BHPian Neil Roy recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Are WeDoing Enough For The UnderprivilegedAmong Us?This post is a culmination of the nagging, persistent and compulsive thought overridden by inertia, not my problem , someone else would have figured it out so far type of mentality etc, etc, etc. The strength of Humans as a species is empathy which simply translates to the fundamental belief that the chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. Survival of the fittest is a concept restricted to wild animals and as humans, we have the responsibility to be the support system for the under privileged, the voiceless, the helpless and pertinent to this forum, petrol heads for the differently abled , specifically the differently abled who need the independence of commuting a two wheeler on their own safely and with dignity. How many of us have seen two wheelers driven by such people in cutting in front of us for us to react with frustration at first transformed to sympathy and guilt when we see their disability aggravated by their efforts to haul the contraption which has a mind of it’s own and throws them around like a rag doll? We always look the other way. I did too. Only recently, I had this scene re-enacted in front my Jimny where my high bonnet hid this Gentleman’s additional wheels from my view. To make matters worse, his child was in the front seat and I had to slam the brakes as I could not factor the space difference created by the wheels. His look of anger and shame when I honked to show my displeasure is the reason for this post. Upon realizing that He was differently abled , with his son in front him (and did I mention that it was raining too) I swore to myself to at least give visibility to the hardships that they face day in and day out. We must be the voice of this problem and we must address this issue.Problems with the after market alterations available.1. It is always a Jugaad and not designed by the manufacturer. 2. Safety is severely compromised and these additional wheel extensions are designed and customized only for specific need with no testing process. 3. The handling and comfort is always the last of the requirements. In the guise of providing freedom for the differently abled, these contraptions impact their health in the long term. Ours roads will break even the best designed suspensions and these modifications definitely will hurt the shoulders and arms of the driver in the (short) long run. Lesser said about driving these modified scooters in the rain, the better.Suggestions1. Two wheeler manufacturers must design scooters for the differently abled with tested process. Key factor for design should be a stand alone scooter with minimal footprint. 2. ICE options are recommended as Electric scooters infra is still in it’s latent stage. 3. Govt should give waiver on road tax, GST and incentives to differently abled to motivate them to go for such scooters instead of the customization route. 4. Manufacturers must be mandated to design and supply such scooters as part of their corporate social responsibility. 5. Existing scooters modified for the differently abled in india must be phased out and such practices banned. Instead motivation has to be provided to the owners to migrate to the established manufacturers. Googled and found out that Piaggio has a really cool scooter in it’s portfolio. There are lots of new players with electric options in India when one googles it. The issue is that they dont have a Pan India presence which severely compromises their credibility and longevity in the market. To sum it up, companies like Bajaj, TVS, Hero, Honda, Suzuki et al must be in this market. Any other suggestions are welcome. If we have forum members who have connect with established manufacturers and encourage them to develop their R&D to include this in their product portfolio, that will be amazing. Hope we as a forum can generate enough traction to make the powers that be sit up and take notice. Sorry for this rant. I really needed to get this off my chest. Check outBHPian commentsfor more insights and information.
