Hoooonk, Screeeech and Baanngg!!!!!

[jalex]

Are you trying to tell me the law permits these jokers to let their cattle have a circus on the road, and we people doing 120kph legally on the expressway should lose their car's "Accident - free" status & NCB while these jokers get away with it? Unbelievable. No point in paying road tax.

I really do not think that 120 kmph is allowed anywhere in India be it expressways, I am not 100 percent sure on that though,I have to look if any updates have come on that which I might have not seen yet.
The Delhi Police recently made amendments to increase the speed limits in May this year and the revised speeds are only 80 kmph.
This is the link to the article which came in the Times of India-

Now, you can drive faster on Delhi roads - Delhi - City - The Times of India

And about the rights of herdsmen, I already mentioned about it here-

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...stop-you-anymore-silly-reasons.html#post42040

which in other words means that they will take the defence (if they get a lawyer to defend their case,If not there will always be the insurance company against you anyways) that they had asked you to stop, which you did not and hence it was your rash and negligent act that resulted in the accident. It's not that easy to prove that it was their fault even if it is.
Also the reason for insurance companies playing tough these days is cause they're sinking neck deep in losses,No wonder with all the claims arising. Just for facts Kerala's death toll is 11-13 Road Traffic Accident(RTA) deaths every single day,the national death toll for every single day in RTA's is near 300. And that is why they will also make an argument that it was the driver's negligence and so they are not bound to pay for the damages.
And road tax,As far as I know 65-70 percent of road tax is used for purposes other than road development and infrastructure. Think of how much of that 30-35 percent will actually turn into roads after miscellaneous expenses.

 

[raj_5004]

Sorry to hear this sriharsha. of course, forget about the incident. enjoy your car & drive safely.

 

[Shynish M]

Coming back to the topic, sriharsha, good to hear that you and your family are safe. But what about that guy ?

 

[*Arkin_Young*]

And about the rights of herdsmen, I already mentioned about it here-

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...stop-you-anymore-silly-reasons.html#post42040

which in other words means that they will take the defence (if they get a lawyer to defend their case,If not there will always be the insurance company against you anyways) that they had asked you to stop, which you did not and hence it was your rash and negligent act that resulted in the accident. It's not that easy to prove that it was their fault even if it is.
Also the reason for insurance companies playing tough these days is cause they're sinking neck deep in losses,...........

I don't see the basis of your arguments. Most cars drive at about 120kmph on Indian highways, and that's far from illegal. And how come a herdsmen can be supported by court? Can some one stop when a cow leaps across lanes of an expressway when he is at 120 kmph? Besides, roads are meant for cars and trucks, they are not zoos. Someone should initiate a PIL against these herdsmen. Why, they can be booked under animal welfare laws for endangering the lives of their poor, unsuspecting cattle at risk.

 

[mukeshus]

So lesson learnt now.
Never overspeed in a open stretch.
Hope you had worn your seat belts.

 

[Shynish M]

I don't see the basis of your arguments. Most cars drive at about 120kmph on Indian highways, and that's far from illegal. And how come a herdsmen can be supported by court? Can some one stop when a cow leaps across lanes of an expressway when he is at 120 kmph? Besides, roads are meant for cars and trucks, they are not zoos. Someone should initiate a PIL against these herdsmen. Why, they can be booked under animal welfare laws for endangering the lives of their poor, unsuspecting cattle at risk.

Jalex is not arguing. Based on the legal side, he has a point here. Though you can have a good lawyer to twist all these points, that is the way is is described in the book at least.

Regarding the speed, I think Jalex is correct. Legally allowed speed will never be 120 for sure in India. I am not sure whether there are exceptions for any super highways.

Another point is whether the tyre can be used at 120 km/h, which is totally a different discussion.

 

[AMG]

1:I don't see the basis of your arguments.

2:Most cars drive at about 120kmph on Indian highways, and that's far from illegal.

1: 120 is above the speed limit. Period

2: most of the people drive without seatbelts or helmets. Does that make not wearing any of them legal?

 

[jalex]

I don't see the basis of your arguments. Most cars drive at about 120kmph on Indian highways, and that's far from illegal. And how come a herdsmen can be supported by court? Can some one stop when a cow leaps across lanes of an expressway when he is at 120 kmph? Besides, roads are meant for cars and trucks, they are not zoos. Someone should initiate a PIL against these herdsmen. Why, they can be booked under animal welfare laws for endangering the lives of their poor, unsuspecting cattle at risk.

I'm not arguing as such,but interpreting the laws that we have in force. Which are also not necessarily to my views or liking at all times.
For instance someone goes and buys an R 1 or a Hayabusa. Do you know what he is allowed to see as maximum on the speedo on any public road? 50 kmph! So if in adherence with the law,An R 1 Rider and an old lady on a Scooty are in the same league. Its absurd. They definitely need to amend the speed limits for super-bikes to atleast such a rate where it can at least cruise lazily in sixth gear without knocking.


Also I think its ridiculous that the law is such that all motor-cycles should have a saree-guard and a pillion grab rail.
Have you seen the ones on an R 1. It looks ghastly,I really feel that they should only take offence if someone carries pillion a saree-clad woman side-saddle without a saree-guard.
I for instance never take saree-clad people pillion on my bike,My wife straddles the bike when pillion and never ever sits side-saddle. But I too have one on my bike,lest I get booked. And another fact is in Sri-Lanka it is illegal to ride with a pillion side-saddled, be it saree-clad or not. I too believe that they should bring a law in our country where sitting side-saddle as pillion on a bike is an offence.
I'm also of the view that bikes dont need number plates in the front. It is not required for bikes in many developed countries. My personal view is that its not needed, really.


And our laws are such that a herdsman is more privileged. Many of the laws are outdated and need amendments,but that does not mean you can break them.

There are even 'benefits' for offenders and I feel it silly to find that you can run down a guy and just pay a maximum of 2000 rupees and go home provided he's still breathing,(In some courts you dont even need to be there at the court and can send a lawyer to plead guilty for you,now how convenient is that for an offender?). There is also a provision for imprisonment here,its not mandatory though and that never ever happens 99 percent of the time.

And yes roads are not zoos and not meant for many other things as well but law makers need to know that and take steps for amending laws and making new ones to ensure that it is that way.
We in Kerala for instance have a government that thinks its the constitutional right of any group or party to hold meetings blocking the way on public roads,they had even moved on appeal against the decision of a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court when it banned holding public meetings on public roads. Imagine what the politicians' mind-sets are?

Also there is no section in the M.V Act to even charge a pedestrian with jaywalking, even while the fact lies that he is also a road-user. But still some cops do charge them with the support of other Acts and laws. There should be a law in the M'V Act itself to keep jay-walkers at bay.

And again the NH 1 Expressway in Delhi recently hiked its speed limits and the revised speed limit is 80 kmph only.

Then Herdsmen,Bullock-carts,Push carts,wheel barrows,other animals,etc. are allowed on the majority of roads in the country,obviously Expressways might be exceptions. But you have to see that stray animals are common in our country (And we're going to have more cattle on the road when the bill for the ban of cow and buffalo slaughter is made an Act.)

 

[sriharsha]

ok. i am back. but still not prepared the report. please give me some time as i am very very busy with one of my college functions. i am literally *working* from 6 to 6.

the state of my mind is fine now. i was really very deressed and fearful to drive for a few days after the accident. but dad did push me to drive so that i regain confidence and i am here now. back to normal. :-)

and regarding the bloody fool on the bike, he truly deserved what he wanted. he crashed on my car's wind shield and a had a few cuts on his hands(smaller than mine though).i think his back was really hurt bad(not sure). he was not the owner of the bike nor was having a DL. hence he was not ready to come to the hospital nor to the police station. the only thing he wanted was money to get the bike repaired. more details on that will follow soon. and i paid all the expenses for the repair of my car from my pocket and did not claim the insurance as we needed a police record for the insurance claim and we did not have one as we never approached the police.

@mukesh
if you meant that to me, then i wish to tell that i was doing only 80kmph on an open highway. i never thought it to be overspeeding. and the most worst part is my mom who was sitting @ the rear had not worn her seat belt. infact she had removed it just a few seconds before the accident happend. me and my dad in front were wearing the belts.

actually my mom too was wearing the belt. but people who own an alto will know that the rear seatbelts are not self adjusting type. ie., we need to adjust the belts length manually unlike the front two. my mom was sitting at the rear left and she had to take out something from a bag on the rear right floor. hence she removed the seat belt and had just taken the thing out of the bag and had not yet buckled the belt back that this bloody fool suddenly came in front. i did not do panic braking(read stand on the break) as i was very much aware that mom was not wearing her belt and if i did that she would be badly hurt. so even though i did break hard, i did not break hard enough fot the wheels to get locked.

 

[jalex]

ok. i am abck. but still not prepared the report. please give me some time as i am very very busy with one of my college functions. i am literally *working* from 6 to 6.

and regarding the bloody fool on the bike, he truly deserved what he wanted. he crashed on my car's wind shield and a had a few cuts on his hands(smaller than mine though). he was not the owner of the bike nor was having a DL. hence he was not ready to come to the hospital nor the police station. more details on that will follow soon. and i paid all the expenses from my pocket and did not claim the insurance as we needed a police record for the insurance claim and we did not have one as we never approached the police.

@mukesh
if you meant that to me, then i wish to tell that i was doing only 80kmph on an open highway. i never thought it to be overspeeding. and the most worst part is my mom who was sitting @ the rear had not worn her seat belt. infact she had removed it just a few seconds before the accident happend. me and my dad in front were wearing the belts.

actually my mom too was wearing the belt. but people who own an alto will know that the rear seatbelts are not self adjusting type. ie., we need to adjust the belts length manually unlike the front two. my mom was sitting at the rear left and she had to take out something from a bag on the rear right floor. hence she removed the seat belt and had just taken the thing out of the bag and had not yet buckled the belt back that this bloody fool suddenly came in front. i did not do panic braking(read stand on the break) as i was very much aware that mom was not wearing her belt and if i did that she would be badly hurt. so even though i did break hard, i did not break hard enough fot the wheels to get locked.

I think Mukesh said that in reply to Arkin.
I'm really sorry to hear that you too had sustained injuries,hope your parents are fine.
And it was the best tactic you did by braking progressively.
My uncle faced a similar incident two months back. In his case it was a pedestrian,Here too the injured pedestrian,same as in your case only had cuts and he did not want to go in for a claims case,and so No F.I.R and hence no insurance coverage,My Uncle had to shell out around 16000 rupees for getting his car back to ship shape out of his own pocket. He had reported the incident to the police station,but they said they can't charge a case cause the injured did not want to. Another thing is its illegal that the cops did not record this,but my Uncle said he'd rather spend money from his own pocket then go around courts and police stations,so we did not go against the cops.

 

[blackbeauty]

so No F.I.R and hence no insurance coverage

My friend had an accident in his Vista and there was no FIR made. Still he got the coverage.

 

[Shynish M]

Yes, that is possible. You don't need an FIR to claim insurance.

 

[jalex]

Yes, that is possible. You don't need an FIR to claim insurance.

Some insurance companies insist a copy of an F.I.R or an extract of the G.D entry nowadays for claims above Rupees 10,000/-. And its to ensure that it is not a false claim resulting out of Fraud.
As far as my knowledge goes, when you hit a third party and he is injured,its mandatory that it has to be recorded by the police and that atleast a G.D entry is made. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[sriharsha]

exactly alex. dad was not at all interested in going to the police station. actually ours is a family which has no experience of police, court etc and dad was telling me that all these run abouts to the police and court are not for people like us who were in a kinda totally secured environment till last year. i too thought the same. so did not debate over the matter.

 

[Akash]

Sorry to hear about accident Harsha. Glad to know no one was injured!