‘It could have killed me’: Sia’s Gurgaon crash raises a bigger question – how safe are women bikers on roads?

On their way from Chandigarh to Leh, women riders recount being ignored, stared at, underestimated and put at risk as they hit the tarmac. The alleged on-camera hit-and-run incident in Gurgaon on Sunday that left Delhi biker Sia injured sparked more than outrage among citizens.

For women riders particularly, it brought back the question they encounter every time they set out: “How safe are they really on tarmac?” After the car driver reportedly said that he felt “sad” about the accident, Sia, who was riding Aprilia RS 457, shot back: “The collision could have killed me.

If the driver is remorseful, why did he not stop?” For women bikers in Chandigarh or elsewhere, the question resonates, because the problem is not always a crash. It is also the behaviour — the careless overtake, the sudden cut-in, and the assumption that a woman does not quite belong to a powerful machine.

“You are noticed a lot more,” says Jagmeet, who has been riding for four years. “Being a woman rider, you are noticed a lot more on the road — and not always for the right reasons,” she told The Indian Express. Jagmeet says she has always encountered stares and unsolicited comments and the assumption that the motorcycle must belong to her husband or brother.

“Such experiences serve as a reminder that women riders are still not universally seen as an ordinary part of the road traffic.” “Long-distance riding brings its own difficulties. Clean washrooms are hard to find, while riding alone after dark requires additional caution,” she says.

But Jagmeet also believes visibility can eventually work in women riders’ favour. “The more we are on the road, the more normal it becomes for everyone,” she says. Her answer is not to ride less, but to ride prepared, with proper gear, awareness of traffic and confidence in handling the motorcycle.

Kunjlata Nath, who successfully completed rides to Leh and Arunachal and travels regularly in Chandigarh, says the challenge can sometimes be as much about attitudes as traffic. “There will be people who will appreciate you, and there will be people who are not ready to accept women doing anything new.” Nath says women riders are sometimes not taken seriously by mechanics, traffic police and fellow riders, which made her more self-reliant, learning to check tyre pressure, engine oil and the motorcycle chain.

She takes precautions seriously while setting out alone at night. She shares her live location with family, avoids deserted stretches and keeps the fuel tank full. For Nath, the lesson from years of riding is simple: “confidence cannot replace caution”.

She insists on wearing proper riding gear, saying, “Riders have to remain patient and alert, because an accident can happen in the blink of an eye.” For 62-year-old Shruti Nandkeolyar, the story is somewhat different. Having ridden through Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Mumbai, Goa and Leh-Ladakh, she says she has largely found the road welcoming.

“Honestly, I never felt unsafe,” she says. Nandkeolyar has ridden solo as well as with all-women and mixed groups. What stands out for her is the encouragement she receives, particularly from women around her age. “Women of my age come up with shining eyes and say they too want to ride,” she says.

Nandkeolyar also recalls help she received from dhaba owners, petrol pump workers, shopkeepers and villagers when riders needed assistance with punctures or breakdowns. On highways, truck drivers have sometimes given her group space and helped them through difficult stretches.

But her journeys had not been without dangerous moments. During a ride in Leh, a speeding Thar attempted to overtake her group. On another occasion, a vehicle grazed the back of a motorcycle. The incidents did not stop her from riding, but they underline what women riders say repeatedly: “experience on the road does not eliminate risk”.

That's perhaps the strongest connection between Sia’s experience and those of women riders across the region. The women whom The Indian Express spoke with say they do not describe themselves as seeking special treatment because of their gender.

Instead, they say that what people need to realise is that women riders also deserve space on the road, attention from other motorists, respect and the assumption that they do know how to ride. Nandkeolyar adds: “Fitness, hydration, listening to one’s body and wearing right safety gear are particularly important.” Another rider, Parwinder Sandhu, says, “ As a woman and as a rider, incidents like these (Sia's accident in Gurgaon) are honestly disturbing, because riding is supposed to give us a sense of freedom, confidence and independence, and should not make us feel unsafe.”