Classes on motorcycle maintenance, changing flat tyre and driving

Nearly 60 bikers participated in Riders’ Boot Camp, a road safety awareness initiative, organised by Jawa & Yezdi Owners Club of India, Mangalore, here on Sunday where they were informed about the fallouts of careless driving and given tips about safe driving.

The club took this initiative of organising the event in the wake of increasing road fatalities, particularly involving two-wheeler drivers, said Arun Shiri, a club member. While the World Motorcycle Day was on Saturday, the club organised the event on Sunday to attract more people. Mr. Shiri said the initiative is a trial run, which would later be taken to the public.

The participants were shown many video clippings of accidents, majority of which were captured through CCTV cameras installed at busy junctions in various cities. The participants were told to learn safe driving by watching such incidents and not to commit similar mistakes.

Maintenance training

There were presentations about road safety by civil engineer Sudhir Bhandarkar and first-aid by Brijesh Khandige. Rohan David, who had been to Laddakh a couple years ago on his Yezdi, shared his experiences and elaborated about the preparations before and during the expedition.

There were many practical events to test drivers’ skill in various aspects, including on maintenance and driving. After a brief about bike maintenance and repair, a competition on changing flat tyre was organised. Similarly, a slow bike racing was organised for the enthusiasts.

Joyel Fernandes from Zero Gravity, a professional stunt group, performed stunts and advised the participants to confine stunts to secluded places and not endanger life of public. Those performing stunts should wear safety gears to protect themselves, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangalore / by Special Correspondent / Mangalore – June 23rd, 2014