[hserus]

Originally Posted by akshay4587

You may want to read the fine print, this particular incident was for a pedestrian who was knocked down at a crossing. What we are discussing is jaywalking; There have been loads of cases, where jaywalkers were knocked down at places they were not supposed to be there, and drivers were given clean chits.

I did read the article. As it says - even if the guy who got hit was at fault you’re still liable.

In any case you will be arrested and produced before a court. The cops have no (or rather, very little) discretion in the matter if there is death or serious injury.

Ok a couple of true stories to illustrate discretion.

When I was learning to drive I accidentally caused minor injuries - some scratches and bruises to a guy on a moped. His fault (wrong side driving) and luckily the incident took place when I was crawling along in second gear.

The guy got back onto his bike and went to a hospital just down the road. The doc categorically told both of us “I am not filing an AR (accident report) for this minor injury, too much trouble with cops and courts”, and he filled “fell down at home” in the cause of injury in his paperwork. I paid about a hundred bucks for a bandage and anti tetanus / paracetamol injections and that, thank god, was that.

Next story was last year. I was waiting at a red light late one evening when two fifteen year old kids on a rustbucket activa came along at high speed, suddenly saw the light and couldn’t stop in time so they banged into the back of my car, fell down. One kid looked like he had a fracture, the other kid was dazed and in shock.

The cop at the signal came over and ordered me to drive on. He then firmly repeated his order when I asked if the kids shouldn’t be taken to the hospital.

Realisation dawned then and there and I drove on, with rather a large dent in my bumper but still a free man and not in the clutches of the legal system, bless that cop.

If there had been a camera at that junction I would have been booked, zero discretion possible regardless of it not having been my fault.

[blackwasp]

Regardless of whoever is at fault here, the action of the folks blocking roads and damaging other bikes is totally not done. Taking the law into own hands leads to only bad things. The bikers caught in the menace could tomorrow come back for revenge with more people and target the villagers.

Just last night, I was driving along with mom and a pedestrian was half way at a zebra crossing. I was in the fast lane, but I slowed and then came to a halt couple of feet before the crossing and signalled him to go. A rashly driven Activa, with a helmet less rider and pillion come to a screeching halt beside me and the rider start heckling - asking if I was mad to stop in the middle of the road. What do they expect me to do? Run over the poor chap? How is it my fault if they can’t brake in time, as they were too close to me, and should have maintained a sufficient gap? But this is never told to anyone. Nor is anyone penalised for hitting from the back unless there are serious injuries in the accident. 99% of folks in India don’t know the rules of the road. Hence, it’s best to err on the side of caution in India.

I deliberately take a route that involves the least no. of intersections, even though longer, just to ensure a safe drive. It’s very important that all us out there practice safe driving skills, and even if you get an urge to speed, head to a track and rip your machine there.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by nakul0888

Sorry for being snarky and rude about these people. Poor villagers or not,educated or not. They deserve it. They are evil.

I agree with you. Villagers fury along the highways is a national phenomenon. Only the state language changes but the behaviour is the same. Complete mobocracy devoid of any logic, reasoning. They can appear in your path out of thin air but you still have to somehow avoid hitting them. Village folks are not as simpletons as shown in movies or as is generally believed by city folks. After all, they decide who rules this country through their votes and often elect their own uncouth kind as leaders. And they are mostly bigots, casteist and racist. The lungi-clad guy you see in video hitting a biker will start his political career now and will work his way through village sarpanch, MLA, CM and who knows even PM. That's out great democracy. No wonder lot of folks I know are buying citizenships and moving out of this country, for good.

I'm not a biker nor do I endorse rash-riding in any way. But, very strange to see most comments here endorsing the treatment meted out to bikers by villagers. My question to them is, if tomorrow a jaywalker falls under their car/bike and if they are thrashed by villagers in same fashion, would they still endorse the same view?

Someone says superbikes should have speed governors, another says Ferrari/Lambo can not tear up the tarmac ( wonder what that means). Why not ban everything above 75 cc scooterette and Nano? Actually, you can still kill someone with a scooterette and a Nano by driving rashly. The solution lies in speed control in addition to completely doing away with intersections on highways. And, why all the gyan for city folks only? Let the rural folks also do their bit by inculcating some discipline. They should also give up their jaywalking ways.

[2legit2quit]

It's accidents like this that stop me from riding a bike on highways especially on weekends when both vehicular and foot traffic is at an all time high. Truth is, you can never really estimate what an indecisive pedestrian will do in the last minute. I've seen incidents where people have tried crossing roads even when there's buses hurtling down at them. The victim here was a child and might not be mentally competent enough to judge the speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle. The loss of life here is sad and you can't completely blame the biker either. Maybe if the Government constructs an overbridge at highway villages or towns, unfortunate incidents like these can be prevented.

[Engine_Roars]

People justifying the thrashing of that Duke biker, for one second, just imagine he was riding at 70 Kmph and the kid just ran into him.Now please, imagine yourself in that biker's shoe. Mob justice can never be justified, it is not rationale, it never can be. There is a reason why Indian law believes you are innocent until you are proven guilty.

I seriously hope it was biker's fault, this way at least he will try to accept & move on. If not, he has been wounded for life, mentally.

[ashwinprakas]

Better not jump to conclusions, another post making rounds that the kid did not pass and only sustained minor injuries.

The bigger motorcycles were not riding along with the RC390 in question, they were just caught in the mess and have ensured strict action against those involved in thrashing the motorcycles and them, word is that even govt. employees ended up getting dismissed.

[VW2010]

Stop speculating, let the details come out, and then decide who was at fault.

Agreed.

I am not blaming the kid or the parents, but I am 99.9% sure, that the KTM rider wouldn't have gone off the road and knocked the poor girl down.

The very meaning of speculation.

Now justify the mob mentality.

Like there is a justification for mobs. Mob mentality and justification are oxymoron. Its just Mob. They love blood, hurt and harm. The very meaning of animal inside us comes out when you become a part of a mob.

And there is a hero honda splendor in that video. Now if you define logic in this incident then i would logically let the splendor go away. So logic is out of question.

Sorry for being snarky and rude about these people. Poor villagers or not,educated or not. They deserve it. They are evil.

Mobs behaved like mobs like how fellow bikers thrashed another fellow biker. And these bikers are educated, rich and have common sense to a large extent. "These People" are everywhere.

[Maverick1977]

Since I am not aware of all the facts I wouldn't like to take any sides but am pondering if the villagers reaction would have been the same if this involved a politicians car? Would they have thrashed the politician and every other politician passing through that spot. In all honesty there is a high likelihood that the politician would have not even bothered to stop.
Alternatively what if a high end powerful sports car like a Lamborghini or a Ferrari would have got involved into a similar situation? Again would the villagers have dared to hit the owner. Again probably the owner would have just sped away.

So is this mob mentality and even the thinking of quite a few here happening because the people involved were bikers? Why is it always so easy to blame the bikers or regular car owners if there is an accident?

Few days back there was an old destitute who was crawling on the road. He reached the corner and was totally invisible to me & I missed by a whisker. The auto rickshaw behind me was not so lucky and ended up hitting him. Within minutes everyone started blaming the rickshaw driver alleging that he had hit the destitute. Had I not intervened in all probability the auto guy would have been thrashed. Luckily the auto had also just scraped a bit and there were no injuries. But the incident left me really shaken, what if I was in place of the auto guy and would have got thrashed for no fault of mine.

I have just 2 things for everyone to consider:
1. The KTM rider doesn't seem to be injured hence I feel (may be wrong) that he wasn't going fast. I have been hit by a biker at 20 kmph and I had lost my balance and fallen down. So if the biker was say doing even 50 kmph and the kid simply darting in front of him there is a high likelihood of the accident being fatal. The biker wouldn't have been able to do anything.
2. I know this is going to be controversial - but why was a 9 year old left to wander out alone on the highway? Why were the parents not concerned about her safety? I too am a parent and ensure that I always catch my kids hand even when I know there is no traffic around.

A life lost is a very tragic thing but give a thought for the biker, who if he wasn't at faulty, will forever live with a social stigma and may always have this incident hunt him for life.

Lastly I pity the other bikers who lost their machines to these vandalism for no fault of theirs. Unfortunately bikers and (regular) car drivers will always be the victims even if they aren't at any fault.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by niranjanrvce

Not sure how/why the KTM rider hit the poor girl. But the mob behavior post is a scary situation to be caught in completely unawares.

Found this video online regarding the same incident:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvWCWwhymJw

Sickening to see innocent riders being harassed/beaten for the fault of a careless parent/careless rider (not sure who was at fault).

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Rumour - Child is alive and recovering.

Also hearing another version that the kid is alive. Not sure of the news yet, but is coming from multiple sources - though news channels earlier said she died on the spot.

Trying to validate it. Hope the poor child survives fine.

Sorry to say that this rumour was wrong. May be poor soul rest in peace.



Also, the biker was headed towards Chikballapura itself to meet his relatives, where the accident happened.

No reports in any of the papers I saw regarding the destruction of property of other innocent riders who were heading the opposite way. The "superbiker" takes the blame as usual.

[ninjatalli]

One key fact that is getting missed out is the lack of firepower with the police authorities. This is not just a case of an irresponsible speeding biker vs a jaywalking kid (with father). That is an accident with either (or even both) of the parties at fault.

The problem is the inability of the authorities to take control of the situation and prevent such mob activities taking a toll on others - not only were the other bikers harassed and damages done to their bikes, but possibly hundreds of travelers on that route were delayed. I see a road-roko was staged later; possibly some local political player got involved once the cops came into action and suggested the same.

And this is getting replayed not only in Karnataka, but across the country. Practically any "issue" on the road can flare up to a mob situation if not handled well and nipped in the bud; with the authorities probably coming late to the situation or not taking an active role till enough "noise" is created.

[honeybee]

As for media playing it repeatedly, that's how the media is today.

Police or authorities not taking control of the situation? They will learn of a situation only after someone informs them and then they have to reach the spot. Most likely in this case the biker wasn't in a position to call the cops and someone from the mob or village must have done it.

As for the accident, even by law the blame will lie on the biker. An 11 year old girl isn't expected to know the law or follow traffic rules, which a license holder is expected to know. Also there must have been signs of a habitation along the highway - signposts, hutments or houses etc. Seeing which the biker should have reduced speeds to a safe limit.

This seems to be a typical case of 'Nothing will happen to me' mentality prevailing over 'there seems to be population around. Should I slow down?'

When the only child, a 11 year old, dies on the spot in a road accident, isn't a mob fury rather expected? We all know if the family does go in for legal remedies, they will wait years before the case is decided and they receive any compensation or justice. Even the insurance company may not pay them unless they go to court.

Isn't this similar to the road rage incidences seen on YouTube where many a time there are bikers committing violent and illegal acts as a way to vent their anger?

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sorry to say that this rumour was wrong. May be poor soul rest in peace.
The "superbiker" takes the blame as usual.

It is a sensible decision for the super biker to accept the blame and get away with minimum punishment rather than speculating about what was the girl and her father doing on an expressway on a Sunday morning. One observation from my experience, parents prefer to walk on roads keeping their children on a side in the line of traffic. I cannot say whether it is good or bad but it is better to keep children on a side away from the traffic. This looks to be a classic case of biker over taking from left side and child coming in the line of the biker.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

A message doing rounds on whatsapp, supposedly written by one of the members of RR group which was affected in the mob violence.

Lots of wrong news. So giving some clarity. From the people involved

The incident wasn't at all related to the big bikes. An RC 390 rider hit a child at a village junction. Apparently, the child died on the spot. The were beating the KTM guy black and blue.

Then, the furious villagers saw a group of bikers coming on the opposite side of the highway, and decided to vent their anger on them.

The innocent guys on the other side were stopped, thrashed, and their bikes were trampled upon. 2 of our BRATs were also in that group. One guy missed it, while the other was stopped and beaten.
That was an unfortunate accident on Bullahalli gate, near Nandi Upachar, near Devanahalli, Bangalore.. It was a KTM RC390 involved and not any bike from Riders Republic .. Our riders got caught in the mob in the opposite direction while returning from breakfast.

All boys are safe and back home. All the boys in today’s breakfast ride handled the situation extremely well.

[VKumar]

I won't go to the point of giving any kind of conclusion, I am unaware of what has happened. But I have one small observation to share.

Most of the matured bikers are probably the best users you encounter on the roads. They follow rules, ride sanely and mostly don't over speed. Enough, then comes the blingy heroes, who probably are higher in number, they buy safety kit because it makes them look like racers and help turn heads. This category speeds up on highways and try to ride full throttle in lower gears in population - to make noise and grab attention.

The action of mob is bad, but I am skeptical that mob in this case has formed a stereotype that bikers are rash. It was a Sunday morning, let's all be honest to ourselves. We have many riders who upgrade from pulsars to ninjas, and many such examples can be seen in Delhi or Bangalore or any metro.

PS: I have myself once hit a child from my Pulsar 220, my leg guard hit the child who tried to cross the road. But I was riding at acceptable speed and hence didn't even fall, I stopped and all I was asked by a sane man was to leave.

My apologies to riders here, but I am myself scared of the riders with a while sided, orange wheeled, dual projector fitted motorcycle - that particular one with 390 stickered on it. I find it more of the machine of wannabes, the ones who didn't get the 2 or 3 or 4 cylinders but always try hard (be it city, highways or hills) to tell everyone that we also have got something.