[syravi]

This has been on my mind for quite sometime now.

I have had two skirmishes on the road, both were minor. But my car is a brand new Wagon R and the first hit always affects the heart. Both 'minor accidents' were incidentally on the right side of the rear bumper.

The second was just a gentle nick. The first caused a distortion on the bumper which I thought would cost me a great deal. Also I had reverse sensing cameras and feared they might have been damaged. But the bumper was back in shape in just Rs 50 ( though a tiny bit of paint has been chipped off and would cost 500-600 for restoration).

What was different about both the skirmishes were the attitude of the other drivers. The first was a polite gentleman who pointed my error and indeed I was to some extent on the wrong. There were no arguments etc. despite me having to distort the bumper so it would not get trapped into my rear wheel as it did, everytime I tried to start my car.

The second driver just hit my car and sped off. It made by blood boil and I chased him through busy traffic for 3 kilometers and then pinned him down. He was a young lad and was grinning when I asked him to come out. No regrets.

Finally he apologized and I let him go.

At other times I have seen people come to blows. They demand compensation. Call police etc.

My question is, if life hasn't been lost, is there a need to call the police? What do we achieve by calling them? Does making an insurance claim require an FIR to be lodged? From my experience, police will create only more trouble and make money from both sides or they will lock up the vehicles till the case is resolved in court.

Why dont we go to our insurance company and make claims like gentlemen instead of fighting and exhibiting road rage? Why do we feel anger? Especially when we are well aware that accident is an accident and not intentional. One in 50 will be a rash driver and it is our misfortune to cross his/her way.

Would like to know what to do so that you don't feel stupid and loose a lot of money for someone else's mistake.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by syravi

My question is, if life hasn't been lost, is there a need to call the police? What do we achieve by calling them? Does making an insurance claim require an FIR to be lodged? From my experience, police will create only more trouble and make money from both sides or they will lock up the vehicles till the case is resolved in court.

In my limited understanding, its mandatory to report all "Road Traffic Accidents" to the police station concerned (under who's jurisdiction the location is situated). This is valid even if life has not be lost. I recently pulled a biker to the police station after he banged into my car from rear - he argued with me a lot saying I should've "warned" him before braking (perhaps I was expected to sent him a letter before hitting the brakes). The cops asked us to settle the issue (since they were not permitted to handle traffic cases, and the traffic police station was a good 7 kms away)

There was no loss of life, or injuries.

AND, the vehicles are released after a mandatory RTO inspection (cops call it "fitness test". You can go ahead with the insurance claims after this.

Originally Posted by syravi

Why dont we go to our insurance company and make claims like gentlemen instead of fighting and exhibiting road rage?

The rage is more because one loses his/her NCB for no fault of his. Here, in Kerala, Insurance Cos ask for the FIR/Case No before they process the claim.

[shineshine]

Originally Posted by binaiks

I recently pulled a biker to the police station after he banged into my car from rear - he argued with me a lot saying I should've "warned" him before braking (perhaps I was expected to sent him a letter before hitting the brakes)

I have also faced similar argument when my Palio was rear ended by a biker. I just argued back the the brake lights are indeed there for 'warning' and it was his fault not to notice the 'Warning'.

[drrajasaravanan]

Hi
I have been involved in a bad case of road rage in 2007 and learned my lesson. More often than not its not worth the time or money. I have couple of incidents where bikers, autos and some good for nothing call taxi drivers have banged my car. If its a small scratch or dent i dont even bother to engage them in any conversation or politely smiling and telling them to be careful on the road. A few of them take offense easily and tell me that i suddenly braked and they could not help it. I just tell them not to follow closely next time and walk away. Only twice i engaged in calling the traffic constable. Once when a biker banged into my rear door and started shouting at me in the middle of the traffic and once when a bus reversed into my car. The biker had a tough time but the bus driver got away easy. My rule if their is no major damage then drive on and dont look back. Cheers

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by syravi

My question is, if life hasn't been lost, is there a need to call the police?.

.

No.

What do we achieve by calling them? Does making an insurance claim require an FIR to be lodged?.

.

Yes. In fact, in some countries (at least, in Middle East), body shops will not touch the vehicle unless there is a police report. Even if you backed into the flower pot in your parking area, you need to report to the police.

From my experience, police will create only more trouble and make money from both sides or they will lock up the vehicles till the case is resolved in court.

If the police station refuses to file FIR (they are obliged to take down in writing if you have not brought it in writing), you can go back home, put it in writing, and send it by registered post, acknowledgement due, to the commissioner of police in your area. That is what the law says.

.

Why dont we go to our insurance company and make claims like gentlemen instead of fighting and exhibiting road rage?.

.

Different people behave differently in similar situations.

[su48]

My brother' car was involved in an accident today morning near Vellore. His 2-year-old swift was badly damaged when a bullock cart suddenly came on to the road from the left, forcing him to floor the brake and swerve to the right. A truck rear-ended his car, the car skidded and hit the road divider. The front, rear, and the rear-right side of the car was badly damaged. The truck driver didn't bother to stop and my bro was unable to note down the registration number of the truck. Everything happened in a flash!

My bro called up the Maruti helpline and also called up the insurance company. The Maruti guys have towed the vehicle to the nearest MASS. He has already taken pictures of the car and the accident spot. Should he file
a police complaint and ask for the FIR? Are there any other formalities to be done? By God's grace no one was hurt badly; only minor injuries. TIA!

[abhisheksircar]

I used to keep thinking, why do these people involved in an accident fight and resolve instead of finding out the legal way out. Now I know.

7Nov2011 : (People in Bangalore would be able to relate the incident better). I was coming from Kormangala towards Nanda Hotel which is opposite BBQ Nation. I crossed Indranagar flyover and drove ahead for the U turn and came back to head towards Nanda hotel. Right ahead of the flyover I noticed an Indica parked on the road aimed for the fly over. I drove past it at around 20km/hr while negotiating the traffic. I had crossed almost half the vehicle when I heard a big scratching sound. Looked at the rear view mirror and realized that the rear passenger opened the rear door on the traffic side (Rear Right Door) without seeing the traffic. I went ahead. Parked the vehicle in a safe place and put the blinkers on to see what just happened. My left side was completely scrapped off. Both door handles broken and door could not be opened from inside.

I walked up to the car and realized that it was one of those company Cabs and this was one from IBM where he was there for an employee. The guy did not budge from his seat. The Indica door got bent with the impact and both driver or passenger did not know what to say. Ultimately I asked the passenger to step out and asked him to explain what just happened. He came out and the first thing he said, "You should be more careful, anything could have happened". I lost my cool and started shouting at this guy. Called up few of my friends and continued shouting. In the mean time this guy got scared and started scolding the driver cause it was his fault also to stop on the road. The driver started explaining the guy that he should not have opened the door on the right side. All said, this guy called up the transport manager and there was a lot of discussion which concluded with me claiming the insurance and the passenger paying the difference amount. Not just but that's the best that could be worked out after the whole fiasco.

Next day I gave the car for repair and gave the estimate of 3.8k INR after claiming insurance. I messaged the passenger with the estimate. He replied, "Management has asked me not to pay and you to deal with the Transport Dept. cause it was not my fault". I lost it completely. Not because of the meager amount but because of the way he turned back. I called up the transport and he said that he had an internal discussion and was ready to pay 1K INR. I decided to screw their happiness even if I have to pay more to sort this thing out. I went to the Police Station and explained the whole thing. He saw and said, "This looks like an accident and no one was really at fault. The passenger was in fault but if you put a case and it is fought out after seizing his vehicle, the court will ask him to pay you 1K. That's the cap on accidents. If there was a injury, it is 2K. I went blank listening to all this. He added, if there is a fault of gross traffic violation like hash driving, drunk and driving, wrong side of the road etc. which is found on this then the case might go longer and better amount but out of my experience this will settle for 1K only. What I can do for you is to call that person and tell him that you are putting a case against him and hence seizing his vehicle. He might settle for a better amount". The cop called up the owner and gave him the details. The owner asked me to come to IBM office to sort this out and requested me to not put a complain. The cop asked me to sort it outside and if it does not, then come back and put a complain based on which they will immediately seize the cab.

I reached the IBM office close by and the employee was also called. Suddenly the employee started saying, "I should also be putting a case against you because I could have been killed in that incident". I just asked that guy to shut up and talked to the transport head. The transport head said, "do not listen to him, he is scared and talking different, you tell me what can be done". I said, "Simple. Adhere to what was agreed to". While all this was going on, the cab guys came along and started telling that they should put a case on me which I was totally okay with and I was walking off when the transport guy called me and settled for 2K saying, anyway, if you put a case also, that's the max you can get. Moreover this guy is a fresher and gets only 8K and even 2K is a big amount for him. I felt bad and told him that if that's the case he should ease down on this thoughts. Anyway, I took 2K and drove off cause I did not feel it of any use to drag it any further.

The incident did not shock me as much. These kind of things keep happening in towns infested with traffic but what shocked me is how the traffic rules are devised. He showed a BMW pic which was completely scraped from one side as a truck brushed it and all the driver paid after a court case was 1K INR.

Now I know why these cab guys drive like crazy on the roads, they know the rule and they know they do not have much to loose.



My Car went at a similar distance as that of the bus since the road is not all that wide. Notice the car parked right on the road. It's the first Indica ending with the number 1731.



My scrapped car with the culprit in the front making frantic calls.



Just waiting for it to get completely repaired.

[libranof1987]

Really bad luck!

In a way you are lucky that it was mostly the passenger's mistake, not the driver's; had it been the driver at fault, neither the driver nor the transportation head would have been so nice and accommodating.

This is one of those things where you just curse your luck; nothing else.

Financially, how much did you lose?

[JustCause]

Thank your stars the Indica guy didn't flee the spot. Else, you'd have no one but the inhuman tendency to blame for your loss. Maybe, being a newbie, he was in shock & didn't try to escape. His is a 8-10 year old Indica & he, practically, had nothing to lose.

I agree with you on this that the taxi clan's first response is to file another case against you. This is done to scare you as most of their taxis have a pending notice/challan anyway.

[abhisheksircar]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Really bad luck!

In a way you are lucky that it was mostly the passenger's mistake, not the driver's; had it been the driver at fault, neither the driver nor the transportation head would have been so nice and accommodating.

This is one of those things where you just curse your luck; nothing else.

Financially, how much did you lose?

I would agree to you on that. In fact you will be surprised to know that the cab owner has asked the employee to pay them also to fix the damage in their car. This employee was not at all shielded by anyone. In fact when the incident happened, the employee made some calls and said that the transport will compensate for all expenses but I wanted transport to agree on that. When the transport guy came, he said, it was his fault, why should they pay anything. He was in a complete fix. That whole discussion was another story.

Financially I did not loose much but the car's condition was something I just could not accept. The amount after claiming insurance was 3.8K INR out of which the employee has paid 2K INR. Effectively, 1.8K from my pocket. Plus my no claim bonus. The estimated amount before insurance was printed and provided by Pratham as 26K INR.

Originally Posted by JustCause

Thank your stars the Indica guy didn't flee the spot. Else, you'd have no one but the inhuman tendency to blame for your loss. Maybe, being a newbie, he was in shock & didn't try to escape. His is a 8-10 year old Indica & he, practically, had nothing to lose.

I agree with you on this that the taxi clan's first response is to file another case against you. This is done to scare you as most of their taxis have a pending notice/challan anyway.

This was actually a shocker to me and I realized that the rules are so very friendly for these guys.

[iSpoke]

Sorry, to learn about your accident and thank god that nobody was hurt.
26K looks way expensive, I have been always told by most Maruti owners that parts are way cheaper as compared to other brands. It makes me wonder, what could be the price for such damage be it VW or Skoda?

[sadnabrina]

Originally Posted by iSpoke

Sorry, to learn about your accident and thank god that nobody was hurt.
26K looks way expensive, I have been always told by most Maruti owners that parts are way cheaper as compared to other brands. It makes me wonder, what could be the price for such damage be it VW or Skoda?

I agree. 26K looks too high. Based on the picture you have posted, the repairs needed would be -
1) Dent repair and painting of 2 door panels - 7K at most
2) Dent repair and painting of right rear fender - 3K at most
3) Replacement of door handles - 2 doors - 2 K at most
4) Possibly replacement of the lock mechanism (if damaged) of the 2 doors - 2K at most
5) Some plastic and rubber parts on the door lining - another 1 K
6) Labour extra - 1 K

That totals out to 16K. Anything above 20K would be too high even by VW/Skoda standards.
Did you check the line items in the final bill in details? Was there anything else that was repaired/replaced?

[SDP]

Abhishek, sorry to hear about the unfortunate event. In such cases, more than the monitory loss, the hopelessness of the system, the attitude of people and seeing your well maintained car getting some ugly scars is really frustrating.

The Rs 1000 limit for real accident cases and Rs 2000 in case of injury are really ridiculous. I never knew this till date.

The interesting bit is about the possibility of getting the vehicle seized by the police in case a FIR is lodged against the driver and the specified vehicle is involved. Is this a state specific rule by any chance? How long does the vehicle remain seized? till the date, the case is resolved? Can any experts throw some light around this aspect?

A cabby can not afford to get his vehicle seized for more than a couple of days. And if the process of getting the vehicle back is cumbersome and involves greasing of palms, the threat for an FIR could be used to get some meaningful compensation.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by SDP

The interesting bit is about the possibility of getting the vehicle seized by the police in case a FIR is lodged against the driver and the specified vehicle is involved. Is this a state specific rule by any chance? How long does the vehicle remain seized? till the date, the case is resolved? Can any experts throw some light around this aspect?

A cabby can not afford to get his vehicle seized for more than a couple of days. And if the process of getting the vehicle back is cumbersome and involves greasing of palms, the threat for an FIR could be used to get some meaningful compensation.

I'm curious about the exact same thing. What if you lodge an FIR - when are cars released?

I've read on some other threads that cops release the vehicle after preliminary examination. But I've also cars scores of cars languishing outside police stations.

Also, if there is no clear rule, local people through language or power could get cops to royally screw someone's happiness.

This can be used against someone too - I mean, the cabbie can launch a counter-compliant; then what happens to your vehicle?

The way the system is - the lesser you involve the authorities, the better it is for everyone. For everything else, there's money.

[antz.bin]

You can always make a police complaint and then make a 3rd party claim on the Cabbie's insurance. That way you also save your NCB. This involves court approval though.