Always wear a helmet, not for the police but for the sake of your own precious life.
It was 7:40 PM, December 31, 2017, Tata-Kandra Road, Jharkhand. With 2017 drawing to a close, I was headed towards my home with one of my best friends – my Hero Splendor bike. As it was the last day of the year, I was filled with mixed emotions of success and failures. The environment was peaceful, but darkness had spread out all over the road. Factory lights flickered in the distance. There was no traffic. I was riding under the speed limit, at approximately 40 to 45 kilometres per hour. Suddenly, a loaded mini truck overtook me and went on towards its destination.
As we know, a single mistake can cost us our life. I experienced the same but I feel quite fortunate to be able to say this in 2018. The last moments of 2017 could have involved me taking the last breath of my life. I was moving behind the mini truck which was approximately 10-15 metres away. Suddenly, there was a curve and the truck came to a halt. I tried to stop the vehicle but I was afraid that I had miscalculated. I tried my best to change direction, but collided with the truck. My head speedily banged into the right corner of the truck. I immediately fell on the road, with my legs stuck underneath the bike. I also felt some movement inside my helmet. I could hear my heartbeat but wasn’t able to express my fear.
I am thankful to God, however, that the man driving the car behind me noticed this and slowed down. He didn’t crush me but changed direction. I was saved but I still lay there. The car left, the truck left and I was totally alone on the road, unable to do something for myself. I tried to free myself but was unable to do so.
Fortunately, I was still conscious and tried to attract the attention of those passing by. Thanks to God, a man showed up on a bicycle to help me. He lifted the bike and rescued me from my situation. I had felt like I would be unable to stand. I slowly realised that I had only survived thanks to the helmet and the quick reflexes of the man driving the car behind me. My hand had scratches and I had some cramps in my muscles but there was no injury to my head. I was sweating a lot and had to spit. The people around me helped a lot in restoring my confidence. They also checked the status of my bike. Its seemed movable.
I’ve been riding my bike for the last several years and I have never met with a major accident. This incident, however, shows why we always need to wear the helmet. Now, I always start my bike after wearing the helmet. This good habit saved my life.
A few days have passed since the incident and I’m still in pain but I’m also at peace thanks to being alive. As a survivor of a road accident, my request to everyone would be to always wear their helmets.
Some Do’s And Don’ts
- Always wear a good quality helmet or seat belt during driving.
- Don’t drink and drive. In such cases, you put other people in danger as well.
- Don’t engage in rash driving.
- Don’t use mobile phones during driving.
- Avoid driving when you feel drowsy, tired, restless or depressed.
One more thing – please also come forward to help people during accidents. I had previously helped many people during accidents and that may have been the reason why providence helped me out during mine. Helping people makes you a better person, as well as a responsible citizen of our proud nation.