[nikhil3456]

Originally Posted by Speedometer

This is off topic ...but i need to say this .Everyday i see people driving over the dividers on the Inner Ring Road outside teh Dell office .Traffic police just stand and watch.

Anyone who travels on the Outer Ring Road would see this happening almost everyday near Bellandur. In 3 months I have seen virtually everything which runs on wheels cross the 2 inch high divider and get into the opposite lane. Some of them have done so at high speeds!!

The road contractors have been adding layer upon layer of asphalt which has brought the road almost on level with the divider. So, people feel that driving till the next junction to take an U-turn is just a waste of time and fuel.. solution is simple - just cut across the divider and scare the hell out of the driver who is coming at 60-70kmph in the opposite lane!

[Jr Godzilla]

hi wheeliej saw ur profile as Lawyer and i think there should be some way you know which u could use to snare the culprits.

[amtak]

Hi WheelieJ, my full sympethies with you. A similar incident had happened with me when my car was hit by a taxi of a call center. I was waiting for my turn at the toll plaza to pay the toll when a sumo came and hit my car from behind in a broad day light. He hit me at about 70 kmph and badly damaged the rear of my car. The owner of the car was not only rude but also abused me since I had stopped my car at the toll naka to pay the toll. He said the damage was just 500 rs (think of it, you have a broken taillamp, hatch door, and bumper and the damage is 500!) and said that he would get it fixed only from where he wants. The police also let him go stating that it was a minor accident as i wasnt injured...Just think if i would have not been wearing my seat belt, would that have been a minor accident..? We dont care for lives of others....we are insensitive...I felt like breaking his windshield but could not as that amounts to "attempt to Murder" in the indian law...but these people roam free...just because they have contacts...

[dass]

Looks like there hasn't been any improvement 5 years down the line too. They are one of the most common causes for increasing blood pressure amongst other motorist.

Back to this topic, was the issue ever resolved?

[TheARUN]

On a serious note, the Call Center Drivers are going mad. They are losing or have lost their mental balance, the monotony of the job, the pressure, the finance woes, it's all gotten to them, what happens when you're dealing with them is what happens when you're dealing with a mad person!

Not all of them are in the business because they have a passion for diving, they are here because this is the opportunity they got :-(

Best would be to avoid them, think of the future, the key is escape the fury of the moment, then consider options available to us and proceed accordingly, don't get into a 'Road Rage' fight, it's insane

[condor]

Originally Posted by amtak

The police also let him go stating that it was a minor accident as i wasnt injured ... but these people roam free...just because they have contacts...

Call center drivers & Cab drivers (taxi services). Will be surprised if both these agencies agencies are not in cahoots with some of the police. Have experienced it atleast once (though with an individual - who just tipped the traffic cop at the spot. The cop went away on his "business", and I had to struggle with this guy.

Originally Posted by dass

Looks like there hasn't been any improvement 5 years down the line too.

No changes, how ever big the company is. Though one exception I have seen is the vehicles of ANZ Grindlays. They seem to be very well behaved.

[hrman]

The other thing working against us is that if you happen to get into a tiff with any Yellow Board vehicle, other yellow board drivers will swoop to his rescue like a bunch of vultures, probably expecting compensation or a cut too.
How many times have you seen White board vehicles stopping to aid another white board vehicle who has gotten into a tiff? The day this happens, the tourist operators will be vary of taking on a private vehicle just like we are vary of them.
Till then, stay safe and don't get into unnecessary arguments or fights where avoidable. It is a fact that the monetary value of the time we waste in getting into an argument with them, is probably worth one month of their salary. Period!

[apachelongbow]

The only effective way to handle this goondaism in India seems, is to be a bigger goonda. We Indians by nature are the most cowardly people. The one who shouts loudly, who hits first, who appears to have some influential connection, is automatically the winner. Law and order, justice, a judicial system is all fine on paper, doesnt work in real life, unless as mentioned above one has connections.

In real life your car gets hit, may be you get injured too, you act like the model citizen, file a complaint, FIR, follow the law, claim insurance, may be even follow up the case fighting all the way to court, what happens? Immediate loss, which you faced during the accident, is to be handled by you alone. Keep following constantly with the police, insurance, lawyers etc etc, bribe someone here, someone there, lean on someone and finally the case comes to court. Final verdict? may be after a couple of years a judge passes a judgement, the cabbie is indicted for rash driving, so he pays fine of Rs100 and voila he is a free man!!!

Its always better to settle it then and there. If the cabbie is remorseful, and its a geniune accident, move on, claim from insurance, if the cabbie acts like a goonda, if you have it in you, give it to him back in the same coin, else sit quiet, take the hit on the jaw and swallow the ego and move on.

Depending on the situation, I have thrashed cabbies to an inch of their pathetic lives, broken their cars, accepted apologies gracefully and shaken hands or sometimes ignored the scratches and scrapes as part of everyday traffic. Welcome to Indian roads

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by hrman

The other thing working against us is that if you happen to get into a tiff with any Yellow Board vehicle, other yellow board drivers will swoop to his rescue like a bunch of vultures, probably expecting compensation or a cut too.
How many times have you seen White board vehicles stopping to aid another white board vehicle who has gotten into a tiff? The day this happens, the tourist operators will be vary of taking on a private vehicle just like we are vary of them.
Till then, stay safe and don't get into unnecessary arguments or fights where avoidable. It is a fact that the monetary value of the time we waste in getting into an argument with them, is probably worth one month of their salary. Period!

I did this once for a fellow IT guy, whom i have never met earlier in my life. This was on the link road connecting ORR to Whitefield and from behind Graphite India.

The cabbie on an Indica stuck to the racing line when taking a curve only to come crashing into a Bullet which was on its correct lane in the opposite direction. Both the rider and pillion were thrown off the bike, and landed on the side with not too serious injuries.

What happened next was a typical scene that ensues when a yellow board vehicle is involved in an incident in Bangalore. Both sides there were other cabbies stopping and trying to create a scene. I went in with my Scorpio, made them move, parked beside, moved some of them out of the way and checked with the bikers if they were fine. After i got an affirmation from them, we started arguing with the cabbies. Meanwhile, i clicked pics of the cab, called up the cops and also informed the irrelevant people there that the cops were coming. This alone made some of them scoot from the scene.

Cops took their own sweet time coming, and a different set of unruly cabbies appeared and started threatening the bikers. Both these guys were residents of Bangalore and Kannada speaking themselves, so retaliated with threats in equal vein (P.S. : I am able to understand Kannada now). They also called in some of their colleagues who came to back them up. Soon, the IT contingent was also looking strong enough.

Once backup arrived, i informed the biker chaps, and decided to move on to office, but not before being thanked profusely for stopping to help when they clearly needed it.

Just goes to show, that even the meek IT bunch can show their unity, but if only they bothered.

Here is a pic of the cab involved, at the scene of the accident.

[scarecrow]

Hi All
Based on my reading of the various responses, just thinking out aloud but cant we as a large group do anything about it? Specifically the Bangalore chapter is a large group, so cant we

1. Setup a meeting with the top police guys to voice out our opinions in this area
2. Suggest remedial measures for the same
3. Use our large group power to help and pressurize the other parties to relent

Just a thought, though we have to be careful that we dont become goonda's ourself.

Asking as even i faced a bad situation sometime back and wished there was some way wherein i could reach out to the various T-Bhpians for support e.g. through a mobile app which sends a distress signal with the exact location coordinates, etc.

Regards
Ronald

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

The one who shouts loudly, who hits first, who appears to have some influential connection, is automatically the winner. Law and order, justice, a judicial system is all fine on paper, doesnt work in real life, unless as mentioned above one has connections.

It's about calling their bluff really. I have called their bluff many times and made them pay. Expecting to be punched and swaying away from it is better for the first time.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

I went in with my Scorpio, made them move, parked beside, moved some of them out of the way

Way to go Benny, the Scorpio sure has changed your image.

[vinu_h]

Any parallel justice system will be killed off immediately by the law enforcement agencies for sure. Positions in a police station are usually auctioned and given to the highest bidder; meaning that they run it like a revenue generation agency rather than a law enforcement agency. I'll let your imagination fill the rest.

Mishaps we're involved in, remain unresolved because we're almost always outnumbered by those in the wrong. There's always safety in numbers and I definitely would like a distress signal system for us TBHP members.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by scarecrow

Based on my reading of the various responses, just thinking out aloud but cant we as a large group do anything about it?

If you work for a company that uses call-taxi services, you can do something about it. As a passenger, you can complain to the drivers about driving standards, and you can complain to your transport department. Yours may be one small voice, and it may be ignored, but many small voices just might get listened to. Senior people in those companies (and surely we have a few on T-BHP?) can have a major influence: they really can make a major contribution to road safety.

Otherwise, if the customer goes on paying, without complaining, why should anything change?

[scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

If you work for a company that uses call-taxi services, you can do something about it. As a passenger, you can complain to the drivers about driving standards, and you can complain to your transport department. Yours may be one small voice, and it may be ignored, but many small voices just might get listened to. Senior people in those companies (and surely we have a few on T-BHP?) can have a major influence: they really can make a major contribution to road safety.

Otherwise, if the customer goes on paying, without complaining, why should anything change?

Yup thats my plan to start of with. Will be initiating this internally in my company to start of with. Also have some plans to try and help like

1. Donating a part of my time on weekends to meet, hear these drivers and hopefully train them
2. Setup a forum to ensure even things from their point of view is heard within the company

Let's see practically which of the above mentioned points are possible.

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by scarecrow

Yup thats my plan to start of with. Will be initiating this internally in my company to start of with. Also have some plans to try and help like

1. Donating a part of my time on weekends to meet, hear these drivers and hopefully train them
2. Setup a forum to ensure even things from their point of view is heard within the company

Let's see practically which of the above mentioned points are possible.

I'll be happy to contribute. Let me know if you need an extra pair of hands.