19-year-old dies as his biker friend races down Kamarajar Salai

CHENNAI: A 19-year-old youth riding pillion as his friend raced another bike on Kamarajar Salai along the Marina was killed on Sunday morning when he was thrown to the ground after their two-wheeler’s handlebar brushed against an MTC bus, police said. Neither youth was wearing a helmet.
This was a tragedy waiting to happen. Kamarajar Salai is a favourite haunt of youth on two-wheelers who race and perform stunts, endangering other motorists, while the police look on indulgently. The wide stretch sees bikers whizzing past at all hours, coming perilously close to other vehicles as they weave in and out of traffic.
Police identified the youth who died as R Shanthakumar, 19, a B.Com student from Pattalam. Balaji, 19, who was riding the Pulsar 220cc, escaped with injuries. He was admitted to the Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super-Speciality Hospital. Police have traced the MTC bus involved in the accident, but are yet to locate the driver.
Shanthakumar was on his way to play cricket on Marina with seven other friends. They were on four bikes. Around 6.30am, when they were near the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose statue, Balaji overtook an autorickshaw and the motorbike’s handlebar hit the MTC bus coming from the opposite direction. “Though Shanthakumar had a driving licence, I refused to get him a bike, fearing such accidents could happen,” said his father KR Ravi.
On Saturday night too, videos shot by pedestrians who had gathered to watch showed several bikers racing and weaving through traffic doing wheelies and other stunts. The bikers turn the stretch into a not-safe zone for other motorists. Traffic police personnel said they did not have the numbers to control the bikers and added that they could do with some help from the law and order cops in such instances.
Finally, the police swung into action and seized 25 two-wheelers and also registered 174 cases of speeding, riding triples, drunk driving and riding without helmets on Kamarajar Salai on Saturday night.
Though police have seized a few vehicles in earlier cases, they were let off with a fine of Rs 1,000. “Until and unless strict is initiated against such riders, the menace will continue,” said Praveen Kumar, a jogger.
In the early hours of Sunday, more than 100 people had to plead with traffic policemen to stop the racers on Kamarajar Salai. Later, police barricaded the stretch and caught hold of a few bikers who were racing down the road.
A police official claimed there was no effective deterrent because police can charge them only under sections meant for rash driving and overspeeding for which the penalties are not severe.