[AJ56]

Regarding the bikers, no matter how another vehicle is driving, as law abiding citizens we do not have the right to chase or block it or attempt to intimidate the people inside in anyway (self defence being the exception).

I know reality is different but at least that’s what a civilised society should aspire to, if the car is very reckless the maximum one can do is take its number down and report it to the cops.

[Bh.P]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

...

My friend had gone through a cardiac arrest and the timely medical help saved his life, things might have been different if our young friends have behaved differently. We realised that our saviours did not leave their contact details.

I always wish to believe all are good at heart, and this helped in reinforcing my theory.

Glad things turned out fine for your friend.

I have always had this dilemma: God forbid, if I happen to be in a similar situation, should I do what you did (take the patient by car, honking/flashing away to glory), or should I call an ambulance and use it's right of way?

Not an easy answer, especially when one is mentally burdened with an emergency situation. But hoping that this discussion will prepare me for the event, which I will hopefully never face.

[Thad E Ginathom]

"Cultural Differences"

Whilst I have taught myself (with my wife's help) to mostly just let this stuff go and not let my blood temperature get heated, there is a percentage of Chennai drivers who are just plain bullies, and it does not surprise me that, once in a while, somebody stands up to them. Of course, our bikers are not known for setting good examples.

I had not heard that Kerala drivers were angels either, at least not in recent years.

[S1200]

This Saturday, I was coming home back on my Bajaj Avenger dropping off my sister to a function. 70-80 meters before my home, at the speed breaker at a crossroad inside my society, 4 boys (30-35 age) on 2 motorcycles and 2 women (55 & 70 years old) were gathered and discussing on some serious matter. When I reached there, I stopped and asked the matter. They showed me a mobile phone handset and said this was here on the road. The woman also asked me, does it belong to you or do you know whose phone it is?

Two women were passing that crossroad and the bikers saw the mobile phone was there on the road. The bikers stopped and said to the women, there is a phone on the road. But everyone denied that the phone belongs to any of them and all of them got worried that someone has lost his/her phone. They were discussing about whose phone it might be and were stopped there and were waiting if the owner could come back there or receive a call on that phone. (The lady picked the phone from road which was on vibration mode so keep vibrating in her hand ).

When I reached, first I got relief that it is not my sister's phone. After knowing the scenario, I went thinking that, how good people, society is. The bikers made to notice the women that, that might be your phone fallen on the road, instead of picking and flying away with that phone. The women when told by the biker, also denied that it belongs to them which otherwise would be easily got a smartphone at free. This was very heartwarming for me come to know that how good people are around us.

The woman asked me if I can unlock to reach to owner. The phone had the owner’s picture on the lock screen who was unknown to me and asked all of them whether anyone can recognize him but to fail. Then I turned the ringtone to sound mode and asked the women to keep it with them and not to go to low battery, they will soon receive a call. Then she could handover to the owner after confirming the person’s identity who will come to pick up the phone, but she had daughters only and were not confident her house members could do the job of identity. All of them handed the phone to me as I was living 6 houses away from the place and then bikers then left and after some more discussion, the two women left too. I was blown away with how much trustworthy the society is.

After 20 minutes, the phone got a call from his elder cousin to whom I told the scenario and he came to pick up the phone along with a person living in my neighborhood. We talked with the boy who owned that phone and asked to unlock the screen, but pattern lock is quite difficult to tell in numbers, and the cousin asked him to come there. But it was taking some time and I felt like I was making them uncomfortable to do the handover. I handed over the phone and requested to call me from this number, which I received promptly within 10 minutes saying “It is my phone, Thank you very much <my surname> SIR”. A huge grin on my face appeared and this made my day .

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by Bh.P

Glad things turned out fine for your friend.

should I call an ambulance and use it's right of way?

Not an easy answer, especially when one is mentally burdened with an emergency situation.

Agreed that it is not an easy answer. But waiting for an ambulance on that day would have cost us more time is my feel. Not sure what is the typical waiting time for an ambulance in Bangalore

[paragsachania]

One of the mornings last week, when my dad was headed to a neighborhood in a cab to catch up with a friend of his who had flown to India for a short visit, he came across an interesting scene near Kodigehalli Junction that he narrated to me where a couple of boys were helping someone by pushing their Indica.

Since the road leading towards Kodigehalli from Hebbal side has a gradient, the 3 folks were really struggling to push the car. Due to the presence of an Auto stand here and perennial wrong siders, the usable width of the road too is hardly 1 lane on a normal day. With this Indica barely crawling, trailing vehicles were unable to pass this and in-turn resulted in a mini jam of sorts.

Out of the blue, he then noticed an elderly “Gentleman” riding on the wrong side like the rest, stop his 2 wheeler, park the vehicle on its side stand and then started to gesture a beeline of 2 wheelers who were riding on the wrong side to beat the signal (usual affair here) by waving his hand indicating them all to move closer to the pavement and widen the usability of the road so that the car can be pushed further onto the left and rest of the trailing traffic pass this car. Most of the 2 wheelers from the wrong side except few literally stopped right there totally forgetting about whatever urgencies they had which had till now. The presence of an auto stand here too was blessing in disguise as few of the auto drivers joined the boys and started to push the car giving it the much needed momentum and was finally parked beside the pavement.

[mreccentric]

Just today I had a different experience. There was a bike rider, who possibly had a modified silencer, and also his bike seemed like out of fitness certificate (according to the RTO norms) since it would be over 20 years old. I spotted this bike near Attur Layout @ Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Road, Yelahanka.

The person had used a black mask to cover his number plate on the rear side. The visibility of number was zero, though he seemed to have used IND number plate for his vehicle. I tried checking his bike's front number plate, but he took a turn just then. I couldn't capture the photograph of the vehicle, though I was interested to take a snap for once. My vehicle doesn't have a dash cam too, so I missed capturing it though I could had followed him further.

So, is this a new way to escape from traffic fines or violation receipts?

[Kottayamkaran]

Originally Posted by mreccentric

The person had used a black mask to cover his number plate on the rear side.

A common incident in Kerala after the installation of numerous AI cameras by government for capturing traffic violations. If caught, they are charged with hefty fines and their DLs are suspended.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by gadadhar

My friend had gone through a cardiac arrest and the timely medical help saved his life, things might have been different if our young friends have behaved differently. We realised that our saviours did not leave their contact details.

Glad to know you reached the hospital in time & I hope your friend comes back to good health in no times.

At the same time - did you guys first call for an ambulance? For anything other than non-critical / routine hospital visits - its always best to rely on an ambulance rather than a personal car. An ambulance has trained staff and equipment - if you report a chest pain - they can arrange for a specialist cardiac ambulance which also has a doctor onboard. Ambulance with its proper visibility and siren - gets excellent right of way on our roads even in heavy traffic conditions (god bless us Indians) & the chances of reaching hospital faster are definitely better.

For any outsider - a horn-glaring, light flashing & fast driven car inside city confines - is rude. And reactions are inevitable. Additionally - we are not exactly trained to drive like a fiend on city roads, fast enough to safely save a life. In fact - such adrenaline fueled and panic mixed driving, can have catastrophic consequences for the patient, the others in the car AND others on the road in case of a mishap.

I always have the list of 24x7 ambulance / cardiac ambulance service providers handy in my phone. And as a rule - I NEVER drive to a hospital in emergency situations of a patient. Better that the experts do their stuff.

That aside - for sure you got some good karma for saving a life. Take care.

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Glad to know you reached the hospital in time & I hope your friend comes back to good health in no times.

At the same time - did you guys first call for an ambulance?

It never occurred to us during that moment. True that an ambulance is more equipped and faster to ferry, but the worry is the time it can take to reach us or it might be the Indian mindset and things might be lot different in a place like Bangalore.

[KrisTvpm]

Did a Thiruvanantapuram -- Bengaluru trip just last weekend.

And what I dreaded & have successfully avoided for last 10+ years on long trips - tyre puncture - happened

My XUV5OO has Continental ContiCross contact LX2 tyres on all 4 and has performed very well w/o any incidents so far.

It happened somewhere between Tirunelveli -- Madurai route, just as I was starting to ascend a flyover. A sarkari Bolero honked multiple times to alert me of the puncture on LHS rear tyre.

Parked the car on extreme LHS lane, placed warning triangle some 10m behind my car & set about swapping with spare tyre.

Just then couple of young guys - must be in their early 20's - came by bike, parked theirs just beside mine and inquired if I needed help.

I told can do it myself, thanks!

But it turned out the wheel lugnuts won't come off so easy due to not being loosened in quite many years. Tried spraying very small quantity of WD40 to loosen dirt, still won't budge.

Almost 30-45min passed by then.

The guys then called up their friend, who came in a pickup Bolero, used his non-OEM wrench, even fell down once while trying to stand on the wrench, and finally removed all 5 nuts successfully. Meanwhile they called up highway patrol, upon getting to know they're held up somewhere, called up another friend who came with a "puncher" repair walla, took the punctured tyre, fixed up the hole caused by a rather large zipper closure bit, helped me fix the spare tyre.

I guessed they must be expecting "some" monetary gain, since they helped me extensively, handed a ₹500 note to them, but to my surprise they won't take it! Just asked me to pay ₹150 for the puncturewala for his efforts, told me they're like my brothers, don't expect any money, and say bye-bye with a friendly advise to drive safe!

Couldn't but contrast this to what I'd have faced in city! Nobody would've helped, and I'd be also hearing some choice expletives for blocking their way :-(

Thank God for those 2 young villagers, may you get repaid for your good deeds in some way! And may I repay my debt to you in some way to someone!

[silverado]

Originally Posted by KrisTvpm

But it turned out the wheel lugnuts won't come off so easy due to not being loosened in quite many years.

Does this mean you are not rotating your tyres? I assume you send your car for service every year, and the service centre honestly does the job of rotation.

[Roadside-Friend]

Though there are still great souls out there to help, one can get into tricky situations too. Why not use preventive solutions like tyre Sealants?

[dicor]

Tipping Isn't Always the Answer: A Different Look at Offering Help

While many urban experiences highlight the overwhelm of unsolicited help, let's remember that offering aid can be a natural and fulfilling act. In smaller towns/villages, it's often deeply woven into the fabric of life.

It's true that tipping culture flourishes in big cities, sometimes due to the surprise of encountering unexpected assistance. However, assuming everyone needs financial compensation can sometimes miss the genuine spirit of help.

Let's broaden our perspective: helping someone in need can be its own reward, a way to connect and contribute to our communities. Remember those who offered you a hand at one point, and consider paying it forward by extending a helping hand yourself.

Instead of automatically reaching for your wallet, try initiating a genuine connection. Ask if they need assistance, what might be helpful, or simply offer a kind word of gratitude. This opens a dialogue, allows them to choose what support they'd like, and fosters a more meaningful exchange.

By prioritizing empathy and understanding in our approach to helping, we can create a culture of mutual support that extends beyond the limitations of currency. It's not about seeking praise, but about reawakening the inherent human desire to care for one another.

So, join the movement! Look for opportunities to lend a hand, be it offering directions, carrying groceries, or simply listening with a kind heart. Together, we can rewrite the narrative and make helping others a cherished act of connection, not just a transactional exchange.

[vjvarun]

Thats exactly what we should be doing! Wisest words on the forum. Thanks Dicor!