Srinagar, Aug 23: Reckless motorcycle stunts and dangerous riding are increasingly becoming a familiar sight on Srinagar’s roads, with some young bikers appearing willing to risk their lives merely to impress others or create attention-grabbing videos.
High-speed manoeuvres, sudden wheelies, zigzag riding and other dangerous acts are not only putting the riders themselves at risk but also creating a serious threat to pedestrians, motorists and other road users. What may begin as an attempt to display riding skills or gain social-media attention can quickly turn into a tragedy.
The disturbing trend is particularly worrying because such behaviour appears to be gradually losing its shock value. When dangerous riding becomes a regular spectacle, the risk is that society begins to treat it as normal rather than as a serious road-safety violation.
For some young riders, the attraction appears to lie in the thrill, peer recognition and desire to impress. Social media has added another dimension, with videos of stunts potentially encouraging others to imitate what they see.
But roads are not playgrounds and public streets are not stunt arenas. A single mistake at high speed can result in permanent disability or loss of life—not only for the rider but also for an innocent person who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The issue is therefore much larger than traffic discipline. It concerns the value young people place on their own lives and the responsibility they owe to others.

The traffic police routinely conduct enforcement drives against violations and dangerous riding. Officers cannot, however, control every road and every rider at every moment.
This is where public cooperation becomes essential.
Parents need to know how their children use motorcycles. Schools and colleges can play a greater role in road-safety awareness, while communities must discourage rather than celebrate reckless riding. Friends who cheer a dangerous stunt or record it for social media are also contributing to the culture that allows such behaviour to flourish.
At the same time, enforcement must remain consistent. Dangerous riding, unauthorised racing, modified exhausts, helmet violations and other traffic offences should attract firm action, particularly where repeated violations are involved.
There is also a responsibility on digital platforms and users. A dangerous stunt that receives hundreds of views, likes and encouraging comments can become an unintended advertisement for reckless behaviour.
The message to young riders must be simple: courage is not measured by how dangerously one rides a motorcycle.
Srinagar needs young people who can demonstrate their talent on sports fields, in classrooms, workplaces and creative pursuits—not on busy roads by gambling with their lives.
Traffic enforcement can control violations, but it cannot succeed without a corresponding change in attitude. The real victory is not completing a dangerous stunt without an accident; it is having the wisdom never to attempt one.