The best part about riding a motorcycle is being among the elements. A rider experience every aspect of his surrounding in an amplified state. The wind, the smell, the rain, everything touches the rider, at a faster rate than any other person. Now, if the elements he encounters are pure like fresh air, fresh water and a pleasant smell, then the ride becomes a joy. However, if those elements are contaminated to their core, then riding can literally become deadly to one’s health. Sadly, that has been the case in Delhi, for a while now. The air pollution in the Union territory has gone from bad to worse to downright alarming. Every day a new air-safety limit is being crossed by the nasty pollution and there seems to be no end. What is harmful about the air-pollution is the omnipresent nature of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re sitting inside your house, or your office. The pollution will be present there.
What is really scary is the number of health problems, such a pollution can cause. The problems range from Emphysema to several different types of cancer.
The problem becomes more severe for the riders as well. They have to ride while being exposed to this deadly air, at a high-speed. Hence problems like eye-soreness, headache, nasal blockage, and chest pain are commonly experienced by them. Judging by the current rate of worsening air quality, Delhi will no longer be habitable after 5 or 6 years.
Still, there is a surprising amount of work we can do to ease the pollution. Here are a few things, which riders, moto-vloggers and motorcycle enthusiasts can do, to curb the pollution.
1: Report polluting vehicles
Motovloggers are present in almost every major city. They can easily be the eyes and ears of the authorities for catching polluting vehicles, emitting a lot of smoke. Motovloggers can report such polluting vehicles around the city by complaining to the authorities about them. Also, report any open-air burning of the garbage.
2: Don’t remove the CAT
Several people who modify their motorcycle, remove the catalytic converter. It makes the bike a polluting one as it is no longer able to remove harmful components from the exhaust gases.
3: Buy BS 6 motorcycles
If you’re a new rider, who is looking to buy a new bike, then I'd suggest that you wait until BS 6 bikes don’t launch in India. The PM can be brought down by at least 25 per cent by BS 6 norms. If you’re not buying one then inform other people about this development so that they may wait until buying a new vehicle.
4: Check your bike
In case your motorcycle is emitting a cloud of white smoke, then consider to take your bike to the expert ASAP. Try to keep your bike in the best condition possible, it will not only help the environment but improve your fuel economy as well.
5: Always be in favour of strict emission norms
Now you might hear on several forums that people consider BS 4 or EURO 4 to be the performance killer in a motorcycle. Don’t listen to them because the performance reduction is hardly even noticeable on several modern day bikes. Also, a healthy air is more important than gaining 1 or 2 HP in your motorcycle.
Motovloggers are present in almost every major city. They can easily be the eyes and ears of the authorities for catching polluting vehicles, emitting a lot of smoke. Motovloggers can report such polluting vehicles around the city by complaining to the authorities about them. Also, report any open-air burning of the garbage.
2: Don’t remove the CAT
Several people who modify their motorcycle, remove the catalytic converter. It makes the bike a polluting one as it is no longer able to remove harmful components from the exhaust gases.
3: Buy BS 6 motorcycles
If you’re a new rider, who is looking to buy a new bike, then I'd suggest that you wait until BS 6 bikes don’t launch in India. The PM can be brought down by at least 25 per cent by BS 6 norms. If you’re not buying one then inform other people about this development so that they may wait until buying a new vehicle.
4: Check your bike
In case your motorcycle is emitting a cloud of white smoke, then consider to take your bike to the expert ASAP. Try to keep your bike in the best condition possible, it will not only help the environment but improve your fuel economy as well.
5: Always be in favour of strict emission norms
Now you might hear on several forums that people consider BS 4 or EURO 4 to be the performance killer in a motorcycle. Don’t listen to them because the performance reduction is hardly even noticeable on several modern day bikes. Also, a healthy air is more important than gaining 1 or 2 HP in your motorcycle.
Air-pollution is a reality which needs to be addressed as soon as possible, otherwise, some really severe outcomes are sure to follow. The presence of pollution in Delhi is the result of several years of neglect by every one of us. Thus today we have to decide if we want our city to remain a habitable place for our children or not.
By: Yetnesh Dubey