Met a Road Accident in Pune

[AK1234]

Hello All,

Few weeks ago I meet with a Road accident when a car in front of me suddenly stopped. I was on a motor bike which belonged to a friend and I could not stop in Time. It was a busy road I was trying to make my way through the traffic.

The car owner came out and started fighting as expected. It was a minor dent and nothing more. After arguing with him for 30 mins, I decided to give him 1000 Rs. . As I did not wanted to get my friend involved as it was his bike and also I was getting late to reach the office. So did not wanted to waste any more time.
Plus I belong to a different state and had no one who can help in case the Police got involved.

Latter I was told if I am on a bike and he was in a car I should not have paid as smaller vehicle are usually not on fault. If that is the case, can I do anything against the car driver?

Your valuable advice will be helpful.

 

[Mr.Boss]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

Latter I was told if I am on a bike and he was in a car I should not have paid as smaller vehicle are usually not on fault. If that is the case, can I do anything against the car driver?

Who said it? No such law exist anywhere in the world.
Whatever may be the speed you (and the car infront) were travelling, you should have maintained a safe distance (which wasn't the case or you couldn't stop your bike on time) Here I see the fault is yours unless the car crossed you and braked suddenly.

 

[manojodungat]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

Hello All,
I could not stop in Time. It was a busy road I was trying to make my way through the traffic.

Latter I was told if I am on a bike and he was in a car I should not have paid as smaller vehicle are usually not on fault.

Glad that you are safe.

You not only did not keep safe distance behind the car in front of you, but were also trying to weave in and out of the stalled traffic trying to squeeze through to save that extra second.

Note : You are on a smaller 2-wheeler and are most likely to be on the receiving end in the event of a serious crash.

• Do keep safe distance from the car in front of you maintaining a safe speed.
• Check the rear view mirrors before changing lanes or stopping.
• Defensive driving is the key.

Do ride safe !

 

[max_demon]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

the car/bike behind is always at fault as seen by law too, even though the vehicle ahead brakes abruptly. as told by fellow TAI-gers we have to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle we are following. apart from this, do keep check of road worthiness of your vehicle and tyre condition and replace the worn out parts as required.

If you are ahead and someone is tailgating (as seen on Rear view mirror) you can always give them way to go ahead this will prevent most of the collision incidents.

 

[GrandRk]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

Looking at the scenario it seems like you are at the fault. You should always maintain safe distance while riding, and i don't understand why you bikers need to go zig-zag on busy roads, is it like only you guys have value for time?

 

[Mr.Boss]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

It was a minor dent and nothing more. After arguing with him for 30 mins, I decided to give him 1000 Rs. .
.....
can I do anything against the car driver?

A dent, be it major or minor will cost anything over 1k.
If at all you wish to do something to the car owner, thank him for accepting what ever you paid instead of insisting more.

 

[Lameassonwheels]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

Who said it? No such law exist anywhere in the world.
Whatever may be the speed you (and the car infront) were travelling, you should have maintained a safe distance (which wasn't the case or you couldn't stop your bike on time) Here I see the fault is yours unless the car crossed you and braked suddenly.

Thats absolutely true!. But sadly I have seen many cases people putting the blame on the driver of larger vehicle and getting money from him(Bus-rickshaw, Truck-car, Car-bike). It seems people don't really care for who's fault actually it is. Most of the times its a bike-car scenario, bike rider crosses the road all of a sudden, cut the lane, takes a turn with no indicators, hitting from behind or whatever may be the case mob is always seen supporting the bike rider irrespective of the facts, yelling at, beating up, and seizing money from the poor soul driving the car. I have seen this unfortunate thing taking place in different states too (MH, KA, KL to name) .

 

[raj_5004]

Now going back to the thread, what I was trying to ask is – Is it always the person behind who is at fault or can there be situation when the driver in front can be at fault. In my case I was driving a newer bike recently bought and guy in front had a old car with a lot of scratches/dents around the car body. He was definitely looking to get some free bucks out of the whole deal, so it was not about paying him the money but his intention seemed to be wrong ( I ended up paying more to get the bike fixed than what I paid him). I am not trying to give an explanation but trying to understand if someone is in similar situation what is the best point of action.

Do you know how much it would have cost him to get his car repaired? If he takes his car to the Authorized service centre, his bill can run in thousands.

Also Lameassonwheels you are correct to say that sometime the wrong person get into trouble just because he is in a bigger vehicle. In western countries if there are no fatalities people just exchange their Insurance information and move out. That’s how it should be done in India as well, rather than the mob trying to have fun and taking out there frustration on some poor fellow.
But unfortunately people don’t tend to think that way.

If you did not want to pay 1000 bucks, you could have asked him to opt for insurance. An FIR would be filed against you and the bike may have been confiscated. Now do you think paying 1000 bucks was a bad deal???

India does not have the right & convenient facilities for insurance claim, I agree.

Anyways, the point here is - you are at fault and hence you cannot blame the car owner for demanding 1000 bucks. Even if he is trying to fleece you, do you really have an option to bargain?

 

[Akash1886]

I was told if I am on a bike and he was in a car I should not have paid as smaller vehicle are usually not on fault. If that is the case, can I do anything against the car driver?

Who gave this piece of advise dear to you? Please do not accept such logic. It is imperative for the vehicle at the back to maintain a minimum braking distance and follow 3 basic A's of safe driving i.e Alertness, Anticipation and Action. The logic stated by you highlights that bikers are capable of taking undue advantage of being on a smaller vehicle which is really sad. I am highly disappointed. Paying a 1000 rupees shall not be of use to the car owner since repairing it will be much more expensive.

I hope you may learn from the advises shared above, be careful next time dear. Not every car owner is as generous as the one you met.

Regards

Akash

 

[AK1234]

Hello All,

Thank You all for your feedback. I think I was a bit upset while starting the thread and could not explain the situation correctly. I tried editing the post but apparently that cannot be done.

Before trying again I guess I got good driving tips from you all and I am happy to be safe. This is the first time such incident happened and I am still a bit shocked up even after 2 weeks.

Mr. Boss you are right in saying that there are no such laws and I was of the same thinking. Some of my friends told that this is not the case so I wanted to be sure than sorry.

So it was a single lane road with traffic from both side, there was no opportunity to go zig zag but you have to make sure that your safe from auto’s and frustrated car drivers who are honking continuously behind you to get the way through increasing the pressure on you. So that’s what I meant when I said “I was trying to make my way through the traffic”

Also it was not the frustration of paying him ( mistakes do happen) it was the intention of the person. I was on a newer bike recently purchased and he was in an old car with lot of dent and scratches around the whole body ( it cost more for me to get the bike fixed than what I gave him). It was the way he demanded the money without talking and just started shouting in the local language. Honestly I think he just wanted the money.

You can either put the blame on me or on the road conditions for what happened! I can't stop you..

The purpose of the thread was not to really ask what can be done against that individual person but get an idea and awareness to people who get into such situation and don’t really know what to do.

Thank You All..

 

[Lameassonwheels]

In western countries if there are no fatalities people just exchange their Insurance information and move out. That’s how it should be done in India as well, rather than the mob trying to have fun and taking out there frustration on some poor fellow. But unfortunately people don’t tend to think that way.

I have seen the same in UAE, the person who caused the accident himself calling the cops in, both the drivers parked aside peacefully and talking to their respective families. No ferocious mob, nothing!! Actually in many such cases what we are doing here in India is taking the law in our hands, whatever may be the case this shouldn't be appreciated!

No brickbats here please, I am very much proud to be an Indian and things are not that easy for us to manage with a 1.27 billion and counting population, so however we are doing currently is simply great, but we will improve for sure!

 

[Mr.Boss]

I was on a newer bike recently purchased and he was in an old car with lot of dent and scratches around the whole body ( it cost more for me to get the bike fixed than what I gave him). It was the way he demanded the money without talking and just started shouting in the local language. Honestly I think he just wanted the money.

Be it a brand new car or a couple of decades old rust bucket, an additional damage caused by a 3rd person can't be accepted by any owner. Wear his shoes to understand his situation. Nobody will be happy to pay for others mistakes. Though his car condition is such that with lots of scratches but the bumper is very much intact on its place and after your hit, an additional dent appeared. You knew only till this. Incase if the bumper fixings were broken, he should change the complete bumper (earlier case with only scratches, he could get it corrected by just painting)

The purpose of the thread was not to really ask what can be done against that individual person but get an idea and awareness to people who get into such situation and don’t really know what to do.

Going by your explanation, it was a single lane and the car infront of you was in-front always (didn't overtook and braked suddenly) In this case, what ever may be the speed you both were travelling and how hard he might have applied the brakes, it is your responsibility to control your vehicle. Brand new vehicle or vehicle that is new to you isn't an excuse. Mistakes / accidents will happen and can't be avoided. But when the mistake is ours, we are left with no other option than to compensate for it.

What should be done in such situations?
1) Settle for a compromise and pay an reasonable amount (this is what you did, and that's a good sign of gesture)
2) Get it covered through insurance (think twice before you choose this option, only if the damage is high and you get enough time to get it done. It includes lot of formalities and time consuming)

 

[vijay_968]

... Settle for a compromise ...

Well said, Boss. Though members have given enough answers, I'd like to add one more. If we say and feel "I will not let others suffer due to my mistake" we would be able to settle things better and faster.

PS: I sometimes teach errant truck drivers certain lessons, to ensure that they don't clog the right lane in Highways. I sincerely hope, this is not contradicting my view point above.

 

[Aspirant]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

Looking at the scenario it seems like you are at the fault. You should always maintain safe distance while riding, and i don't understand why you bikers need to go zig-zag on busy roads, is it like only you guys have value for time?

Not sure If I make an undue and belated interruption here, and if it seems so, I sincerely beg the pardon from my dear friend GrandRk for this because I do not intend to do so. After studying the post of AK124, I could not find that he has been doing a rash drive!

The only fault we could find on him is that he did not maintain a safe distance from the Car in front. Yes this is a fault ! Though it would be impossible to do so many times in busy traffic, especially during Office commuting hours. But I do not push this statement so hard here.

Moreover, AK1234 is a member of The Automotive India Team also. This shows his maturity on Road. I mean to say that his motive to join such rider's forum provides an impression that he is not a fancy or a funky rider. Also he is compassionate, grateful etc. and did not want to leave back a messy situation on the real owner of the bike. He paid Rs. 1,000/- to a minor dent!!

@ AK1234, Anyways you must be careful on road.

 

[Mr.Boss]

Re: Road Accident in Pune

He paid Rs. 1,000/- to a minor dent!!

Do scale the term "Minor"
For the one who caused it, it may look Minor, but the one who suffered will look it Major. If you could get that so called "Minor dent" professionally corrected with 1000 INR, I agree what he paid is reasonable. And not to for get, he paid for what he did.