Chennai: Bike racing has become a menace that traffic cops are unable to manage in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai. A 19-year-old youth lost his life after the bike’s handlebar grazed a bus near Marina.
R Shanthakumar, a B.Com student was riding pillion. When the bike grazed the bus, Shanthakumar fell to the ground. Neither he nor his friend was wearing a helmet.
His friend, 19-year-old Balaji, who was riding the bike, escaped with injuries and has been admitted to the Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super-Speciality Hospital.
Shanthakumar, along with seven other friends had decided to spend the Sunday playing cricket.
Balaji tried to overtake an auto rickshaw and soon after, grazed a bus that was coming in the opposite direction.
Times of India quoted Shantakumar’s father KR Ravi as saying, “Though Shanthakumar had a driving licence, I refused to get him a bike, fearing such accidents could happen.”
Kamarajar Salai, along the Marina, is known to be a frequent haunt of youth on two-wheelers indulging in bike racing and doing dangerous stunts including wheelies.
However, traffic cops have highlighted that bike racing and youth performing stunts along the Marina beach are quite a menace.
They also said that they were short-staffed to control the situation and would like the help of law and order police.