Speeding auto rams my car, auto gangs pounce

[AshOnTheRocks]

Hi Benny,

Warm wishes on your 1st anniversary! Despite the unfortunate incident that happened with you, I urge you to move ahead (easier said than done though) & take care. It was very infortunate what happened with you. It could have happened with any one of us. Do not want to dwell more on the case but it was lucky that no one got hurt & you managed the potentially dangerous situation rather well despite the law keeper siding with law breakers! I am not surprised that the policeman did what he did. Thats the reason why they are despised by the people at large.

Please get over it then only you will be able to get your wife & family out of the unfortunate incident. Drive carefully once your car is back from the garage as we all know what nuisance the auto rickshaws are..

[ad75]

@ad75: The TBHP hotline is a good idea, but depends on how much we would be able to do there. I am sure we all have our families and lives to consider before we engage in any street brawls. Also, with the traffic scene here in Bangalore, wonder when help would reach us too. Tried calling Rahul (mclaren) to work up some contacts, but the number was unreachable

no offence.. the idea behind the post was exactly the reason why you tried reaching mcl.some one might have the right contacts to bail you out of the situation safely(though you could handle the situation well).that need not necessarily mean a Tbhpian reaching the spot or getting into a brawl.

my two cents..

[ajitkommini]

Best wishes to you both on your anniversary. Really unfortunate turn of events, but one of the hazards of living in Bangalore I guess. These auto/cab drivers make my blood boil. My vocabulary of kannada curses has radically expanded in the last couple of years

[vid6639]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

@Jomz, Vidyut : Mahesh's and Vikram's numbers are a must-have now. Can utilize Mahesh's services as a road roller too.

You also need the truck owners as well. Godfather along with v1p3r will be more than happy to run over 50 autos in the truck. Condor can finish off whatever is left.

[HKP]

When I read the heading, I was hoping its not Bangalore! But there it is again one more Bangalore Rowdyism. Yesterday I saw an elderly gentleman on Marathahalli bridge almost in tears as his car was rammed into by a Call center Indica from behind. He was so helpless and all the people just speeding away, the driver in the Indica just not bothered and waiting to go.

What could anyone do in such situations? Whats the best way to handle this....This can happen to any of us. Scary!!


//HKP

[superavi]

Good luck for the future dude! Nice attitude - **** happens and we carry on!

I'm glad no one was injured, I hope you have/had a great anniversary!!

Superavi

[ravi@64bhp]

It is very sad to here about the incident Benny. I understand your trauma as I had been through it on two occasions. Now and then these things will happen. As the days pass, u will forget everything. A small introspection into the incident will give valueble suggestions to avoid these kind of situations. Cheerup and forget everything. Warm wishes to you and your wife on the anniversary day.

[benbsb29]

Suman, I just cant keep mu mouth shut when i get that tingling effect. Keep going around saying something is going to happen. And it does. Wifey has requested me to keep my mouth shut and be more apprehansive from now on.

@Ajitkommini : On my To-do list is to try and learn some Kananda. When it will be possible, i dunno.

@superavi : Life has taught me to do just that now. No point lamenting over spilt milk.

@Toiing, AOTR : Thanx for the comforting words, guys.

Was told i could collect the car tomorrow. Hope it comes out as good as new. Big thank you to my friend at the dealer, and also to Bajaj Allianz for the cashless transaction facility.

[hondadude]

Benny,

Really sorry to hear that. The great thing is that both you and your wife were not hurt in this accident. Also it is also good that there was no fatal or serious injuries to the auto guy and his passenger. Things become a lot worse otherwise.

[satish_appasani]

Benny....Happy Anniversary man. Your car is going to be ok....don't worry....

Next time be extra careful at places like U-turn. That is something we have to pay for driving in India.

Bajaj should replace the material used for auto bodoes with fibre. This way atleast auto drivers will be extra cautious rather than banging their steel bodied ugly looking one eyed demons in to our cars.

[planet_rocker]

damn!...good to hear that you guys are ok. happy anniversary to you guys. take a break and try to forget about the incident. the autowalas are a PIA. autos should be banned yaar! they are from a different segment/class altogether and no point arguing with them atleast when you are alone.
enjoy your day!

[rks]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Around 8PM, on Sunday we were on the
Varthur main road (Airport road) in front of Bageecha restaurant taking a U-Turn. After carefully judging an auto which was quite far away, i proceeded into the U turn (rather a L turn) to turn into my friend's building entrance. What happened next is something which i assume i will never forget for a long time to come.

The auto which i had seen approaching was doing a really high speed, and the miserable brakes didnt help either. The guy came and smashed right into the left side of my car.

Painful experience, but all's well that ends well. Could have been much worse if the auto had taken a tumble (these things are highly unstable) and the driver/passenger(s) gotten injured seriously. Or if your wife had been injured; I assume she was in the front passenger seat. And I think you acted very wisely by compromising with the auto guys and moving on.

I would like to make a couple of general points that may or may not apply to this specific incident.

A principle that I have been suggesting very often in this forum: As far as possible drive without making/expecting another driver to brake (what if he doesn't, even if it was his duty to do so?). In this case the auto driver should probably have seen the car's indicator and slowed down to let benbsb29 go, but he failed. That said, when the traffic keeps increasing without correspoinding increase in road space, this principle becomes more and more difficult to implement in practice.

A second point is that rear-view or side-view mirrors can be misleading as they may not give an accurate indication of the speed or distance of the vehicle behind (especially at night). In fact I think these mirrors have an explicit warning on them to the effect that objects in mirror may be closer than they appear. So while taking sharp turns it is better to take a quick glance over the shoulder in addition to using the mirror(s).

[mclaren1885]

Benny first of all happy anniversary.

I am really sorry to hear about the incident. Such morons these auto guys are. They need to be taught a lesson. Just wish it was one of those days where all we Bhpian's had a meet or atleast we had been in town. Few of us are pretty violent and influential and could have handled things better.

Yes, I was infact out of town. Just returned that night from coimbatore. I had no battery and by the time I could receive your call phone switched off. And we were on our way back and I didn't have access to your number. Sorry benny. Wish I could have helped you. Like someone mentioned keep a few numbers handy. Like v1p3r, godfather, vikram, mag, blueraven, vidyut, amitoj, anush, condor, riju, tadu. Just these many of us can cause quite a stir.

[zenx]

v v frustrating - have been thru similar incidents twice. You feel very alone and vulnerable, like there's no rule of law etc. Hope you recover from this - the sad thing is despite being extra cautious now, you're still a potential victim-turned-culprit. Crowd situations are weird, and scar you for life in some way or the other.

Yeah, a tbhp "union" would be a good idea to negate/negotiate these

Happy 1st anniv dude!

[suman]

Originally Posted by rks

In this case the auto driver should probably have seen the car's indicator and slowed down to let benbsb29 go, but he failed.
A second point is that rear-view or side-view mirrors can be misleading as they may not give an accurate indication of the speed or distance of the vehicle behind (especially at night). In fact I think these mirrors have an explicit warning on them to the effect that objects in mirror may be closer than they appear. So while taking sharp turns it is better to take a quick glance over the shoulder in addition to using the mirror(s).

RKS, are you sure you've got the right perspective on this one? From what I've understood (Benny, correct me if I'm wrong), Benny was turning RIGHT, the auto was coming straight down the road, failed to BRAKE ON TIME (or was driving too fast to slow down) and slammed into Benny.

Where is the question of the indicator? Or, for that matter, what look in the mirror (auto was not coming from BEHIND him) or quick glance over which shoulder? Sorry if I'm confused............