The insanity of speed thrills

There is a thrill factor associated with driving. I would like to share a few of my friends experiences who are absolutely passionate-about-driving. The only difference is that I would rather term it as “over-speeding”.

Friend One:

A couple of days ago, a friend drove his Suzuki Swift from Bangalore to Kerala along with his cousin. Whilst sitting in the balcony along with his dad and me, he described the thrilling experience of a long drive in his brand new car. My friend went on to explain about the built quality and performance of his new car with pride. I also felt the desire to experience it myself. I was all happy and excited to have this special feeling myself, hence I went for a drive. I must say I was disappointed. Not only were we issued a traffic ticket by the motor vehicle department for over speeding, but also that I really could not experience the thrill he mentioned. I was completely cheerless, one because we got the ticket and second because instead of the thrill I only had fear building in me. The thrill that my friend so much enjoyed had been an appalling experience for me. I also realized how other fellow drivers and riders on the road were being put in. The ticket had not damped my friend’s spirits. Instead of realizing his mistake, he was blaming the motor vehicle department on being too strict and not letting the younger generation enjoy their drive. What also shocked me was that his true expression resembled that of a kid who got an ‘A’ grade for his annual exam. I was expecting his Dad would be advising him. Surprisingly, his Dad had an expression of Men-will-be-men or was it Like-dad-like-son? As a matter of fact the proud Dad showcased his son’s talent for getting the fifth ticket within three months of purchasing of the vehicle.

Friend Two:

We were a group of four travelling in a Hyundai Santro to Idukki, a district in Kerala. This place is densely forested and is surrounded by beautiful mountains. The roads were narrow two way village roads. It allowed two cars to pass each other, but slowly and carefully. As we were enjoying the nature we got stuck behind a car for quite some time. A series of honking and swearing had no result. Finally, my friend decided to overtake this car. As he was overtaking he saw another car in the opposite direction with high beam on. The high beam clearly indicated to us not to overtake. However, my ego-driven friend smashed his hand on the horn making it blare.  Narrowly and dangerously he succeeded in overtaking the car.

We were all shocked, but our crazy friend laughed heartily and proclaimed that he love this. I had my heart in my mouth and retorted back if he was naturally dumb or acting like one? Was he expecting the honking and high beam would increase the road width? Did he fail to see that the other two drivers had co-operated and that is why we were not hit? I explained to him that it is not his skill that kept us alive.

Friend Three:

My friend is a die-hard Paul Walker fan, to the extent that his Facebook cover picture says: “If one day speed kills me, do not cry because I was smiling”. Paul Walker was an amazing actor and a driver. However let’s not forget that he drove in tracks or closed roads just for the films. My friend influenced by Paul drives crazily on real roads. If anyone questions his driving he points out at his FB picture. I have wanted to question him: If your speed kills someone else who will be smiling? Would you then tell the dead person, “Let’s put a smile on that face?” Being passionate or rather crazy about speeding is obviously up to you. However public roads are not a place to showcase your driving skills, especially in a country where more than 1.5 lakh die of road accidents a year.

Friend Four:

My close friend was recently married and was a very safe driver. One day my friend went to drop his wife to work early morning. It had rained heavily the previous night. An over speeding car lost control and hit them. My friend lost his life on the spot and his wife was seriously injured. He was left behind an aged mother and wife.

Reality:

The first three of my friends can be considered as the reason why my fourth friend became a victim of their thrill. Next time, you enjoy the thrill of speed, remember about the probability that it can result in an accident. Some famous excuses used by most of my fast-driving-friends are:

• I can reach faster if I drive fast.
• It is cool to drive fast.
• Are you a grandfather, why are you driving slowly?
• The bike has disk brakes and ABS, don’t worry.

However, I feel that it is better to lose a minute in life than to lose life in just a minute. If you drive at a safe speed, you would still be left with a chance to avoid a possible accident.

Over speeding is not the sole reason for accidents, but definitely something that can avoid many accidents. If you are truly passionate about speeding, save up enough money and drive in a closed track with required safety measures. Every time we start the vehicle, let us be responsible that another being does not get injured. We can be mindful not to kill another life which might leave a wife/husband stranded or kids orphaned or parents without children. Remember to be a good driver is not to drive fast, but to drive safe. I read a sticker on a bike in Malayalam, “Kaathirikkan aalund. Malsarikkan njanilla!” This translates to, “I have people waiting for me, and I am not here to compete.”