It feels nice to reboot an old thread. i met with an accident on the evening of
Tuesday, the 18th June 2019. Posting the events, reactions, talks, bleh bleh bleh so that my experience might help other members react calmly in the event of accidents.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part-1 : Entire Events that day - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
That day i started an hour late from my Office. Had to take a right turn to join the main road. On the (sort of 4-lane) Main Road, I kept close to the “Double Yellow Lines” in the middle and went past few Cars and 2W. Hardly 100m after joining the Main Road, i felt a “tiny jolt” as if someone touched my Car; there was NOT even a sound. My left Mirror showed a Biker on the Road. I pulled my Verna to the Left and parked it; time was around 5:15 pm.
Jogged back to the spot to see a Bike & its rider were down and a School Girl saying a White Car hit him. Introduced myself as the “White Car guy” and attended to the Bike Rider. Though the Biker was injured, the pillion rider seemed to be in a better shape (just two scratches in his right palm). Normally in accidents involving Bikes, the Pillion Rider gets injured while the Rider escapes with minimum injuries. Here it was the opposite. Correct me, if i am wrong.
Biker was under shock and couldn’t stand-up. He was bleeding from scratches on his forehead, shoulder & right arm. His Shirt was torn at few places. We moved the Biker to the pavement. The Biker was still in Pain but could walk. Situation did not permit me to inspect my Car (parked 30-40 feet away), but I was sure my Car was involved in some way. So, I decided to take the Biker to the nearest Hospital in my Car. The Biker & Pillion rider suggested a particular Hospital (known for costly treatment), but I decided to go to a nearby known Hospital. Pillion rider followed us in the Bike.
At Hospital, told Drs what happened and asked them to treat the injured. IMPORTANT: The Drs told me of TWO Options: (A) Just First Aid and immediate discharge OR (B) First Aid with a “Medico Legal Case (MLC) Report” to Police. Option-B will help me with “Insurance Claim for the Injured” if relevant; it will also shield me in FUTURE, if the Family of the Biker decides to go to Police at a later date, due to whatever reasons. I opted for Option-B and the treatment started. By this time a Colleague joined me and he was also in favor of Option-B. BTW, Biker was known to my Colleague. THIS helped keep so many things under check.
We spotted some 8-9 youngsters talking to the Pillion rider; Biker is a Supervisor working at a Construction Site and these youngsters were his colleagues and acquaintances. They went to see my Car, came back and huddled. Few of them approached and asked me to go for Option-A and settle by paying money. I refused to pay, as the accident was NOT my fault. Luckily there were NO further discussions on THAT.
Meantime Dr called me and said she suspected fracture and recommended X-Ray. With MLC related Papers, Hospital’s Ambulance Driver went to nearest Police Stn and we went to X-Ray Center. Yes, there was a fracture in Biker’s “Collar Bone”. As we were on our way to Ortho Specialist, I got a call from Police Stn; Briefed them about developments and proceeded to consult Ortho Specialist. Ortho Specialist confirmed the fracture, said it was common
![[roll]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Roll.gif "Roll Eyes [roll]")
, took care of it & gave medicines. As per Dr, it would take a month for the Biker to get back to normalcy.
Then we ALL went to Police Stn. I let the Biker talk there; I corrected Biker’s statement by saying that my “Car did NOT hit Bike”. Biker too confirmed this. The Sub Inspecter asked if I would take care of Bikers medical expenses; I told them I was ready for some medical expenses but NOT for inflated amount (as it was NOT my fault). This was OK for the Biker and Cops wrote a report, got Biker’s Thumb impression and Signature. I took a Copy of that Police Report. As for as Police was concerned, ‘the matter was closed’.
As Biker’s home was within 5 km, I and my colleague dropped him at his home, had tea and left. By this time, biker was able to walk, talk, sit, drink tea etc. No unnecessary scenes created at his home, as no one said anything to me. Could be the pillion rider having told them over phone earlier.
My Colleague’s presence that day was very soothing to me. By the time I reached home, it was close to 9:15pm… The events took my time from 5:15 pm to 9:15 pm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part-2 : My Guess work, Facts & Some Pics - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
WHAT CAUSED THE ACCIDENT : My speed was about 50 kph and his speed was about 40 kph. Of late I rarely use Horn; if Biker was talking to the pillion rider, he wouldn’t have realised my Car was overtaking him. There is a chance he started drifting to right, which I failed to notice. As 70% of my Car went past him, the Biker did something which made Bike’s Handlebar touch my Verna. That touch was enough for him to loose Balance; he could have applied BOTH brakes abruptly in panic and would have been thrown forward. He would have landed chest first on the flat tar Road for Collar bone to crack. These are all purely my guess work. I forgot… I did NOT see any helmets at the accident site.
Gods were definitely with me.
Damage to Car : There were NO dents and NO scratches on left side doors... NOTHING was broken in the Car. Neither Bike tyre nor leg guard nor any other metal part came in contact with my Verna. But, near the left side brake light and on it, I spotted something the next day. My guess is the rubber cover on the Bike’s handlebar left these marks. See the Pics below:
Front Door below:
Rear Door below:
Mark near Tail-light; View-1 below :
Mark ear Tail-light; View-2 below :
Mark near Tail-light; View-3 below :
Mark near Tail-light; View-4 below :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part-3 : Tips - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Discussions at Accident Site : Like me, biker also didn’t know HOW the accident happened. The Pillion rider remembered seeing my Car going ahead and then both of them fell down. Luckily no one accused me of speeeeeding, as traffic was slow on that stretch. Someone asked me to call an Ambulance... I looked at him like, “Come on, in the Era of ‘unlimited outgoing calls for Rs 100/-,
YOU wouldn’t make call but would give free advices !!!”… Basically I spoke only to the Biker and Pillion rider and
ignored everyone else.
Discussions at Hospital : Drs were very frank and considerate. They egged me to go the Option-B way. I spoke minimal to the biker and avoided speaking to his colleagues. When few of them asked me to pay as per Option-A, I lost my cool. I said,
“Why should I PAY ? It is NOT my fault that this accident happened. If Biker lost his balance and fell down, he has to own up. Car is insured and let it go thro’ Police and Insurance. If RTO & Insurance finds that it is not my mistake, I don’t need to spend money and I won’t have any guilty conscience. First show me his DL, RC Book, Insurance & Pollution Certificate. Where are the Helmets ?”. They went back to their huddle.
REASON FOR OPTION-2 : In case the injured suffers some complications
at a later time, it is natural for his family to relate THIS Accident to THAT ailment. They might go to Police (even if I give compensation money NOW) and it would be unnecessary trouble for me THEN. It is better to complete the Police Enquiry then and there.
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Expenses to me : I paid Rs 500 for X-Ray and Rs 1,100 for Drs on 18th; a
total of Rs 1,600/-. Biker’s next visit to Ortho Specialist was on Saturday; he was supposed to call me on Friday (21st) but didn’t; I called him thro my Colleague but no one contacted me back. Tomorrow is his next visit to Ortho Dr, so today called the Biker. He said he was OK and on his way to Ortho Specialist’s Clinic. He said he spoke to my Colleague; Colleague is yet to reply to my Call/SMS. Let’s see.
Misc-1 : This ‘being thrown forward while OFF-Balance’ thingy happened to me five years ago but I started rolling as I hit the road; I escaped with minor scratches and a torn Pant. My Helmet saved me that day, when my head ended up hitting a solid Cement Block on the pavement. I was lucky to be in Office 45 minutes later that day; got a TT injection in the evening. Hey, 5 yrs ago at 46, i didn't suffer any injuries, but at 40 yrs the biker's Collar Bone got fractured .... Am i athletic or pure lucky ?!!
![[think]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Thinking.gif "Thinking [think]")
Misc-2 : That day, I did not have Lunch, due to work. I was bloody hungry, as I started late from Office; called wife and told her to keep something ready. But i couldn't touch food until after 9:30 pm
![[frustration]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Frustration.gif "Frustration [frustration]")
Misc-3 : As i didn't reach home within 15 minutes of informing her, Wife called me; I said “usual last minute work. I will be late”. I didn’t tell my Family about the accident, then. Even when I reached home, I didn’t tell them that day; didn’t want to unnecessarily disturb them that night. Next day morning, I inspected the Car and decided NOT to tell them, as there was no visible marks in the Car; I noticed the ‘marks near the tail-light’ thanks to one of my colleagues. My family does not know about the incidence even NOW. Will tell them sometime.
Hope this post helps someone. Thanks for reading and 'bye 'bye.
![[surprise]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Surprise.gif "Surprise [surprise]")
, it is good that everyone is safe. Just try to forget the bad incident.
