[udidecoy.2302]

Thank you penning down this note. It is so courageous of you to revisit the entire incident and come up with this post to spread awareness of a Dashcam. Looking at all the snapshots, there was no way you could have prevented this, and the other person was riding his luck big time and ran out of it unfortunately. I have always felt that a driver who can drive safely and sanely on Indian Roads can probably drive on any road. Having said that, there are so many idiots/unforeseeable things around on our roads that Dashcam is a must definitely.

This instance reminds me of a close relative who had a bike accident with a car, the driver of which was borderline blind due to excessive sugar levels and passed away in the aftermath. My relative had to undergo surgeries to his face and jaw and still bears those scars. In those days, there was neither a helmet cam nor any CCTV cameras and he had to undergo so much of harassment despite not being at fault.

[Janus]

Good decision to invest in a dash cam, that too 70mai. Time heals, you will feel better as the days go on.

Based on multiple similar threads over the past 10 years, Dashcam is a necessity for Indian roads, hope the government passes an order to include it as a default feature for all cars/bikes in the near future. This will also create a manufacturing base in India for CMOS Image sensors and Memory cards.

For rest of us owning old cars, please invest in a dash cam. I bought one in UK for use in rental cars, even though roads here are much safer.

Using the below model in UK, it has suction mount with 12v lighter input, so easy to fix and remove, the quality is not as great as 70mai, but the price more than makes up for it.
https://amzn.eu/d/aLUXWJJ

Bought a Transcend back in 2018 for use in India, but it's no longer in sale.
https://amzn.eu/d/gjyyh96

Cheers

[adrift@life]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Aftermath

I lost the ability to sleep, and whenever I do sleep, I will wake up in a hour or 90 minutes drenched with sweat.

I was repeatedly analyzing the video, asking myself why I did not stop earlier[/b].[/left]

Narrating this must have been really hard, close to living it again.
Hope it gets out of your chest and you feel better.
Wish you speedy recovery.

I have a viofo 119s installed, but the new dashcam threads like yours make me wonder if a rear dashcam installation should be done as well.

[efgritesh]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

I am now almost standstill, expecting, praying, desperate for this vehicle to move into its track. I did not know this then - but this was 1 second before impact. It was only half a second later that I realize this is a two-wheeler - and it is headed straight to me, right at the driver side of my Thar -[/left]

Mostly similar experience happend with me just a week back when I was on my trip to Gujrat. It was almost 8PM and that part of country hardly has any traffic on that time of the day. It was again a two weeler which almost rammed into me, if only i didnt took sharp left to avoid the collission at the very last minute. Not sure if the guy was drunk ir under influence of something.

Luckily I too had a dashcam. Although when I think about it, with lanemarkings not clear, single lane undivided roads, and at high speeds not sure how much it would have helped.

I am a day driver, and during day time I would have easily judged the situation and would have avoided anything that close. I thanked my stars for avoiding that incident on an otherwise uneventfull trip of ~3100KM.

I made it a point to myself not to drive anytime after 6PM form that day onwards and also for rest of my life. Its just not worth it. It might have ended otherwise no matter what i would have done, on that day.

Just out of curiosity, wondering how a vehicle with ADAS might have reacted to this situation. would it break completely to avoid impact, while still maintaing the lane. It might also be useful in leagal defence similar to dashcams in such scenarios i guess.

[invidious]

Chilling to say the least. Sad that bikers engage in such daredevilry and assume nothing will happen. A few months ago - I had a disturbing incident at Ruia signal in Bombay. I was waiting at the red signal and a bike zoomed past me, breaking the signal and a split second later he had been hit by a BEST bus at full speed. The guy flew and landed about 8-10 inches from the front of my car and his bike skidded and landed maybe 1.5 feet from my car. If I was even a little ahead both the biker and the bike would have hit my car. Credit to the BEST driver that he stopped and got out. Some other bikers helped this guy up - he wasn’t moving.

[ph03n!x]

I wholeheartedly thank everyone for their words of support, advices, and calls and personal messages expression concern - I'm overwhelmed by the solidarity of this community 🙏

I will be eternally grateful if everyone who reads this has a dashcam, and suggests the same in their circles - city driving, short jaunts, highways - don't matter. Dashcams are a must.

Let me elaborate a bit more on the aftermath from my personal front -

• The accident occured several months ago, in the early part of the year
• My friend gave me his car with a driver (his wife's, who was out of town for couple of days) for going to the police station, etc. but on the third day I started driving a borrowed car for the same purpose - I was invariably visiting the police station almost everyday until my Thar was released, and the place I lived in made it difficult/ impossible to get a cab or auto. I was fine, did not have any hesitation - though whenever I see a two wheeler on the wrong side, I kinda got panicy, angry all at once. That faded over time...
• It took me 3 months to drive to the accident spot - I had to see it, figure all the what-if scenarios
• I shifted out of that area - it was my work residence, and my family lives in a different city. So it was an easy decision to pack my bags, and AirBnB it wherever I needed a roof. I miss the community and the friends there though - they were the ones who stood by me through the tough initial weeks
• While it took a month and a half for the Thar to get back on the road, I'm still finding and fixing minor/ not-so-minor issues. Will update my ownership thread now that I have shared this burden with you all
• I started penning down this thread (in a Notepad) in June. But could not get myself to revisit the events and complete it. I used to sleep for 6 hours approx. - that has now become 4 hours, 5 at best. Initially, I used wake up every hour or hour and half, drenched in sweat with nightmares. This has also slowly faded away, thanks to all the support and counseling I received. My sleep was pretty disturbed yesterday and day before though, after penning this!

While I'm normal, handling my day to day stuff as usual now, this is stuck in my mind, no more as a remorse but more as a learning/ dispassionate observation - and might be years before it gets unstuck -

• Going through the videos, hearing everyone out, listening to the cops, revisiting the accident spot, etc. one thing is clear - if there was someone who could have avoided/ mitigated that accident, at least like how it happened, it was me - I have been though a gazillion tricky situations, and almost always had the right instinct/ reaction - except when it mattered between someone's life and death
• I could have stopped 5 seconds earlier, or pulled into the curb - I did not. Was it the familiarity of that road, knowing that people will overtake in the wrong side at that curve and move back to their track? Was it the assumption that I'm in a Thar, with my headlights, flashed my high beam, and there's no way I'll not have been visible, and that vehicle will move right now - until it did not? I think I started tying myself into a knot with that headlight (from the first screenshot in the OP), and it was too late the way things unraveled
• Irrespective - knowing what I do, I was the only person who could have stepped out of the way. And I did not. The bike might have still gotten into a crash/ had a fall - may be broken bones or even impalement. But might have lived nevertheless

No, I am not saying this as part of some beating myself up ritual. This has made me even more defensive - I was never a bullying Thar driver, but even from my Indica/ Getz days, used to have this subconscious right-of-way concept in my head. That's more or less subdued by defensiveness, at least more often than not. And it is more peaceful letting everyone who's in a hurry to head to their destiny that many microseconds earlier.


I have driven about 9,000 KM since the accident. Started enjoying the scenes around the drive more, nature is truly beautiful if we give it the attention she deserves!

Originally Posted by jaysheth

...
Expecting the other vehicle to get in the correct lane is the most natural expectation.
...

My dad used to say (late 80's/ early 90's) that we should drive like everyone else is going to hit us, and should be prepared to avoid them.

After this accident, I'm trying to apply that more. Defensive driving is easier said than done in our roads, but one can still try!

Originally Posted by masterChief007

..
This might be unpopular opinion but I really hate oncoming LED lights, maybe because I have to wear glasses, I get immense glare from the oncoming LED headlights
...

Those were actually modified/ higher power ones apparently!

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

..
what if I had left 5 mins early or late and several other questions.
...
Here’s a suggestion by one of my friend who is currently studying MA in Clinical Psychology.
...

Thank you for your support and suggestions, bro! I too had the same thought - I could have started back home a little earlier. Or later. But yeah, I had to tell this tale...

Originally Posted by EvilZombie

..
On the topic of Dashcam, I always thought of getting one but was worried it may mess up my car warranty.

All dashcams come with a connector for the 12v port, so it's just plugging in like you plug a phone for charging. Moreover, even the hardwire kits do not touch any wires but piggy back on couple of fuses - I chose cabin light fuse (for always on connector and ICE fuse for Acc connector), and completely reversible of required.

I'd recommend dashcams with capacitor (instead of Li-ion batteries) though, just as an added safety.

Originally Posted by satish.gawai

..
The first thing I will do is to purchase the nice dashcams for my vehicles.

Thanks and have a speedy recovery.

Thanks, and please do get the dashcam!

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

Where's the dashcam video being talked about here though?

I do not know about the cops, but I will never put it in the public domain. Seeing someone crash into my vehicle to their death is not something I want to ever share.

Like I said in the OP, the sole reason for this thread is to encourage everyone to get a dashcam. That's all.

Originally Posted by CarML

...
Modern motorbikes are equipped with very powerful LED headlights and are equally dangerous as four wheelers when driven with high beam.
...

This will never happen - but I hope someone in the power corridors bans white LEDs, esp. modifying then into moving stadium flood lights.

Originally Posted by ashvek3141

...

Having said that , could you or someone who has a gotten one can share a few details / models of the dashcam to source from Amazon maybe?

Aside, wouldn't it be prudent to get the dashcam hardwired and let it continue recording even when the car is parked?
...
What would be the pros / cons of doing this instead of connecting it to the 12V port?
...
But if there is no passenger in the co-driver seat, than ideally airbags on the LHS shouldn't be deployed. Atleast, this is what I used to think.

This is what I have now - https://amzn.eu/d/iaUTG6t - switched to these as I wanted GPS speed recording with the video.

This is what I had when I had the accident - https://amzn.eu/d/5OBS8Ik - if GPS is not required, I'll still recommend this if this is the form factor you like/ need.

Nexdigitron are official distributors for 70mai and DDPAI. Though the DDPAI app is kinda crappy, they have more options with capacitors instead of a battery - I'll not want a Li-ion to sit under the hot sun if it's avoidable...

Hardwiring is a no-brainer, I've done it for quite a few of my friends since this accident. Except for the additional effort, there is no con of done properly.

About the airbag logic - I'm baffled even more with what you've said. Maybe someone from the industry can help understand why airbags are fired even when there are no one in those seats - seems to be adding repair costs unnecessarily.

Originally Posted by Amrit@wheels

...
I can only imagine what a 135km/hr impact would have looked like, no matter what the vehicle is.
...
Sending you a big hug. Chin up.

I do not want post anything on the bike, but here is what my Thar's chassis looked like. Quite a few didn't belive this was caused by a bike accident - I'll add more details soon in my ownership thread -

Originally Posted by sgmuser

Oh that's some seriously lucky bloke you are. You're blessed and the guardian angel was sitting right next you on this day. It's traumatic but look at the positive side. You're in a solidly built vehicle and sitting high. I think you did good not just to you but as well to your whole family by choosing this vehicle on that day. Imagine this is being a small car.
...
I don't see any attempt of him to slow down, stop, change lane at all in this whole story.
...
personally pls try to avoid night drives as much as possible. Start early in the morning like 5 onwards and leave the city by 6 or 7 if it's a long drive.
...

You're bang on - call it luck, blessing, whatever, but was there that has made me go through this and yet be fit enough to tell this story. I'm truly blessed that way!

The biker trys to lean to his left into his lane right when he was less than a meter (my guesstimate) from collision. Too little too late... Let's not get into the why or what part though, I'll truly like to keep this on the dashcam itself and nothing else...

Originally Posted by efgritesh

...

Just out of curiosity, wondering how a vehicle with ADAS might have reacted to this situation. would it break completely to avoid impact, while still maintaing the lane. It might also be useful in leagal defence similar to dashcams in such scenarios i guess.

If configured right, ADAS might have applied my brakes to a standstill much before, maybe saved the day. But there is no saying that just because I stopped, the other person would have avoided me (though the biker tries to avoid my Thar too late in the sequence).

Automated drive, if it could divert both vehicles away from each other safely, maybe... But what's the point in automating driving - I hope I don't live to see that as the primary mode of travel!

[Amrit@wheels]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

I do not want post anything on the bike, but here is what my Thar's chassis looked like. Quite a few didn't belive this was caused by a bike accident - I'll add more details soon in my ownership thread -

Attachment 2551705

Wow, even I wouldn't have believed it in the first instance. I just want to send you the strength to recover from this tragic event. Hopefully, your Thar gets back to you in its full glory.

[true_sedan]

Glad to see the OP came out of this unscathed atleast physically. Mental trauma only time can heal it. Without the DASHCAM footage, it is the word of the OP against the bike driver. And in cases like this, the court will side with the economically weaker section of the two. That has been the unfortunate norm so far. In majority of the cases the economically weaker section always files an FIR to get some compensation. And this DASHCAM footage saved the OP from being accused of driving at 135kmph on the opposite side of the road. All the bystanders will magically disappear and you will be left alone tomorrow. So always have a DASHCAM.

The biggest enemy of dashcam:
The auto start stop system. Deactivate this useless feature as soon as you get into a car. In some instances the last video will not be saved to memory card if the car is shutdown abruptly. This happened in my XUV700.

[amavin]

Originally Posted by true_sedan

The biggest enemy of dashcam:
The auto start stop system. Deactivate this useless feature as soon as you get into a car. In some instances the last video will not be saved to memory card if the car is shutdown abruptly. This happened in my XUV700.

On the other end of the spectrum, its the VAG group's hare-brained design of their primary cigarette lighters being powered on all the time (even without ignition, even when the car is parked). There are many unfortunate blokes (including me) that realized this tad too late and had to get the battery replaced.

[amahale]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

So I request each one of you. Urge you. Do not drive without a dashcam. Some cars like the XUV7OO or the Hyundai Exter come with one from the factory. I hope others too follow this, and provide dashcams as a standard equipment. Until then, please forget sunfilms, ICE, seat covers and mats - get a dashcam as your first accessory when you buy a new car.[/left]

I totally agree; each car should have front and back dashcam and if possible a 360 degree cam. My XUV700 came with 360 degree cam and it has already helped me in a road rage situation with a two wheeler. In my case the incident would not have been captured if not for the side wide angle cam fitted below the ORVM.

Originally Posted by efgritesh

Just out of curiosity, wondering how a vehicle with ADAS might have reacted to this situation. would it break completely to avoid impact, while still maintaing the lane. It might also be useful in leagal defence similar to dashcams in such scenarios i guess.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

If configured right, ADAS might have applied my brakes to a standstill much before, maybe saved the day. But there is no saying that just because I stopped, the other person would have avoided me (though the biker tries to avoid my Thar too late in the sequence).

It might not have helped (if it was a XUV700); as per the XUV700 manual:

"Only rear end of the preceding vehicles are identified by the system and warning or braking as needed will be provided by the system. System may not react or providing warning or braking for a crossing or oncoming vehicle. System may not react to a stationary vehicle if the vehicle is stationed in crossing or oncoming pose."

[Guna]

Scary and unfortunate incident.
Did you try switching off the headlights when you realised that the vehicle was heading right at you? Sometimes the glare of the headlights blinds and putting them off helps the other driver.

[narayans80]

I've love reading your posts right from your Getz days. What you experienced is something no one ever wants to go through in their lifetime.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Going through the videos, hearing everyone out, listening to the cops, revisiting the accident spot, etc. one thing is clear - if there was someone who could have avoided/ mitigated that accident, at least like how it happened, it was me -
I could have stopped 5 seconds earlier, or pulled into the curb - I did not.

Barreling down straight at you is one thing. Crashing into a bigger vehicle is another. Even the suicidal pullingo don't do it. It is human psychology to expect the same. I would have done the same in your shoes.

I once had a scary incident when a TNSTC bus was barrelling at me on my lane on Tuticorin-Tiruchendur road. Road was wide enough with a proper shoulder and I had about 10 seconds to react, enough to slow from 5th to 2nd and total stop on the shoulder. The bus passed went past and went into his lane at an awkward angle for a big vehicle at speed.

3 seconds (a direct result of the relative velocity of 180 kph) is way less to register danger and react. Heck it took me 2 days to digest your opening post and finally gather courage to respond. Yours is the second event I've spent thinking over after Shishir's near fatal accident in his Matiz (10year old Matiz saved 4 members and faded in the sunset).

The key takeaway I see in your case is the supportive second 2-wheeler who was the prime witness, the forensic evidence from dashcam that corroborated your side of the story and your own support system.

[Apex1815]

Hello Sir,

It really gave me goose bumps while going through your experience.
Good to know that finally you are out of this ordeal and the dash cam of your vehicle helped you to come out of this.

I was considering buying Dash from Two/Three months but some how did not explore much about it.

Recently saw a govt. Notification of 10 yrs imprisonment + 7 Lacs INR fine for hit & run case. The Law has no provision for penalizing the Splendours/ Activas which pop out of bushes on the highways posing risk to the high speed vehicles. Therefore, it is better to have a good quality Dashcam which can serve as an evidence in such situations.

Status of My Dash cam:
Yesterday I have ordered a Dashcam (Front/Rear) for my TATA Nexon and Today it will be delivered.

[yashg]

Horrible and horrendous. Thank you for sharing this with us. I can imagine it must have been difficult, reliving those painful memories. Sorry for you and the biker.

You got extremely lucky there. Not just because of the dashcam but also with the biker's family not going after you for vengeance. IN such cases, especially if the people are connected, they will just go after the bigger vehicle no matter who was at fault and what evidence/eye witnesses are there.

I have been using dashcam for years now. But I think it is time to upgrade. Get one with better night vision and a rear one also seems equally important. I am placing an order for a new one right way.

I have in the past used a VIOFO dashcam with a separate GPS attachment. It required a special video viewer to view the video with GPS information. Do present day dashcams with GPS record it on the screen itself? The speed and location info?

[silverado]

I really appreciate you sharing this with all of us here. Firstly a big THANKS to you sir.

It was scary to read about what you have gone through, but also a very important thread. Why cant Dashcams be mandated in all the vehicles from factory just like Fasttag? i beleive even bikes should have dashcams as mandatory equipment which should be tamper proof.

I have fitted a dashcam in Nano which is actually a SJCAM action camera, and it was helpfull in one of the minor accident where in my wife was at fault. It helped her understand her mistake.

This is a thread i am going to share with my friends who have been till date lazy about fitting dashcams.