Gurugram woman biker road-rage incident sparks anger and safety fears over harassment on the road

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A car chasing and ramming a woman biker on Gurugram’s Golf Course Road has left women riders questioning how safe they really are on the roads, even as they refuse to give up a passion they have spent years pursuing. A day after footage of the incident went viral, riders from Delhi and beyond expressed their anger and spoke of being stared at, chased, challenged to races and forced to ignore confrontations, not because they had done anything wrong, but because responding can itself carry a risk. The incident involving rider Sia, they said, was a reminder of how quickly that vulnerability can turn life-threatening.

For Ankita Arora, a senior marketing manager and automotive journalist with xBhp, the fear is personal. Three years ago, she was involved in a hit-and-run accident when a Haryana-registered car hit her motorcycle from behind, throwing her off. Her bike was dragged several metres and she was injured. The car’s number plate became lodged in her motorcycle, giving her evidence to pursue the case.

“Even today, the case is still going on,” she said.

Ms. Arora, who has been riding for 14 years and rides her red Ducati to work every day in Delhi, said the camera mounted on Sia’s motorcycle was crucial. “If there was no camera and footage evidence, the case might not have received the attention it did,” she said.

For her, the problem is not restricted to a single incident. Riders on big motorcycles are often scrutinised, she said, with motorists trying to race them, making gestures or attempting to provoke a response. “We are obligated to be polite and tolerate some things to avoid trouble,” she said. “There is a fear that what if this person comes 15 km ahead and swipes me off the road?”

Mandeep Merwah, a Gurugram resident who has ridden a Royal Enfield Himalayan for nearly a decade, said she has been fortunate not to have experienced a serious incident herself. But she has learnt to make herself less identifiable as a woman rider — keeping her hair tucked in and remaining fully geared.

“Sometimes, if they figure out you are a woman, it is like inviting trouble,” she said.

Despite having a supportive family that encouraged her to take up motorcycling at the age of 45, her children asked “Can you be on the road less?” after seeing the video. “Such an incident makes families question the risks and, in fact, even the riders worry about their safety,” she said.

She sees that as evidence of a larger problem. “We have normalised the presumption that a woman is unsafe. There is still so much stereotyping and scrutiny,” she said.

Jai Bharti, who has been riding professionally for 15 years and travelled eight countries on motorcycles, said women had come a long way in motorcycling, but incidents like these are still common and continue to discourage them. The fact that it happened in broad daylight, she said, was particularly disturbing.

“It is a clear case of road rage,” she said, adding that expensive or high-powered motorcycles can attract aggressive behaviour from motorists, irrespective of gender. Women, however, face an added vulnerability once motorists realise who is riding.

“The minute people see a fancy bike, they want to race and show road rage. There are people who chase, especially when they know it is a woman,” she said. “Especially when a biker stops for fuel, the drivers get to know we are women, and then they try to chase. We try not to stop and keep going,” she added.

She worries that such incidents could deter women who are only beginning to ride, particularly if families start viewing motorcycling as too dangerous.

Iranian motorcyclist Maral Yazarloo-Pattrick, who lives in Delhi and has travelled extensively on motorcycles, said the contrast with when she began riding in India 16 years ago was striking. She had initially associated motorcycling with freedom and safety, particularly when riding with a group.

Now, she said, the calculation is different. She recently returned from Ladakh and recalled being chased by a black SUV without a number plate. On another occasion in Pune, she said, five drunk men in a car chased and threatened her. When she approached the police, she alleged, personnel mocked her instead of taking her complaint seriously.

“I am the one who will confront such men, but what happens next is unimaginable. We don’t know what they will bring out — a gun, a cricket bat, or something to beat me up or kill me,” she said.

Ms. Yazarloo-Pattrick said such behaviour cannot be dismissed as an inevitable part of riding. A car cutting off a motorcycle, chasing a rider or trying to race them may appear minor in isolation, but repeated often enough, it changes how riders experience the road.

The women said stronger enforcement and consequences are essential, particularly when a motorist deliberately puts another road user’s life at risk. They also called for a more supportive police response, with Ms. Merwah suggesting a greater presence of women police personnel could provide immediate empathy when women report harassment.

For riders who have spent years challenging the idea that motorcycles are not a space for women, the demand is not for special treatment. It is to be able to ride without having to constantly calculate who is watching, who might react and how far a confrontation could go.

As Ms. Merwah put it, the bigger change has to begin with the presumption itself — that women must always be the ones to adjust their behaviour to stay safe.

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