Biker Sees SUV Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road, Decides to Teach Him a Lesson

Illustration - Shutterstock

An Indian SUV driver had no idea that he was in for a confrontation with a traffic vigilante when he chose to drive on the wrong side of the road. Twenty-two-year-old biker Sahil Batav happened to be driving in the opposite direction that day, and the brave young man put up a heroic stand in the face of a dangerous driving violation.

Batav, who stopped on the street in Bhopal in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, endured a thrashing for his principles but stood his ground. Batav stopped his bike in front of the car to block the driver’s path. He sat stoically with folded arms, even when the driver pulled forward, attempting to nudge Batav out of the way.

Batav sensibly clocked the SUV’s license plate; the SUV driver noted the license plate on Batav’s bike. But then the driver lost his cool and knocked Batav clean off his motorcycle with a brutal right hook. The entire incident was caught on camera by a bystander, Nilay Verma, from Indore. Verma shared his footage on Facebook with a rousing caption.

The incident on the busy road was caught on camera by a bystander Illustration - Shutterstock | OlegD

“World needs more people like this rider,” Verma wrote, “who dare enough to know the wrong and stand against it till the end.” Verma then praised Batav’s unshakeable will and offered his salute to the brave young rider. To date, Verma’s post has collected an extraordinary 21 million views.

The people have spoken, and the people love urban justice!

Recounting the incident, Batav told India.com: “I was driving in my lane when this SUV came speeding on the wrong side. When we came face to face,“ he continued, ”I refused to move and asked him to take back his car, as he was driving on the wrong side.”

Batav remembered how the driver refused to move and even sat smoking inside his car. The incident, which took place on Nov. 3, 2017, was also captured on CCTV cameras and shared online by Zee News. The Indian news channel gave Batav a platform to share his perspective; the young biker urged the public to respect road safety.

Comments from the public reflected the young man’s indignation at the shocking driving offense, not to mention Batav’s brutal beating from the irate SUV driver. “I really appreciate this reporting,” wrote one viewer. “Simply out of words,” contributed another. “I also faced [this] a lot of times, and now I am thankful to Zee group for exposing such cruelty.”

A compassionate viewer added: “Shocked to see no one helped the biker!” Another voiced the sentiments of millions by exclaiming: “You are really brave. [You] made your physical appearance and strong attitude the same.”

Batav confirmed to the news channel that alarmingly, nobody from the gathered crowds came to his aid. “It was only after minutes of [the SUV driver] beating me up that a couple of people pulled us apart,” Batav revealed. The police, however, intervened shortly thereafter.

The SUV driver was taken into custody and rightly charged. Batav, despite his ordeal, remains a community hero. Here’s hoping that the brave and principled young man’s efforts keep Bhopal’s SUV drivers on the right side of the street from now on.