[Octane_Power]

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard

This incident happened an hour back which has completely spoilt my day and shaken me.

StrangeWizard, where did this exactly happen brother ? Was it Kandivali or somewhere else ? Really sad to hear such incidences, because they don't spoil just one day but affect us badly for quite some time.

I will narrate you two incidence which occurred to me; cuz often when we hear similar incidences it is quite relaxing to learn that others have such bad days too..

1. I have this habit of using my bike's passing light on oncoming cars or vehicles when they unncecessarily use full beam, until they don't lower it.
So this qualis some 200 metres coming from the opposite side (an interior road in Malad) was on his full beam, so as usual I flashed my beam twice or thrice and then held it there itself.
He got so irked by it, that he cut me very badly. I turned back and saw a political party's sticker on the number plate and I got the reason behind that arrogance.

2. This was on Mahavir Nagar link road. My friend had bought a new Honda City and we 4 friends were out on a leisurely stroll at around 11 in the night.
While returning Malad from Borivali, this guy in SX4 with an ice-cream cone in 1 hand and a kid on his lap, without any warning or even looking to his right, came straight on the main link road from Mahavir Nagar rd, and my friend managed to brake in time but just kissed the front bumper and it suffered a medium dent.
This guy got down angrily, pulled my friend out slapped him twice; one of my friend intervened and tried to stop him and guess what even he got slapped twice (all this going on with continuous expletives from his mouth).
After he took our residence numbers and noted the car number, he said luckily for us his office was closed(local cable + political operator) or else his subordinates would have beaten all of us badly.
We pleaded him, our parents intervened, told him we are "normal junta" we will get it repaired, my friend asked him to take the car to Vitesse and he will pay for the damages cuz he knew the manger there.
And the repair was nothing but a slight push from the inside of the bumper and little touch up which was done free of cost.

All this thrashing and insult was taken by us even though it wasn't our mistake.
We had no option but to keep quite. You just cannot go down to their level and fight them.
They are on the look out for such incidences, because it satisfies their ego thrashing people and showing them who's the boss.

Happy Diwali brother. Forget about it, I know it takes time, it keeps replaying in the head but try.


-Bhargav

[Sheel]

Stand your ground if you guys can. Incidents like these, gives these guys much more leverage and confidence to judge everyone by the same yardstick.

No, I am not asking to get beaten, but retaliate, they don't expect this.

On the road, it isn't that anyone including me doesn't face this. Forget politico goons for a moment. Don't you get irked by those pesky two wheelers/three wheelers and the cab kind which tail gates & keeps flashing?

Please keep patience and try to turn a blind eye, ignore, if you can't fight.

You guys have run-ins with these goons and I have had with Police. I stood my ground wherever I could/can (without any political connections)

We have enough problems/headaches in our daily life to even notice this, but everyone gets irked. I too get. I simply shake my head and move on, it is difficult, but worth, else one would keep picking up fights almost everyday.

[Diesel_convert]

I think dash cams are becoming more and more of necessity in india, too many road rage incidents.

I know people think pepper spray is for women only , but I think it's great to have one in the car.

With the cost of publication close to zero with YouTube, we can do some real damage to them.

[srishiva]

First thing to do is get this out of your mind. These guys after getting the high from such encounters move on to something else.

I remember a influential journalist (a don like person himself) telling me, they are rowdies as long as you dont protest and give in meekly. But then it doesnt always hold true. The whole collection of people have to protest against such incidents which does not happen.

Forget political goons even a auto driver or a cab driver behaves like that. I guess its inbuilt in their system to protest against people who lead a comfortable life in a unfair country

For me the things that pains the most is our attitude. We try to find a way of dividing ourselves for some reason and not coming up united. We can see this on numerous threads here. We forget the subject and start criticizing our citizens (country, state etc) and its not just for playing devils advocacy.

[hellmet]

This is something I've been trying off late. I find it hard but I'm improving:

Imagine you're traveling downstream a river sitting on a piece of wood floating with the flow of water. You're very sure to have the company of several other such logs and pieces of wood. There will be rocks, low branches, and other obstacles along your path. Some of these obstacles will slow you down or even endanger your very journey. Some of the logs will come out of nowhere and jump ahead of you.

But, what do you do? Do you get angry at the logs for cutting you off, or do you get mad at the rocks for being where they are? Do you say "Oh, rock, why are you a rock? Why don't you turn yourself into water so I can pass?" Those are things not in your control, so all you can do is continue with your journey.

Other people's driving behavior is not in your control, so it is best to ignore and not worry about what is not in our control.

Also, OP hasn't done anything to piss the politician off except for a useless honk. You should relax and get a chilled drink.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Hello,
I can understand your anger and the horror you faced too. I face this atleast once a week as my college is in Warje, Pune which has all possible white Scorpio's, Bolero's, Safari's and Fortuners. I have started retaliating nowadays whenever someone causes trouble to me on the road. My dad whenever in India keeps telling me to ignore these things. My basic point- Today it was me i managed to escape this idiot. Tomorrow it might be my brother, mom, friend or a fellow-bhpian who could suffer because of this idiot. I don't go and fight with them nor open my mouth. The projectors on my bike and the loud horn (thanks to Yamaha) help me a lot. Rest i do the same thing as they did with me. I know it is risky but as we say in hindi- 'latho ke bhoot baaton se nahi mante'. This is the case with these guys. We let this go and in no time we see their 'hardik shubhecha' banners. Anyway don't bother the scratches on your car and good that the auto-rickshaw guy did not trouble you much. Please avoid using your hand and mouth whenever you deal with anyone on the road.
Finally the most important thing here is you are safe. Now Don't think on this incident and Enjoy your Diwali

[GrammarNazi]

ANY incident of road rage can get rough within no time. Don't be adventurous, DO NOT RETALIATE ON THEIR FACE, it may add fuel to fire.

Keep safe, be smart. Its a good thing you drove away. By now we all know its a waste of time blaming the system, our voices are falling on deaf ears.

Yes, ofcourse at the same time we mustn't ignore this incident. This happens all around the country. But as regular travellers, however the police system is in whichever region, what we can ensure is that we use tech in the best way to keep safe.

PLEASE get a Dash cam (maybe like this one).

Again, Whether the Police uses it to investigate or it helps as proof in court, dash-cams will atleast give authorities an audit of events.

[StrangeWizard]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

StrangeWizard, where did this exactly happen brother ? Was it Kandivali or somewhere else ? Really sad to hear such incidences, because they don't spoil just one day but affect us badly for quite some time.



-Bhargav

Hey it happened at some road that connects Shimpoli to Charkop. Not sure of the exact area but I think its called RSC Road 43

[amtak]

Going forward, follow these simple steps and you would not have any issues in the future:

1. No matter how big or small a car is (even if it is a nano), if the numbers are in non-English fonts; make way for them.
2. Any flags on the cars/inside, give them way.
3. have your phone updated with speed dials.
4. Keep the number of the local police station in ur jurisdiction handy. Else, dial 100
5. ignorance is bliss on the road.

I am not saying this because I am scared of these people, but because I have been in the same situation. There is no point in fighting with these people. They are not worth our time and money. our family is important for us and no one, i repeat no one will feed them, once we are gone.



Happy Diwali. Move on. Buy a new watch

[PPS]

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard

I quickly rolled up the windows.

In such a situation this is the best thing to do along with locking all your doors!
I was in a similar situation sometime back below Aarey flyover not involving any politico car when i was surrounded by a dozen people who got off a tempo & tried to intimidate me. Dialled 100 didn't work. There was a jam behind me. Stayed put in the car for 10mins. Finally the cops arrived, eased out the situation & i was on my home safely!

[500ContyCruiser]

Sorry state of affairs in this !ncredible !ndia! Unfortunately we Tax payers are the modern day labor class to take all the beatings for the no mistake of ours. We are too soft and helpless to be beaten by any Tom-Dick-Harry.

I have this habit of slowing down my car at the center of road (only in narrow lanes) when the opposite vehicle does not have the courtesy of going low beam even for a second, even after flashing multiple times. Luckily or unluckily this has helped a bit. At times get fear what if the other person is one of the goons. Trying to change my habit. But when really annoyed, I tend to do the same. :(

OT: I know it is always good to let these goons win and be calm not matter how much you are hurt for no mistake of yours. But, just for argument purpose, by letting these people win every time, are we not inviting more trouble in the long run? That is, these people will grow to be more AH's. As they know, they can get away with things, they will keep doing it, causing even more bigger problems to mango people.
Unfortunately, I don't have solution for this, nor I have influential background. But these goons need to be taught a lesson.

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard

This incident happened an hour back I was driving at a speed of around 40kmph and going straight. Then suddenly this Black Bolero with really wide wheels comes speeding from my right and cuts me off dangerously, I lost my temper and gave a long honk and was about to show my finger(which he saw in his RVM).
He braked hard and got out of the car. I quickly rolled up the windows. He comes to my window and tells me to come out so that he can show me who's boss.
My mistakes :
1- Should have controlled my temper and not reacted to him when he cut me off.
2- Should have noted down the car's number.

Hi mate, indeed a dreadful account of your incident. I often visit Mumbai and have seen many a time this type of irratic and irresponsible driving patterns there. You did the right thing but somewhat i would have handled the similar situation in a different way. Would have given him tit for tat there and then itself. Honestly speaking, such hooligans should be dealt in the "right" way.

Thanks

AD

[d_himan]

Discretion is the better part of valour. Well done to get away. 4 versus 1 is not a smart equation.

Would also advice you to keep a can of pepper spray in your car as a last resort measure. It can be utterly devastating to the attackers.

[ashtorque]

Its amazing that it is us who give power to these political parties to get such gifts in return. And hey, we are the tax payers!!!

@StrangeWizard You did the right thing by backing off and saving yourself. As they say 'Never mud wrestle with a pig'. But it certainly makes me think, how long can we ignore such torture. Just imagine what would have happened if he had hit any innocent person in an attempt to flee to save his own life? Would the system forgive him for the reasons he would have to say? Hell NO!
Do we expect our children to go through the same suffering? Are we actually fueling this goonda-gardi by ignoring it? Can we atleast start thinking about any solution? I think we are the well-educated, smarter and innovative lot of this country. There is no reason why we cant "think" of any solution to such problems. Not only road-rage but in general the trouble we face because of the local goons belonging to political parties.

Can something be done to smartly report or publish troubles faced by local goons? How long can the government ignore it? Something can be done anonymously. I am sure some NGOs can help. Well, I am willing to invest my time along with you.

MODS, not sure if this sounds revolutionary and against the guidelines. But isn't it a pity to have all these smart people together and not try to 'at least' think of a solution?

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by ashtorque

Its amazing that it is us who give power to these political parties to get such gifts in return. And hey, we are the tax payers!!!

@StrangeWizard You did the right thing by backing off and saving yourself. As they say 'Never mud wrestle with a pig'. But it certainly makes me think, how long can we ignore such torture. Just imagine what would have happened if he had hit any innocent person in an attempt to flee to save his own life? Would the system forgive him for the reasons he would have to say? Hell NO!
Do we expect our children to go through the same suffering? Are we actually fueling this goonda-gardi by ignoring it? Can we atleast start thinking about any solution? I think we are the well-educated, smarter and innovative lot of this country. There is no reason why we cant "think" of any solution to such problems. Not only road-rage but in general the trouble we face because of the local goons belonging to political parties.

Can something be done to smartly report or publish troubles faced by local goons? How long can the government ignore it? Something can be done anonymously. I am sure some NGOs can help. Well, I am willing to invest my time along with you.

MODS, not sure if this sounds revolutionary and against the guidelines. But isn't it a pity to have all these smart people together and not try to 'at least' think of a solution?

We, the educated lot, do not bring them to power. It is mostly the poor, the destitute and villagers who bring them to power. For every one city slicker like you and me, there are at least a hundred thousand of these. Their votes matter. And their votes are influenced, bullied or bought. Why else do you think politicians want poverty to continue. This ensures slave supply to their empires. The chamcha crowd. You will be shocked to know that these people will lay down their lives to protect whom you and I call scoundrel. A few years ago, there was an incident on highway when a petty politician was roughed up by cops for driving rashly on wrong side. Within 30 minutes tractor-loads of villagers blocked the highway, in support of that crook politico. How wonderfull! Makes me feel like leaving this country.


How long Govt. can ignore it? They ARE the government. Whom do you complain to now? This is harsh reality. This country should be ruled only by judiciary and executive. Even if there is a risk of they getting corrupt, at least they are educated lot and I'm sure being educated they would have certain limits and decency and manners and etiquettes. There should be no legislature in this country. From a corporator to a minister, they have indulged in only one thing. Loot, loot and loot. And murders and rapes. They are the most disgusting creatures under the sun.