The bitterness between Rawalpindi bikers and motorists is starting to reach levels of the absurd. The mud-slinging that erupts between both parties in case of accident shows that Pindiites have a lot of growing up to do. Overzealous bikers immediately start abusing car drivers, while motorists pay in the same coin.
“Two weekends ago I was riding on the dirt edge of a road, well clear of the traffic, yet motorists, travelling well above the speed limit, kept blaring at me for no apparent reason. I wasn’t holding them up, nor was I swinging wildly into the traffic,” recounts Sabeeh Mehdi, residing in Sadiqabad.
“I’m not picking on motorists here. I’m just calling for a little consideration. Motorists, by the sheer size and weight of what they drive have to be the ones to take the higher ground here. If irked, they have to remain calm because the damage a car can do is bigger. But this is not to say that we the bikers should be allowed to roam free in packs of 40 in the middle of the road,” says Anwar Abbas from Faizabad.
“Bikers are not without blame either. It pains me to see bikers flying through red lights and waving in and out midst cars for the reason that it paints all bikers in a bad light. Some race-ready biker nearly drove me off the road at the end of Committee Chowk because he was in such a hurry to reach the start of the traffic signal near Liaquat Bagh,” says Noor-ul-Hassan of Murree Road.
Syeda Muslima from Saddar says: “Yesterday a biker zipped past me and sped, only to be stunned by motorists standing at the crossing. He even had the cheek to thump the back of the car ahead of him without realizing that the driver was following the rules of the road.”
“Being a motorist I don’t try and overtake bikers, I don’t shout at them to move. I sit, undoubtedly occasionally with clenched teeth, and wait for a gap or a moment when it’s safe for everyone involved to overtake. It’s unlikely that a biker will block your path for more than five minutes. And honestly, you’re not that important, so you can afford to wait patiently and tolerate the craze of your fellow Pindiite,” says Fareed Hussain from Moti Mahal.
“I’m a motorist too, and naturally I become impatient when I’m stuck behind a group of bikers on the road. But that’s okay. I know that 97% of bikers aren’t on the road to irritate me. They’re out there doing something they love, in a beautiful city, without the intention of raising the ire of non-bikers,” says Zaki Haider, a Marir Hasan resident.
