Pulwama: Sahil Maqbool, a teenager from Pampore area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, recently made a fervent appeal for eschewing stunt and rash driving soon after he was counselled by officers of Jammu and Kashmir Traffic Police making him aware about dangers of stunt biking.
The boy’s stunt biking video along Pampore-Konibal road went viral on social media on August 16 after which he was called for a counselling session. “The stunt driving poses a threat to your own life and the lives of other people, so I request all to abstain from stunt and rash driving,” Sahil said in a video message.
A fine was also collected from the boy under relevant sections of Motor Vehicles Act, police officials stated. Few days ago a similar video message was released by social media influencer, Salika Malik, after she was counselled by police against stunt biking. She was seen regretting posting a stunt biking video on her Instagram account and apologised to all those who would have been influenced by the video. She requested the general public to delete her video showing her riding a motorbike without wearing proper safety gears. A policeman who has counselled some stunt bikers told Rising Kashmir that it is subject of research to find out what drives youth to stunt driving because so many factors are involved in it.
“Social media is certainly one factor,” he said, adding that because of their age, teens want affirmation by posting such daredevil acts on social media.
Bhat Musadiq Reyaz, who has been working with youth for the past five years, said that Generation Z ( Gen Z) , which includes people born after 1997 and before 2010, are more inclined towards social media because for them social media is real than personal interactions. “Gen Z shows a declining rate of social interaction,” Sameer Hassan, a youth from Pulwama said, adding that there was a time when people used to make friends to hang out and loiter with one another without bothering for social publicity. “Things have changed a lot,” he said.
He narrated that for Gen Z media publicity, likes and followers are more important as they find these things more realistic.
“The teens believe that likes and followers are the real people around them so to gain their attention they resort to publicity items like stunt biking,” he said. He added that all members of society have a role in preventing teens from falling prey to social media dilemmas which manipulate their emotions, actions and responses and impact their way of thinking.
“Teens resort to stunt biking because they are taken over by temptations of doing something extraordinary,” Ravinder Paul Singh, SSP Traffic, Rural Kashmir said. He said that they mostly share these videos on their social media accounts because there is a craze for media among teens. “The teens must understand that stunts are usually performed by professionals on specified roads under proper guidance and supervision of their trainers,” he said, adding that roads in Kashmir are neither suitable nor safe for performing stunts. He appealed to parents not to allow their wards to drive vehicles till they become eligible for obtaining driving licence. The police officer further said that they have been routinely counselling stunt bikers when it comes to their notice and also fine them under provisions of Motor Vehicle Act. He said that the trend, which is on for a considerable period of time, is fatal for stunt drivers, pedestrians and vehicles plying in opposite directions. He said that every member of society has to play his role to discourage this trend among teens.
“Counselling sessions prove effective in most cases as they realise repetition will have legal consequences,” a policeman, who has counselled some stunt bikers, said. He said he has been making appeals to others not to do stunts which resonate in their subconscious mind.
