[ch.nathan]

Part3 - Legalities:

Car had to be handed-over in Bargur Police station and they said they can release it the next day only.
I drove again (with a constable in the backseat - you know why he chose to sit in the backseat - broken windshield and glass pieces flying-in)
from Krishnagiri GH to Barugur PS and parked there.
They filed FIR with the injured party's statement. They didn't take any statement from me.

Before this, some great soul had stolen my wife’s mobile phone from the car at the accident spot.

Next day morning again drove the car to Krishnagiri RTO.
After RTO’s inspection, they released the car.


Two months later:

Bargur police registered the case, and I was called to the court.
They had booked me in two counts of rash driving and causing grievous injuries.
Since I was in no mood to argue in the court I silently paid the fine of Rs.3000/- and came-off.
Later I had a chat with the police constable and found that the two wheeler rider didn’t have license and insurance.


Eight months later:

We received a notice from Krishnagiri court for the case of third party damage claim.
The injured party had filed a case claiming 5 lakhs towards damages, loss of income, etc.
The case was against me as respondent-1 and my auto-insurance company as respondent-2.
I went to the court as advised by my advocate-friend. But none from the insurance turned-up and hence the case was adjourned for a month.
Then I consulted my company's legal department and they said it's fully the responsibility of the insurance company and I don't have to go to court.
I left it at that stage and as on date I donno what's happening with that case.

[mobike008]

You need not attend the court if a 3 party claim is filed against you. Its the Insurance company's headache as you have a 3rd party insurance claim in your insurance.

Btw, there is another Fiat Palio accident thread going on the forum.

[MX6]

Fantastic. So leave it to the Insurance company. The two wheeler guys didn't have license, so your insurance companies will have a field day. You are absolved of everything here Nathan.

[aargee]

I still don't buy that idea. A tvs 50 overtaking a santro at 100 kph, why even 65 kph from a left lane on to middle and then to right and you say the santro guy didn't have time to react?

Anyway I don't intend to take OT; lets keep things here as its the mistake of Santro

Originally Posted by ch.nathan

Since I was in no mood to argue in the court I silently paid the fine of Rs.3000/- and came-off.
Later I had a chat with the police constable and found that the two wheeler rider didn’t have license and insurance.


Eight months later:

We received a notice from Krishnagiri court for the case of third party damage claim.
The injured party had filed a case claiming 5 lakhs towards damages, loss of income, etc.

Democracy, justice, police FIR, my foot, so much for owning a car in this country. Everyone passes on the bucks without working to analyze things.

Originally Posted by ch.nathan

Then I consulted my company's legal department and they said it's fully the responsibility of the insurance company and I don't have to go to court.

I couldn't get this point. Which legal department is this? Some lawyers office is it?

[prince_pervez]

Good to know you and your family is safe. Good to know the guys to crashed into are still living and moving. Else it would have been a greater ordeal. Next, someone earlier said that institution which issue licenses to these people should be closed. These buggers will still ride w/o licenses. Hope you get out of the legalities soon. There is one more Palio accident thread going on with Hemant and his friends. Any pictures you'd like to post ?

[RajaTaurus]

Very Sad accident Nathan.
@MX6, This is my visualization of the incident.
The biker must have also been going in front of Santro in the same direction (probably the reason for Nathan to not have seen them), and as the biker slowed to turn, the Santro behind him also slowed and suddenly the Biker would have appeared in front of Nathan's Palio, clearing the way for the Santro. This would have happened just before the gap on the freeway. (Man, I think only in India we have gaps on Freeways for two wheelers and two leggers to cross. Madness!).
The Two wheeler guy might not have shot in perpendicular to the road from the left extreme, as Nathan had said.

[prince_pervez]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

I think only in India we have gaps on Freeways for two wheelers and two leggers to cross. Madness!).

Even if we seal all the gaps, Gaps will be created by locals. And everywhere they feel like. So the contractors have created limited ones for the locals to cross. But to check before crossing to save your own life, let alone other's is no rocket science. I feel the bugger must have not seen the Palio behind the Santro as well.

Just for example sakes, if you miss an exit here, we have to take the next one and correct he mistake. No U-turns and no reversing business. If you slow down fast you will be rear ended.

[elendil]

Nathan-Good to see you and your family safe and not much hassles on legal front and you handled the situation pretty well.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Even if we seal all the gaps, Gaps will be created by locals...

If you slow down fast you will be rear ended.

+infinite to this;

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

Good to know the guys to crashed into are still living and moving. Else it would have been a greater ordeal.

To me, its very bad that these guys are living & hence they've filed once more case.

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

These buggers will still ride w/o licenses.

Actually if you see, these guys were riding without license & insurance & mobike found this out by a casual chat with the constables.

[sumeet007]

Originally Posted by aargee

+infinite to this;


To me, its very bad that these guys are living & hence they've filed once more case.


Actually if you see, these guys were riding without license & insurance & mobike found this out by a casual chat with the constables.

Lucky that nobody was seriously injured and you did handle the situation in the most mature manner possible, I too was involved in a similar nerve wracking accident in NH 4 last year, will come to it later.
How ever my question to fellow BHPians is given all the vagaries, sudden surprises as humans/animals and what not crossing freeways/highways with such regularity, no lack of traffic sense by majority of drivers, what is the safe limits of speed ?
Sure all of us (including me) like to cruise in our powerful machines when we enter highways and see them relatively free and inviting after the maddening every day traffic jams of the city. Should we stick to the legal limit (65kms in most cases, I think), would it not be possible to avoid majority of these accidents or atleast lessen the impact of the crash? I am thinking aloud, I have seldom driven below speed limits.Trying to see the best solution to these horrific accidents in our country now officially declared the most dangerous highways and roads in the world.
Now to the accident I was involved which is very similar to the OPs.
We were in NH 4 traveling from B'lore towards Tumkur just after the nelamangala toll gate when the traffic seemed to have eased up a bit.
We were in a Innova, me and my friend in the second row with driver alone in the front and as our luck would have it we just put on our seat belts and decided to take a nap.
Car was cruising at 120 kmph(As it was a pretty empty stretch), and all of a sudden we crashed into a truck with our driver not even being able to brake before impact. Impact was so sudden and severe both of us could not move a muscle for next 20 minutes. what had happened was that we were in the right lane(fast) and a truck which was in the left extreme lane suddenly decided to take a U turn in the opening in the road median without as much as a signal and our driver did not even notice the truck ahead turning.We impacted into the petrol tank and undercarriage of the 6 wheeler truck and the front of our vehicle was completely smashed, driver had a broken jaw.
My colleague had internal bleeding in abdomen but lucklily was revived without a major surgery and i still have bouts of neck pain due to the severe whiplash impact.but we survived the massive impact only because of the seat belts and i also credit the innova's safety features (crumple zones took the major part of the impact).
Kept me thinking for long as to what we could have done differently to have avoided the impact and the only thing in our control is the speed of our vehicle, and the consequences of an accident is directly proportional to the speed of the vehicle.Also i was thinking how come we religiously follw speed limits while abroad but drive in our highways as if there is no speed limits(auto bahns?)

[prince_pervez]

^^Same thing happened to me. A KSTRC bus could not complete a U turn on one of the cuts on the highway and got stuck in the middle. I thought it would make through and I would pass the rear. But to my horror it started reversing and I had to pump the brakes. I stopped a few meters behind the bus. It was curtains for me if I hadn't stopped in time. We need honest cops, highway exists and no median cuts and no villages near highways. Then it'll pretty much solve most issues.

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by sumeet007

Lucky that nobody was seriously injured and you did handle the situation in the most mature manner possible, I too was involved in a similar nerve wracking accident in NH 4 last year, will come to it later.
How ever my question to fellow BHPians is given all the vagaries, sudden surprises as humans/animals and what not crossing freeways/highways with such regularity, no lack of traffic sense by majority of drivers, what is the safe limits of speed ?
Sure all of us (including me) like to cruise in our powerful machines when we enter highways and see them relatively free and inviting after the maddening every day traffic jams of the city. Should we stick to the legal limit (65kms in most cases, I think), would it not be possible to avoid majority of these accidents or atleast lessen the impact of the crash? I am thinking aloud, I have seldom driven below speed limits.Trying to see the best solution to these horrific accidents in our country now officially declared the most dangerous highways and roads in the world.
Now to the accident I was involved which is very similar to the OPs.
We were in NH 4 traveling from B'lore towards Tumkur just after the nelamangala toll gate when the traffic seemed to have eased up a bit.
We were in a Innova, me and my friend in the second row with driver alone in the front and as our luck would have it we just put on our seat belts and decided to take a nap.
Car was cruising at 120 kmph(As it was a pretty empty stretch), and all of a sudden we crashed into a truck with our driver not even being able to brake before impact. Impact was so sudden and severe both of us could not move a muscle for next 20 minutes. what had happened was that we were in the right lane(fast) and a truck which was in the left extreme lane suddenly decided to take a U turn in the opening in the road median without as much as a signal and our driver did not even notice the truck ahead turning.We impacted into the petrol tank and undercarriage of the 6 wheeler truck and the front of our vehicle was completely smashed, driver had a broken jaw.
My colleague had internal bleeding in abdomen but lucklily was revived without a major surgery and i still have bouts of neck pain due to the severe whiplash impact.but we survived the massive impact only because of the seat belts and i also credit the innova's safety features (crumple zones took the major part of the impact).
Kept me thinking for long as to what we could have done differently to have avoided the impact and the only thing in our control is the speed of our vehicle, and the consequences of an accident is directly proportional to the speed of the vehicle.Also i was thinking how come we religiously follw speed limits while abroad but drive in our highways as if there is no speed limits(auto bahns?)

The only option that I can think of to avoid collisions from rogue drivers such the lorry driver here, is - flash your lights ( even if the other vehicle is in a different lane) honk your horn repeatedly, and keep your thumb on the horn as you proceed to overtake him.

I always try to overtake from the right lane (sometimes the wait for selfish vehicles to pull over to the left or centre lane becomes too much even for a long suffering person like me, especially on the Surat-Bharuch- Ankleshwarsection of the NH8/WEH/NH4; I've been guilty on some occasions of overtaking from the left but then I become extra cautious and very very deliberate in order to make the vehicles conscious). I follow the same strategy when I am entering a road with oncoming traffic : gently enter the leftmost lane with the right turning lights blinking, see a gap in traffic all round, sound the horn, blink some more and ease myself in the centre lane. Most drivers consider me an extra terrestrial, but so be it.


Leave the rest to almighty- after all our nation survives like this!!!

[SDP]

Nathan, sorry to hear about the whole incidence. Besides you, I believe it has taught a lot of things to fellow bhpians.
Somehow I still think that you should have fought the case of negligent and rash driving. Afterall you did not had anything to lose except possibly a few hours of time.
I doubt it will mar your driving record (as record-keeping is pretty bad in India) or cause any major issues in the future (except may be a higher insurance premium), but god forbid if you get into any accident in future, this guilty-plea can be used against you.
May be I am just being paranoid. Drive safe, put the whole thing behind you and move on.

[optimist]

A similar incident happened in 1997 to me. In the days before the ring road near BEL circle, there was a left deviation which connected the gokul road to the new bel road towards the bridge.

here's an illustration.


A bike entering the bigger main road froze in the middle of the road upon seeing me behind the ambassador when it turned abruptly into the small road.

Stunned to see the bike stopping, I stood on the brakes. Thanks to wider than default tyres on the M800, I managed to stop the car from approx 45kmph but not before breaking my number plate from the guys crash guard.

Whose fault is this?
a. The ambassador taxi for turning abruptly not signalling left?
b. The bike guy for not slowing to see what might be behind the amby?
c. Mine for not thinking that the car might go left and something might come out of the deviation?

Dark tints totally block views where we can possibly see ahead through the windshields of the vehicle in front.

[nithin_86]

Sorry to hear about your story ch.nathan. I would say you are very lucky to get out without having to face much of the wrath of the local crowd against the rich car owner who ran down a poor biker. That is something more about our mob psychology that we can't control I guess.

I also had to face a similar problem because of a biker on a highway though in that case the biker didn't even get involved in the accident and luckily the mob was also not involved. My friend and I were driving to out college in his esteem. My friend was driving. This happened way back in 2006 i think. We were on NH47 towards Angamaly from Kochi. We were doing about 70 something when we saw a Volvo bus in front of us doing about 80 maybe. They were on the right lane and wasn't moving to the left lane so we decided to overtake through the left. We had almost crossed the bus. You could say that the bus and our car was neck to neck. During this time a bike is crossing from the extreme left of the lane to cross through the cut in the median. The biker who decides to cross the road seeing two speeding vehicles crosses the road pretty slow and the bike actually stalls right in front of the bus. The bus driver being sure that he wouldn't be able to stop his vehicle in time steers to the left suddenly. We have almost passed the bus but the boot of the esteem is still in line with the front of the bus. The left side of the bus hits the boot of our car on the right side causing the car to swerve and the car skids to the left and my friend turned the steering to the right to regain control of the car but the car still skids all the way across the right lane and hits the median and the car goes turtle.

Luckily both of us were wearing seat belts and both of us didn't have a scratch on us. Except that for a few seconds we were hanging upside down from our seats. The bus driver flees from the bus as soon as he gets the bus to stop leaving some stunned tourists in the bus. The bus driver couldn't be blamed and the bikers who actually caused the scene were nowhere to be found. The onlookers were also supportive and were blaming the bikers.

I guess we were very lucky that day. The scene would have been different and the bus driver would have been beaten to death if the biker was actually.