[nikhil3456]

Hi Wheeliej!

Sad to hear that you have been a victim of this cab nuisance. Even i travel by cab to work everyday along the same route as my office is in ITPL. Luckily, the drivers that have been hired have so far been well-behaved.

I agree with Sreenivass - that take up this issue only if you have time, energy and support. But at the same time, I think newspapers like Times of India can be approached. They have seperate columns for this (Reader's grievences etc). While my blood boils to know that a lot of these guys go scott-free, to an extent our hands are tied.

Also, try and see if you can get the email IDs of the trasnport co-ordinators and their bosses at AOL. The top management needs to be apprised of the situation.

[condor]

Wheeliej, feel for you for what you are going through. I myself am in a different, but similar situation where I am having to face the sh1t for no fault of mine. But that is a different story.

The drivers may face the music from the admin team of AOL for now, but he will be back on his trips in no time. If AOL does set an example and gets him off their service, he will just move on to another company.

I hope that companies do take action for such incidents. They need to be sensitive to not just their own employees, but every one else in the vicinity. These drivers are also, in the broader sense, out-sourced. If an out-sourced person wokring inside the campus can be taken to task for a mistake, then why not the drivers? The companies need to show that they stand behind all the stickers that we see behind all these vehicles saying "If this driver is driving rashly, call xyz". I dont know if half these companies even know that one numeral in the phone number on that sticker is scratched off so no one knows what's the number to call. And even if some one did, do we know if anything comes out of it.

[theMAG]

Sorry to hear abt this, WJ. A thing that'll work in your favor is if you threatend the cab/AOL driver/"manager" with an FIR. You;d be amazed at how quickly they'll respond then. With an FIR, the call center driver's license is seized by the cops. An FIR needs to be launched within 1 week of the accident, if I remember right.

[Equus]

Think of it as a bad dream and move on. You have made AOL aware of this. Hope they are good citizens and will take the driver to task.

That female employee - what a LOSER she is!

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Equus

Hope they are good citizens and will take the driver to task.

If that were true, I'm Mahatma Gandhi

[mohit]

Originally Posted by theMAG

If that were true, I'm Mahatma Gandhi

Agree totally! There have been so many instances where people who were hit or were nearly hit by a call center/office cab and called up the company to complain. The guys are nice and "appear" to take your complaint very seriously buy 99% of them do not even bother about it once you put the phone down. The drivers know it very well and so don't give a damn about it.

Reminds of an incident where a parked car belonging to a female employee was very badly banged by a company bus. The transport company owner offered to get it fixed from some obscure garage. When they said they'll go to the police/court etc, he showed them a pile of documents and invited them to join the list!

[HKP]

I too take the same route and have experienced the rash driving of Call center taxies. Many of these drivers are very abusive also. Same is the case with Autos also.

I dont think anything much will happen from Police side. But instead, try to circulate this as a mail to your collegues with Cab number and whatever personal details you can give. This will be forwarded to everyone and I am sure AOL will be forced to act. Try to send a letter to Times of India also with the copy of the police complaint.

I feel like slapping that female Employee...

Feeling bad for your car, All BHPians can understand your pain. Relax and try to come out of it.

HkP

[rahul_intlad]

Sorry to hear about the incident wheelie.

[vezj420]

indeed disheartening to hear your story WJ...hats off to you for being so vigilant! I totally agree with Nikhil for the suggestion of approaching a newspaper to get a grievance column printed that talks about this issue (maybe not only your particular case).

I would also second theMAG by saying that a formal police complaint along with an FIR would speed up 'justice' (or any form of it if possible) in this case.

Good luck!

[Steeroid]

Much as we feel that we are in the right, there are some occassions when it might make sense to walk away if the damage isnt too great.

In your case, I guess what really tripped your fuse was the comment from the female AOL employee that she would be late for work. I may be wrong, but that probably set in motion the whole series of events thereafter - I would've done the same I guess, because an insensitive comment like that would cause me to become unyielding.

Taking on the taxi driver and his pals was bravado fuelled by self-belief, but if you do take on the lot you need to be prepared to take on the consequences as well since they have very little to lose and you have your time, dignity and your peace of mind to worry about. In such situations, the party that cares less about the consequences always has an edge - you can take on them only if you're ready for a scrap and give two hoots for the consequences.

I know what it feels to be in such a situation where the tables are suddenly turned on you. My sympathies.

[Vid6639]

This is becoming very common in bangalore. I've seen several cars been hit by cab drivers due to their carelessness.

They just abuse you and tell you to move on saying nothing happened it's only a dent.

At one time I saw a poor Santro getting hit on the right door with a sumo. when the driver tried to get out to see what had happened the sumo guy happily drives ahead jamming the front door with the left of his car and continues to scrape the whole car and drives off.

Bangaloreans are at the mercy of call centre cabs, autos, 2 wheelers. Sad thing the cops are the worst here and add to the woes.

Sometimes I feel I need to get a license for a weapon and just shoot these guys at will.

[rks]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Sometimes I feel I need to get a license for a weapon and just shoot these guys at will.

I know you are just kidding, but I would say that if you feel a compelling need to shoot somebody, do it with an unlicensed revolver!! Otherwise the shooting could be traced to you since the police can find out from the bullets precisely what weapon has been used and then check the records to see who has licensed that weapon. You will stick out like a sore thumb in that search.

[Nitin]

Not sure about this, but would it make sense in having the papers (TOI,Hindu/Deccan Herald) report this, and also try to increase the awareness among commuters, about these incidents. That way, those who go through such horrible instances would be more prepared to deal with the goons who drive call center cabs.
I personally know a person, who was hit by a Sumo that ferried Oracle/Microsoft employees. My friend drove a Baleno, and was hit from the side at almost 30km/h. This was somewhere near Indiranagar, and the poor guy had bought the car 2 weeks before the crash.
My friend asked the cab driver to stop, but that guy sped off, and a chase resulted.The only thing my buddy wanted, was an apology,and compensation for the damage. The driver actually shouted out ' you can complain to anyone you like.I'll either bribe the cops, or work it out with my boss'..and the guy just sped off.At his heels, went the baleno !!
I wouldn't call it road rage, but my friend got out of his car, and pulled the driver out of the Sumo. He gave him a sound thrashing, and conficated his cell phone ( so that the cab driver wouldn't be able to call for back-up). My friend literally beat the daylights out of the driver, and made him pay up every penny he had. He also took the driver's license, and told him he could have it back when all the bills were cleared,and the vehicle was in proper condition.

Given the fact, that more people are aware of such arrogant behavior from the cab drivers, it ought to easen situations, where the individual (who's suffered the damage), gets some assistance from the public.

[v1p3r]

Sorry to hear about what happened, WheelieJ. My sympathies are with you.

BLR is pretty much going to the dogs, and while everyone screams hoarse about infrastructure, those screamers aren't willing to take responsibility for their own actions. I bet AOL's chief is moaning about traffic woes over his breakfast every morning.

Have had more than my fair share of fun with call-centre cabs in and around WFD. They're pretty pathetic in terms of driving.

Try and get in touch with a local newspaper. TOI would love it, especially their BT supplement. More so because a lady is involved. See how AOL deals with it. They abhor bad publicity, and it's likely they will pay you out. Do keep us posted.

If you can afford it, and you really want to sell your car, I would STRONGLY recommend buying a Safari. Nothing, and I repeat nothing, gets respect from cabbies/Tempo Travellers/autos/bikers like a Safari.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by rks

Otherwise the shooting could be traced to you since the police can find out from the bullets precisely what weapon has been used and then check the records to see who has licensed that weapon. You will stick out like a sore thumb in that search.

Dude, you're kidding, right? This is India, where the police go to Whitefield Honda to look for a Honda in Whitefield. Ballistics testing makes as much sense to them as psychoanalysis.