Speeding auto rams my car, auto gangs pounce

[benbsb29]

They say life is cruel, and it is. The month was a bad one for us financially, and this incident on Sunday evening only added
to our woes.

My school mate landed in Bangalore and we (me and wifey) were on our way to meet him. 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. For a moment, my heart stopped. Checked if wifey was alright, which she was. We were belted up, and so no issues that way. Stepped out of the car and inspected the damage. The passenger (a lady) from the auto was thrown out owing to the force of the impact. The auto driver came out limping and within minutes there was a massive crowd. The auto stand being somewhere nearby, soon
they had the entire road blocked, and about 50 auto guys and their gangs which pounced upon the scene.

Fearing that my car risked the chance of being robbed, i took out the key, and locked it. The front left side door as well as the fender above the front left wheel bore the brunt of the damage, not to forget the
wheelwell which was smashed. Normally, one would expect that the auto guy would apologize for his crazy speeds, and we settle the issue amicably. But that wasnt what happened.

Very soon there were gangsters and mean looking characters who poured in from everywhere and anywhere literally threatening me and my friends to pay up. I asked my friends to get wifey out of the scene into the safety of their apartment. I tried calling 100 to get the cops on the scene, but IT WASNT EVEN GOING THROUGH !! Whats the use of having a hotline number when it doesnt get through !!

I insisted on having a cop on the scene and someone went and brought a traffic cop from the Kundanahalli junction. That didnt help either. He pretended ignorance of any language other than Kannada and was in no mood to help solve things. He was scared himself, and infact, threatened to have a case filed against me if i didnt get the car out of there !! But, Why me??!!

Interestingly, these gangs also brought upon false witnesses, who claimed the car was being driven by the lady and that too without a licence !! The cop also bought that story. I strongly refused, but who was going to listen to me? They had very conveniently packed off the passenger from the auto, sending her off in another auto. I am sure she didnt want to get
involved in this mess.

With people banging the car, the glass, trying to pry open the locked doors, verbal assaults against us, open threats (the cop was a mute spectator) i decided it was best to get the car out of the scene. I decided to reach a compromise. There was one big shot who seemed to be some sort of leader. I asked him if he spoke Telugu which he did. Finally, i had a common language to speak in. (Note: I am not of Telugu origin, but learnt if from my friends during college). I told him we can
discuss things peacefully, but first ask all unconcerned people to leave the scene. He passed on some orders, and then said that we need to pay the auto guy 4000 bucks. I said, 2500, but later agreed upon 3000, following which they get the hell outta there, and repairing my car becomes my concern.

I stashed the money into the auto driver's pocket, asked him to get his leg examined, auto repaired, shook hands with him, and along with my friend drove the limping car away. The bent wheel well was making all sorts of noises, and i didnt know what would be the extent of the damage. Parked the car at home, covered it, took my bike and went over to my friend's place to pick up wifey.

Took the car to my dealer yesterday, who after inspection put the damage at Rs. 21,000 approximately including labor charges.
They would be replacing the front LH door, the LH fender, and also plastic parts included. Bajaj Allianz being the insurance company, i dont need to pay upfront, which is a relief. No third party claims involved, and that negates the need for a police complaint.

The effect of this episode on our lives has been quite significant. Wifey is still in a semi shocked state, my friend keeps cursing himself for having being the person whom we came to visit, and i have been having sleepless nights. Both me and wifey had to take leave yesterday to take the car to the garage and take care of the insurance claims. We do not know for sure as to how much money we would need to shell out, and to add to it all, we wanted to take leave today, as its our first wedding anniversary, but we couldnt as we were on leave yesterday. Bad timing, and an anniversary gift we'd rather not have had.

Some pics of the car while at the dealer following the accident.







P.S. : I am not going into the entire series of events, as i am trying not to thtink too much about it, and move on.

P.S. : Rahul (mclaren), arent you in town? Tried calling you on Sunday, but couldnt get through.

[deepak_ms]

sad to hear wht happened to you.. car had got damaged a lot.. but good thing is that you and your wife are un-hurt... don't think abt the incident and spoil your first wedding anniversary... take half day leave and go out somewhere..

[maxbhp]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

The effect of this episode on our lives has been quite significant. Wifey is still in a semi shocked state, my friend keeps cursing himself for having being the person whom we came to visit, and i have been having sleepless nights. Both me and wifey had to take leave yesterday to take the car to the garage and take care of the insurance claims. We do not know for sure as to how much money we would need to shell out, and to add to it all, we wanted to take leave today, as its our first wedding anniversary, but we couldnt as we were on leave yesterday. Bad timing, and an anniversary gift we'd rather not have had.

I feel sorry for the incident but am equally glad that things finally came to a good end. When bad things happen most of blame our time , luck and...the list goes on and on and on. What I would suggest is get a noise reduction head phone and listen to "Eagles-Take it easy" for a while with a glass of wine , am sure everything will turn out fine !

[WhiteKnight]

Very sad incident Benny..!!! Bad things do happen once in a while..Get over it

Think you handled the situation well...Anyway introspection could be done once the whole episode is a distant memory

[dadu]

If I was you I would have immediately asked the auto guy to come to the police station (note down his registration number) and just drive away and file a complaint(not FIR) in the police station (so that they dont come back to you later stating that you fled the spot).

There was no need to even talk to the crowd and negotiate, they all gang up and its a difficult situtation then. I know the language problem and the agony but if its not your fault you shouldnt be blamed or even forced to pay.

If the auto guy doesnt turn up at the police station (which he will not), you only have to get your vehicle repaired.

Its a difficult experience but slowly the memories will fade away, just dont think about it much.

[Jaggu]

sorry to hear the news, take care and try to put the episode behind you.

[Sush]

These auto and taxi drivers really drive madly on that stretch. I remember that everytime me and my wife used to travel from the airport to BTM in a taxi or auto, we used to get scared like anything.
Glad to know that you both are safe. Sometimes one has to face tough situations in life and I guess that the only benefit is that the person ends up getting tougher.

[finneyp]

Bens, sorry to know about this incident!
The things we Car owners in Blore fear the most (a mishap involving a Auto/Cabbie) has happened.
Instead of calling 100 (Police), we should have a T-bhp hotline, wherein BHPians in the vicinity can immediately rush to the scene.

Anyway, good you could get away from those pack of wolves after throwing 3K at them. Better to lose some money & have peace of mind!

Don't worry about your Car, it can be repaired to almost new condition & Insurance Co will take care of the expense.

Meanwhile, you and wifey goto a Hill station & relax for 3 - 4 days.

[esteem_lover]

Very sorry to hear this benny, that too on your wedding anniversary. I wish you good luck & god's blessings & a fast recovery from the trauma that you both had to go through. Take your wife out for dinner tonight even if it means you have to come home late. Think about the year gone by & try to forget this stupid scene.

[benbsb29]

@dadu : I wanted to get things done the legal way, but even with the complaint I faced the bleak prospect of having my car seized for quite some time, and knowing the sad state of affairs at the pounds, i decided best was not to proceed with the issue.

With the cop who arrived also not even caring a damn about my agony, i dont think it would have been easy for me anyways. What the auto chaps needed were money for their next booze round, and they got it. I strongly feel they wont proceed with anything further. I was always decent but stern with them, and managed to strike up a rapport with one of their leaders, so hope it ends there. The way they cooked up false stories, and false witnesses, i would be looking at a blank wall in terms of support.

@deepak_ms, maxbhp, Joji, Jaggu: Thanx guys.. we're in a much better mood now, as the car should be back to its former glory in about 2 days, which was what we were really concerned about. Just over 6 months old now, the car.

@ John, Sush : I think i was able to manage myself pretty well than i expected myself to. Its was good my friends were around so they could get wifey outta there. It would be more difficult to manage the situation with family members running the risk of being attacked.

John, the anniversary is today, and we are better now.

@finneyp: I am still surprised as to why 100 didnt go through. Hoping the car comes back good, i used to care for it like it was my child.

[dadu]

Yeah! if both owners in the accident turn up the poilce officer will first try to get an amicable solution and if not, then try to ascertain who is at fault and seize both vehicles. Then a person from RTO guy will come and ascertain the details and write a report on who's fault.
He will give a report which the PS will attach with the FIR. If no physical injury is there, the person responsible's 3rd party insurance can be evoked but its a lot of paperwork and the police itself does not want to get into it so they suggest that both owners get the damage repaired from their insurance.

If its a physical injury then it goes on to the Judiciary system which is a long path to follow in itself.

But glad all of you, including the passenger and the rick driver are safe, life is precious.

[ad75]

benbsb29, sad incidient indeed. nice to hear that none of you are hurt.
im sure you will get over it.once you replace the door & the fender the car will be as good as new.

@finneyp Having a T-BHP hotline would be a great idea.

[drifter]

Really sorry to hear about the incident. It's especially scary because your wife had to witness that. But try not to think about it. Just think that it could have been much worse. Move on. The car will be repaired.

Drifter

[normally_crazy]

Benny,

Thats a bad experience pal. I know it sounds difficult but now that the car has gone in for repairs , best is to try and forget the incident.

Take a couple of days off and go out for a short holiday and enjoy the anniversary. The car will be back as good as new.

Cheer up mate.

[theMAG]

Benny,

I'm very sorry abt all this. As equally as the accident , I'm sorry abt the effect on your 1st anniversary. If it helps alleviate your agony, I offer to take your guys out for dinner.

Post-facto, my strong suggestion to you is to be triply-cautious driving around auto-rickshaws, due to 2 reasons:

1. All of them are rowdies - the exceptions are 0.01%

2. All of them are part of unions

3. These unions are affiliated to political interests - hence the fearlessness from auto drivers when dealing with cops; coupled with their bribes to cops making the two of them pals.

4. These unions immediately swarm an accident to "help" out their comrade. That they care least abt actually helping anything is a moot point. Their only purpose for mobbing is to extract money from the hapless other vehicle.