If you read the title of this article in disbelief, then you aren’t alone. The Government of India is planning to introduce a separate licence for bikes with higher displacement. This idea was proposed by the Transport and Road Ministry to reduce the number of accidents in the country.
Currently, when someone gets a two-wheeler licence by passing the test laid out by the government, he/she can ride any two-wheeler starting from a 100cc bike all the way till 1400cc and maybe more. The government thinks this is one of the reasons why there is an increase in the number of road accidents. If passed, this new Bill will have a new category for those riding two-wheelers with over 500cc engine.
As per the government, two-wheelers account for 72 per cent of automobiles in India. And among these, two-wheeler riders were involved in the most number of accidents last year with 27 per cent of the total 4.89 lakh road accidents.
While we appreciate the government’s attempt to make Indian roads safer, we would appreciate it if the government tries to get deeper into the issue. There are many times the rider does not even ride a bike to secure a licence. Maybe the government should also try to find a solution of wrong side riding, riding without a helmet and proper insurance. This new idea is brilliant, but we don’t see it benefiting the majority of us because around a million two-wheelers are sold every month in the country and majority of the sales takes place in the bottom end of the spectrum - the mass market commuter segment. Premium bikes don’t even cross one per cent market share each month. So this new rule really doesn’t make sense. Basically, they are trying to curb only one per cent of the two-wheeler population and not the remaining 99 per cent. But the government can make it mandatory for high-end bike makers to run expert riding schools for its customers. And only after certification is received from the school, the bike should be delivered.
