending your child to school on his or her shiny new five-speed cycle.
You've kissed goodbye to the days when you languorously cycled down Bangalore's roads, whistling and savouring the air. Today if you ride with nary a care in the world, you might most probably come to a sticky end under a truck or a bus thundering by, or possibly break an occasional bone thanks to an auto or a bike weaving crazily through the traffic.
I cycle to school (on St. Mark's Road) from Jayanagar. I know it's a long distance (about 6 km) but cycling is the best way to keep up my health and I can leave home when I want. — Syed Abrar
Yes, gentle reader, the city simply isn't cut out for an eco-friendly mode of transport such as the cycle. Moreover, cyclists topping the risk list are school children — young, inexperienced on the devilish roads and prone to accidents either because they may be rushing to school or cycling in groups, unmindful of traffic. Or simply because they are mere specks in the mammoth traffic, with survival still being of the biggest and fittest.
Hit and run
Madhu Kumari, an 18-year-old student of Krupanidhi College, was killed in a hit-and-run involving a truck in Koramangala early one morning last fortnight, making her the latest victim of Sarjapur Road's heavy traffic. Even as her family is coming to terms with the tragedy, other families of young cyclists are a worried lot.
I cycle down from Ulsoor to school in 15 minutes if there is no traffic. I have fallen twice from my bike because of rash driving by buses and autos. Thankfully, I escaped with minor bruises. — Rajiv M.B.
Let's accept it that it's an age when many college-going youngsters have shunned simple bicycle, considering it uncool. If they arrive on campus, they would rather be seen on hot wheels.
But bicycle's charm still holds good for school kids who find it an easy and fun mode of transport.
Aye to buses
Schools in the city, on their part, are providing school buses. Private transport such as vans, autos and Maruti Omnis are still preferred by parents who fear for their kids' safety. Even so, it's amazing to discover that a large population of schoolchildren do cycle to school. Vatsala Rajamani, Principal of New Horizon English School on 100-Feet Road, Indiranagar, says that nearly 40 to 50 per cent of the 350-strong high school cycles up and down. "While girls prefer to come by vans, the boys have something for the cycle," she says. "Of course, the danger is always there that something might happen, but that applies to everyone on the streets," she adds. Traffic has increased dramatically over the last two years on their school's main road, she admits.
Crowded roads
Most children tend to usually use the gullies and side roads rather than the crowded main roads. But with one-ways in place, motorists are now on the narrow streets too. So students either avoid main roads or push the cycle across arterial roads before pedalling away. Most schools unfortunately, are located in heavy traffic pockets and the fact that a number of parents drop their kids off right at the school doorstep adds to the confusion and traffic jams.
I've been cycling for two years now. It takes me 10 to 20 minutes to reach school, depending on traffic. I keep to the left, but autos and buses are dangerous as they don't indicate while turning. —Naresh J.
Take Bishop Cottons Boys' School for instance. At the busy junction of Residency Road, Richmond Road, and St. Mark's and with a flyover bringing in some more traffic, it's a maze that students have to weave through. "We prefer that our students from LKG to Seventh Standard use the school bus. We have around 13 buses," says Ajay Kumar, the school's Senior Superviser. Parents or chauffeurs in four-wheelers drop off a majority of the students; so very few cycle down. The 11th and 12th grade students of course, prefer motorised vehicles like the Kinetic.
The Sheshadripuram Boys High School near Nehru Circle shares the classrooms with the College. So once the college hours are done, school for the boys begins at 11.30 a.m. Of the 900 students, at least 400 of them cycle to school, says teacher A.V. Katti. "Many come from Guttahalli and Srirampuram and surrounding areas. The traffic police leave by 11 a.m. and there is no one to control the traffic coming down from Shivananda Circle. We have asked the police to at least put up a "School Zone" board so that traffic slows down in front of the school. But it hasn't been done either," he says.
I was hit by a scooterist once. But that was partly my fault because I did not have a bell and neither did he warn me by honking. On the whole, bus drivers are very rude to cyclists. — Ankit Kandoi
Traffic expert and consultant M.N. Sreehari says that while in Bangalore East, hardly 15 per cent cycle to school, the numbers are higher in areas like Rajajinagar, Vijaynagar and Jayanagar. Of Bangalore's total vehicle movement, 15 per cent are cyclists. Of these, 90 per cent are school students. Statistics apart, the city's police authorities do admit that there has been an increase in pedestrian and cyclist accidents and deaths over the years.
At risk
Sreehari says: "Schoolchildren are at risk most of the time because they carry protruding bags on the back, or give a ride to a friend. Awareness and education of traffic rules and safe riding is needed." He laments that though cycle tracks have been created in many parts of the city, they are not being used. "Only three per cent of all accidents in Bangalore involve cyclists. Usually they are not fatal," he assures. He also admits the likelihood that since cycles are not registered vehicles, police complaints are also fewer in cases of accidents. Most school zones are on narrow roads, so laning is nearly impossible, he explains. A cycle lane needs to be at least two metres wide.
Parents are forever worried about their children who cycle to school. As much as they would want to give them their freedom and let them enjoy school life like they did, fear always lurks in their mind. Vasanthi Hariprakash, radio jockey and mother of seven-year-old Anirudh, would love for her son to go cycling to school. Unfortunately they are 14 km away from Delhi Public School, Yelahanka, where he studies. "If he were in a school just four kilometres away, I would have let him go. But not if he has to cross junctions like Mekhri Circle or BEL Circle. The will is there but so is the scare. But I think I would tend to keep raising the age limit for him to start cycling to school as he grows up!" she laughs.
School's ban
The National Public School, Indiranagar, has taken a stand not to allow students below high-school level to cycle to school. "We have earlier seen the younger students cycle on the roads. They are not aware of the traffic rules. They used to block the road, not realising the consequences. We presume that students in senior classes have a better traffic sense," says Shanta Chandran, Associate Principal. Nearly 25 per cent of their high school students cycle to school. Many at the Plus Two level use bikes like the Kinetic.
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