[faustus77]

220kmph
Hi
It is a wise thing you did.Avoid confrontation when you are with a family.That is the best way.If forced to stop, try and stop at a somewhat crowded locality.Strangers do have a soft corner for the family guy.
You can also carry a long luggage chain,the ones which have a combination lock at one end.
Regards

[Rajith]

Originally Posted by 220kmph

Fellow BHP-ians, I ask you for advice - what would you do in this situation? Istill don't know what was bothering the bikers. Also, I would soon be heading back on the same route. What precautions should I take?

Thanks in advance.

Mods- kindly post

Hey dont be so scare friend.Hope your are from kerala and incident is also seems to be in kerala.Be bold and could have stopped in any small town.More over kerala police is v strict.You could drived down direct to any near by Police station or called help line.More over this route is highly frequented by Hi-way police taveras.

be happy,bold and just cruise man.

By the way which car you where driving, like hatchback,sedan,suv or luxury segment?.

[ramzsys]

Just witnessed this:

I was waiting first before the red light at Hosa road signal towards Bangalore. maroon Ikon with 2 guys came from the service road and parked it at 45 degree angle to the road before a Volvo.

A pedestrian crossing the road(tucked in, office going outlook) said something to the driver, driver retorted back, for which the pedestrian retorted in some strong language with hand gesture, after which both the guys in the car got down and chased him.

The pedestrian too tried to give some blow back which he received, but realizing that it is in vain he tried to run. The 2 guys chased him.

Meanwhile the signal turned green and i was the first car, i drove away.

[thoma]

Don't know if I'm posting in the right thread, but I am of the strong opinion that the law should be made strict for people driving vehicles not in their names. Be it father's car or friend's car or your department's car.

A)
People who never care for the law in India when they go abroad tend to abide by the laws quietly and strictly. Have we thought why? Because the laws are strict and there is minimal chance for escaping from the law.

B)
People who drive their own car tend to drive more carefully. Why? Because the driver (who is the owner himself) knows the pinch of his hard earned money.

Whenever I drive other people's car, I tend to be extra careful. But the drivers who drive other's car has a reverse mentality - that it is not his car and he don't care much. This has to be changed. Whenever a person is driving another person's or organization's car, in case of accidents, the legal liability on the driver should be made multi-fold.

[.sourov]

I would like to report a incident which happened just few days ago.
I was travelling from Jayadeva towards Silkboard, I was doing normal speed of around 40-45. The car in front of me suddenly braked as a guy came in front of him, even I braked hard and a auto behind slammed a big dent in my rear bumper. I got really angry but luckily kept my cool, I got down from my car took the keys from the auto and drove ahead and parked my car by the side of the road. After dragging his auto the autowala came running behind me and started shouting that its not his fault as I was the one who braked hard. Few local people gathered and strangely they started supporting me, I quietly told the autowala that he needs to pay for my repairs otherwise he is not getting back his keys, in the mean time I had already called my roommates and they came running to the spot. I took the autowala to the Sagar auto showroom in Bannerghata road along with my friends and showed the SA the damage. The SA told I don’t need to replace the bumper a touch up would do and would cost me around Rs. 1000. I told the autowala to pay the money otherwise we are going to the police. He tried to call a lot of people but again lucky for me none picked up and who did where in other side of the town. Then he tried a trick saying he doesn’t have that much amount of money and I need to accompany him to his Mahajan which I immediately declined. After a lot of hassle and a good support from my friends and the Sagar Auto employees we got Rs. 800 from him. I paid the rest 200 and got my car fixed.
When I told about this incident to my friends they started idolizing me as the guy to was able to extract money from the Bangalore autowala.

[.sourov]

Originally Posted by .sourov

I would like to report a incident which happened just few days ago.
I was travelling from Jayadeva towards Silkboard, I was doing normal speed of around 40-45. When I told about this incident to my friends they started idolizing me as the guy to was able to extract money from the Bangalore autowala.

hi Sourov,
Not sure whether I should agree with your actions here.
1. I hate Autodrivers. Period. However, there are always some decent ones amongst those rotten apples.
2. Assuming that you panic braked yourself, and the auto is not equipped with disc brakes (unlike us carwallahs), I do not think that the auto would have been able to stop in any cases. Yes, its his fault that he was not maintaining a safe distance.
3. How about lodging a FIR & claiming Insurance? Yeah. we do loose our NCBs :(

Probably the autodriver deserved what you did to him.

then again,as the saying goes "an eye for an eye..."

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

hi Sourov,
Not sure whether I should agree with your actions here.
1. I hate Autodrivers. Period. However, there are always some decent ones amongst those rotten apples.
2. Assuming that you panic braked yourself, and the auto is not equipped with disc brakes (unlike us carwallahs), I do not think that the auto would have been able to stop in any cases. Yes, its his fault that he was not maintaining a safe distance.
3. How about lodging a FIR & claiming Insurance? Yeah. we do loose our NCBs :(

Probably the autodriver deserved what you did to him.

then again,as the saying goes "an eye for an eye..."

Hi Aqualeo

Actually my reason for the conversation was if I was able to stop in time why not the auto. He must have been traveling fast or as you said not maintaining a safe distance. From behavior it seemed that he was a decent guy, but I was not ready to take the risk by going with him to this known place.

About claiming insurance, I initially thought of doing so but when the SA told that its not required I decided against it.

I am staying in Bangalore since Nov 2009 and during this time these autowalas have charged around thousands of extra rupees from me so that feeling was always within me .

Cheers
.sourov

[coriollis]

I got my driving license as soon as I turned 18. I have been driving since then. I may have covered around 400k Kilometers till now.
Road Rage is such a phenomenon that occurs in split seconds. You seem to have no control over your thought process whatsoever.
I am 30 now, and I can say only for last 3 years that I have controlled my emotions. It is never easy to do so..
You have to always keep in mind certain facts:
1. Everybody other than yourself is also a human.
2. Humans do tend to make mistake and disown them.
3. Each and every person(including yourself) on the road is Angry/ Frustrated/ Happy/ Tense/ Frightened.. Etc Etc about somethings.
4. We are driving machines and they are bound to fail.
5. People will always be in hurry.
Additional points are most welcome.

Now as to 'How To Avoid Road Rage?'
I do follow certain simple steps.

1. Count 100 to 1 backwards taking deep breaths.
2. When I know I have done some mistake, I apologize straight away..
3. Never ever use foul language.
And my new habit.
4. I visualize my sons face every time I am switching to the angry mode. It calms me down.
More suggestions welcome!

I find these considerations and methods to fight instant reaction to the occurrence very helpful.
Road rage is the worst way to suffer or give sufferings to other people. Families can be torn apart in one single misleading moment. I mean it to the heart!
Have a happy and calm and safe driving.
And thank you for reading such a philosophical stuff.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by coriollis

Now as to 'How To Avoid Road Rage?'
I do follow certain simple steps.
1. Count 100 to 1 backwards taking deep breaths.
2. When I know I have done some mistake, I apologize straight away..
3. Never ever use foul language.
And my new habit.
4. I visualize my sons face every time I am switching to the angry mode. It calms me down.
More suggestions welcome!

Good list there coriollis! I would like to add a couple, if I may:

5. No hand gestures or facial expressions as far as possible.
The first reaction after an accident is usually the one that expresses all emotion. This usually has a boomerang effect as it will only elicit a relevant response from the other person(s) involved in the accident.

Just this morning in a residential society, a biker hit the rear right door of my Nano (similar to a tboning) as he was accelerating and didnt notice me. I pulled over and had a look at the door which has a slight scratch. I had an option to go ballistic at the biker but I dont know why I chose not to. I just walked over to him and asked if he was hurt. He was surprised at the question and said no while checking his bike handle. He apologised, I nodded and then we went our ways.
The scratch will be there or gone one way or the other, but at least I did not ruin my day. Not sure what would happen if (god forbid) there is a dent or something, but I hope I will be able to keep my wits around me and have a sane discussion than a mudslinging argument. No fistfights for me. And if I see the other person is about to get violent or cannot be civil enough to discuss, I do my best to:

6. stay locked in the car and keep all windows closed.

[grazd]

@coriollis , thanks for the tips.

I've personally found that instrumental/classical music works well for me. Especially the flute music. I've also tried it with friend who have been prone to stress while driving and it has been of use to them. Instrumental music is also less distracting since you don't have to focus on the words.

[mooza]

Saw this disturbing incident unfold in front of my eyes yesterday.

A car in front of me grazes a motorcyclist's rear wheel while overtaking. The biker loses his balance, but luckily recovers and straightens out. The car guy tries to drive further, I assume, since there was no damage.

But the biker then overtakes the car, and stops his bike in front of the car, effectively blocking the car.

The biker gets down and comes menacingly towards the car, and the car guy rolls down his window to talk.

But the biker physically pulls the car driver out through the car window (a really strong biker!), and slaps the car guy several times, then releases his collar, starts his bike, and continues on his way.

As I drive away, through my rear view mirror, I see the car guy slowly getting back into his car.

I wonder how any of us would have reacted if we were in the car driver's shoes !

[racer_m]

Originally Posted by mooza

Saw this disturbing incident unfold in front of my eyes yesterday.

A car in front of me grazes a motorcyclist's rear wheel while overtaking. The biker loses his balance, but luckily recovers and straightens out. The car guy tries to drive further, I assume, since there was no damage.

I wonder how any of us would have reacted if we were in the car driver's shoes !

Damage or no damage, If I have brushed any fellow motorist(and no falls or injuries) then I will acknowledge it by apologetic gesture or words if possible (no need to get down though).
Driving ahead without stopping will indicate many problems:
. I dont care attitude
. leads to more retaliation as seen in your post
. filing of a hit n run case against you

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by mooza

I wonder how any of us would have reacted if we were in the car driver's shoes !

well first things first, I would not roll down my window enough for anyone to pull me out.
but that is when I am responding outside of the immediate situation.

The problem is that we end up on the receiving side because we dont choose between retaliating in self defense or taking the sane route out and stay locked in till cops arrive. I do understand that its difficult to do that sitting in a car. But if I am defensive enough not to get out and punch it out, then I should be totally defensive and not open the window/ door at all. Apologies can be seen though glass too.

I admit, if somebody beat me up I would probably start my car and run over the bike before he sat on it. Not good in any way for my (non existent) police record and definitely not recommended, but that would be my reaction if someone hit me. Which is why I choose to keep windows closed and stay inside if something like this happens.
But then I would also stop if I brushed against someone.

Edit: maybe in this case the driver either was too shocked to react or he believed that his driving deserved a few slaps.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by mooza

I wonder how any of us would have reacted if we were in the car driver's shoes !

In the first place I would apologise if I was definitely my mistake, no egos here. However I would also not allow myself to be roughed up by someone who might be responsible equally for the incident.

Just the other day I saw this lady walking while talking on mobile. I did honk a couple of times but did not get any response. I slowed down as I passed her but her sudden movment caused the OVRM to hit her hand and mobile to fall down. I stopped and waited for reaction although I was not responsible. The lady hereself apologized for being careless. If she had made a ruckus about the incident, I would have told her sternly that it was her fault.

[coriollis]

Originally Posted by mooza

Saw this disturbing incident unfold in front of my eyes yesterday.
But the biker physically pulls the car driver out through the car window (a really strong biker!), and slaps the car guy several times
I wonder how any of us would have reacted if we were in the car driver's shoes !

As I have said earlier in my post, apologise at the very instance of mistake. The above said car guy should have apologised in the first place and inquired about the safety of the biker, instead he sped off. His act of not stopping provoked the biker and he retorted to violent means.
I'm not defending the biker's act in any way, but his life was in jeopardy for couple of moments. I am just saying that these days people are irritated by very small things and this is mighty big thing.So he might have escaped with minor scoldings if he had said sorry.

[normally_crazy]

Road Rage in Mumbai