‘We can’t let another Riddhi die’

Riddhi Thakkar 24 was more than a thousand kilometres away from her home and family in Kandivli when she was killed in a hitandrun during a motorcycle tour of Chhattisgarhrsquos Bastar region on August 12 Normally the distance wouldnrsquot have matteredShe was an experienced rider who had gone on several long expeditions on her winecoloured Royal Enfield Hunter 350 including group and solo trips But in that fatal accident she was not on her trusty Hunter 350 she was riding the damaged bike of a fellow rider who had also met with an accident just an hour earlierWhy was she riding someone elsersquos bike and a damaged one at that This is a question that her father and thousands of bikers have been echoing in the past week And itrsquos not the only safety lapse that the biker community has flaggedAmruta Mane centre and Riddhi Thakkar rightRiddhi was among 22 women riders participating in a 1100km Tiranga rally from Raipur to Bastar organised by the Women Riders Club in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh government The club had posted an Instagram announcement of its formation on August 7 only days before the fateful ride That in itself is a red flag when it comes to organising an expedition of this scale say bikersItrsquos a pattern that veterans in the community have learnt to recognise over the past few years as public interest in motorcycling hits an alltime high New biker clubs are mushrooming across the country ldquoThe problem is every rider now wants to be a group leader or start their own clubrdquo says a veteran motorcyclist from MumbaildquoThere should be a system for registration of biker clubs and vetting of the leaders mdash their experience safety precautions mdash before they are allowed to plan group ridesrdquoTherersquos just one problem ldquoThere is no governing authority or federation to oversee biker clubs There is no one to keep an eye on whether the clubs are following basic safety protocol or if the organisers are experienced enough to lead big expeditionsrdquo says Urvashi Patole who founded the countryrsquos first womenrsquos biker club The Bikerni in 2011In fact there is no standard set of safety norms that all clubs follow each group decides its own rules based on the leadersrsquo experience And if those precautions prove inadequate therersquos no one to hold the club accountableItrsquos these lacunae that veterans are highlighting in the wake of Riddhirsquos death For instance many have pointed out that the ride started between 330ndash4 am while it was still dark mdash a decision that experienced club leaders say they would have steered clear of due to poor visibility no matter the seasonBy all accounts within 20 minutes of the convoy kicking off two of the bikers crashed Both women were taken to hospital One of their bikes mdash an Avenger mdash sustained damage to its brakes in the mishap Riddhi switched to this bike while someone else from the group rode her Royal Enfield instead This too should never have been allowed by the group leaders says the community The protocol is to usually park the bike or have it towedAround 530 am while the group was near Markatola Ghat on National Highway 30 a trailer slammed into Riddhi inflicting catastrophic injury to her lower limbs According to the police the trucker fled the sceneRiddhi and a friend accompanying her were then taken by ambulance to Charama Community Health Centre in Kanker district while the rest of the group moved on to the meeting point However it turned out the Charama hospital was unprepared for severity of Riddhirsquos injuries She was moved to another hospital in Dhamtari but succumbed to her injuriesFor Amruta Mane motorcycle coach and a friend who has ridden with Riddhi Thakkar in the past the real lapse lies in what happened after the accident ldquoWhen one rider meets with an accident the ride stopsrdquo Mane has posted on her Instagram ldquoOnly one person stayed back with Riddhi and accompanied her to the hospital That person had to manage the situation including transferring Riddhi to another hospital Precious time was lost and Riddhi suffered heavy blood lossrdquoThe incident has bolstered calls for the formation of a federation that will ensure safety norms and accountability within clubs mdash a crucial need for a sport that is inherently risky As Mane mdash director of the Women On Wheels training school in Mumbai mdash states ldquoWe have to learn from what happened We can never bring Riddhi back but perhaps we can make sure that her loss saves someone else tomorrowrdquoWhat is the way aheadThe motor racing community had gone through a similar crisis in the rsquo70s before it came together to form the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of IndiaThe closest example of a governing body that biker clubs have for reference is the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India FMSCI It oversees racing competitions but does not have jurisdiction over nonracing motorcycle clubs that ride purely for passionHowever biker clubs can perhaps take a cue from the origin story of the federation in an era when motorsports too was experiencing a similar crisis ldquoWhen it started out there were no rules no central governing body administering the sport After World War II a series of clubs sprung up around the country creating more havoc than harmonyrdquo reads a statement on the FMSCI websiteThe accident site on Markatola ghat NH 30 Chhattisgarh PicX labheshghoshldquoIn the rsquo70s a group of Mumbai riders went to Chennai to participate in a race and were aghast at the lack of rules After they complained in 1971 a few clubs came together as founder members of the federationrdquo it addsAt first it was registered as a private nonprofit company It soon became affiliated to the Federation Internationale de lrsquoAutomobile in 1979 and then the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1986 Then 15 years after its inception the FMSCI was recognised by the government as the sole authority to control and conduct motor sport events in India It drafted its constitution taking cues from international rules for motor sports ensuring safety and stability for enthusiastsSafety SOPs for long expeditionsgtgt thinspKeep a list of hospitals on the route and their trauma care capacitygtgt thinspAmbulance and backup vehicle must follow the convoygtgt thinspKnow which SIM cards will work on your routegtgt thinspNo riding in the darkgtgt thinspHighvisibility vests if low light conditions persistgtgt thinspMaintain the buddy system any rider that stops for a vehicle breakdown or medical issue must be accompanied by at least two bikers ahead and two behindThe other sideAmita Bais cofounder of Women Riders Club and coorganiser of the Bastar ride says they tried to stop Riddhi Thakkar from riding the damaged bikeEveryonersquos been asking Amita Bais and Chhaya Singh founders of Women Riders Club and organisers of the Tiranga rally why Riddhi Thakkar was riding someone elsersquos damaged bikeldquoWe told her we would get it towed and that it would be dangerous to ride the bike in the ghats But Riddhi insistedrdquo Amita tells Sunday midday adding ldquoShe was an experienced rider and since she was insistent we let it be and decided to leave the damaged bike at the first halt But within 1015 minutes Riddhirsquos accident occurredrdquo Amita Bais cofounder Women Riders Club which organised the rally that Riddhi was riding with on August 12Amita says Chhaya was the convoy lead while she was the tail when tragedy struck near Markatola Ghat ldquoI saw the whole incidentrdquo she recalls ldquoWe were on a downward slope and there was a truck ahead of us so we slowed downrdquoldquoRiddhi turned the bike to the right maybe to avoid the truck But there was a blind curve ahead Another trailer sped towards her from the opposite direction I saw it hit Riddhirdquo Amita says adding that she dialled an ambulance service which got there in fiveseven minutesAs for the decision to send the group ahead while Riddhi was sent to hospital with only one rider Amita says ldquoI asked Riddhirsquos friend Ruchika to accompany her to the hospital Chhaya and I had to remove the bike and Riddhirsquos belongings from the road and also move all the riders to a safe spot We took the convoy to our first haltrdquo she saysRiddhi was then referred to another hospital as the local health centre was not equipped for the severity of her injuries By the time Amita and three other riders got to the hospital Riddhi was on her final breaths she saysldquoI was constantly in touch with the doctors and took care of all the formalities at the hospital and later for the autopsy and handing over Riddhirsquos body to her father in RaipurrdquoUntil recently they had been members of another club the Chhattisgarh Moto Queens Amita counters concerns over such an ambitious group ride just days after launching the club ldquoThis club may be new but Chhaya and I have led five major expeditions before including one in Bastar just a month ago with a convoy of 30 riders We know what we were doingrdquo she says adding that the convoy was tailed by a backup vehicle for emergencies with first aidOther criticisms have been over starting the ride before daybreak and continuing even after two riders fell ldquoWe started around 4 am that is the usual start time in order to cover maximum ground We briefed the riders about it for two hours on the evening of the 11th everyone was okay with it By the time Riddhirsquos accident occurred 530 am there was plenty of lightrdquoSimple Gour who fell and got injured on the ride mdash organised in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh government mdash alleged in a video that they had set out at 4 am because they had an 8 am deadline to meet a minister Amita responds ldquoWe had no intention of joining the ministerrsquos bike rally that day As for the meet and greet even starting at 4 am we would not have reached there by 8 am so that was not a factor in our decisionrdquoIs there anything she would change about the ride ldquoTwo of the riders later told us that Riddhi was riding that Avenger since she wanted to vlog on how to ride a bike without brakes by enginebraking instead If I had known that vlogging was the reason behind her insistence I would have asked her to leave the convoy and return home right thenrdquolsquoEvery club is trying to be the biggest onersquoAkhtar Shaikh a solo biker specialising in snowy terrain says riding in a group means taking responsibility for each otherIf yoursquore on the road accidents can happen at any time What matters is how you respond to a mishap especially when riding in a grouprdquo says Akhtar Shaikh who has been riding for 14 yearsldquoIrsquom a solo rider so I am only accountable for myself But when you ride in a group you need to take the ownership of care for the entire grouprdquo he saysAkhtar Shaikh seeks safety education for all ridersldquoWith so many rider clubs being formed they are all vying for more visibility and fame I feel that many are trying to become the biggest club of India or gunning for a Guinness or Limca recordBut the more people you gather the harder it becomes to manage that crowd Are you taking the accountability for each and every rider There are many clubs who do it but there are just as many clubs that donrsquotThatrsquos why I believe there should be some protocols to both form and join a club For example no club should be allowed unlimited members And motorcycle safety should be taught seriously to bike buyers and the youthrdquolsquoItrsquos high time some biker groups have some regulationrsquoUrvashi Patole cofounder of The Bikerni says riding clubs need a standard set of safety normsItrsquos important that we look at what happened to Riddhi as part of a wider conversation about safety in the riding communityrdquo says Urvashi Patole who cofounded The Bikerni Indiarsquos first panIndia womenonly riding club in 2011Itrsquos a pattern she has observed more broadly in the riding community ldquoThere are many riders who have started riding in the last few years after seeing content creators on social media But learning to ride a motorcycle and understanding the culture and responsibilities that come with riding in a group are two different things One of the most important principles in group riding is lsquoleave no one behindrsquordquo Patole explains ldquoMany clubs now have a larger proportion of newer riders than experienced ones Thatrsquos not a bad thing but newer riders may not yet have the experience to understand what running a club entails or what is required of a ride leaderrdquoUrvashi Patole head of The Bikerni club emphasises on the importance of maintaining order during group ridesItrsquos not just clubs Patole points out ldquoA lot of people look at creators on social media and get interested in rallies and stunting or want to learn to ride enduro in rough terrain Adventure schools teaching these skills are also not regulated Some have foreign certification but many are just building programmes based on what they have learnt from YouTube or trial and errorrdquoldquoItrsquos high time the community comes together and finds a way to have a standard set of safety protocols without ego clashes getting in the way I am sure when the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India which oversees motor racing started there must have been some resistance to regulation But they eventually realised that races were getting safer Perhaps what happened with Riddhi will bring more urgency in the biker fraternityrdquolsquoLeaders must insist on rulesrsquoSaify Ratlamwala founder of two clubs says the protocol is to never allow a biker ride someonersquos else bike in a group ride especially if it is damagedSaify Ratlamwala has 30odd years of riding under his belt and runs two biker clubs from Navi Mumbai mdash the Lazy Rangers Motorcycle Club since 2019 and 452 Clan since 2024 which is dedicated to those who ride the Royal Enfield Himalayan 452Both clubs are wellknown for their rider etiquette and adamance on safety precautions ldquoFor example one of our rules is there is no revving during our group rides Secondly every group ride has to have a head tail marshals and buddies planned before setting out We usually have two tails mdash one helps with technical issues and the other is the main tail who never leaves their position at the end of the convoyrdquo says SaifyOne of their most important rules is that ldquoin case there is a mishap and a riderrsquos bike is damaged no other rider is allowed to ride that motorcycle In the unlikely event of any issues wersquoll fix it ourselves or arrange for it to be towedrdquoSaify Ratlamwala says he and his fellow riders use highvisibility vests in lowlight conditionsldquoTaking on an unfamiliar motorcycle when you are already in new terrain is risky Even if a riderrsquos own bike malfunctions we tell them to put it aside and ride in the backup vehicle I always make sure to personally inspect the bikes before and during each ride to ensure everything runs smoothlyIt is up to club leaders to insist on rules because we are responsible for everyone Not all bikers take well to this but if someone does not want to follow the rules they cannot ride with the grouprdquo