Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me

StrangeWizard · 2nd November 2013, 17:03

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

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, which led me to brake hard. The Bolero had orange political party stickers but I forgot which party it was.

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.
I knew I'll get in trouble so I said look I'm sorry its my mistake let me go.
He came infront of my bonnet and completely blocks my way. He then calls out to 3 other guys seated in the car to come out and beat me up. They didn't come out though. I took out my phone and pretended taking a video but he said do whatever you want to do I'm not scared. He was shouting so much I could hear even when my windows were closed. A small crowd had gathered and as usual they were just enjoying the drama and not willing to help. I'm sure the guy would have smashed my window had I waited for some more time.

The road has 1 lane in each direction and the traffic in the opposite lane had stopped so I couldn't go anywhere. The Bolero's door was also open.

The traffic in the opposite lane started moving slowly and I managed to squeeze my way out and just floored the car. The goon gets in his car and gives me a chase for around 400m, coming very close to my car and almost banging it. Since there was a lot of traffic ahead I moved my car slightly to the left and stopped and Bolero braked late and went a bit ahead and stopped. I slotted into reverse and again floored it and took a turn banging a rickshaw in the process. Now everyone was seeing the drama and the rickshaw guy came to the front left window and I told him look I'll pay for your damages but these goons are running behind me right now. Thankfully there was hardly any damage to the rick while my car got a slight dent and many scratches.

By this time the Bolero got blocked by the traffic all around him so I managed to flee in the opposite direction and came straight home.

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. (though I'll easily recognize it IF I see it again)

Lesson learnt -
While driving in India everyone except you has right of way, no matter which direction he's coming from.
Avoid any type of eye contact or other forms of contact like honks or gestures with such people.

Now I just hope he has not noted down my car's number.

First I felt like complaining to the police but I know it won't be of much help since I don't know the car's number and nor do I have any proof of what happened. Also I'm not sure the police would even register and act upon my complaint since this was a political party's car and everyone knows how this system works

SDP · 2nd November 2013, 19:52

Scenes like this are extremely frustrating.

You did the right thing by not stepping out of the car.

Those idiots have very short memory and would not come looking for you. Its over, just relax and let it go.

Akshay1234 · 2nd November 2013, 20:07

Frankly you have more to lose than these guys. I just keep a distance when I see a Bolero, Scorpio, Safari with a political sticker. Normally they are just out looking to pick fights. If they do drive badly enough to make you want to retaliate by doing something, do it in a place where you can get away without getting stuck. These kinds of people don't take kindly to getting continuously honked at, getting cut back, or being shown the finger.

But the easiest thing is to leave these illiterate fools alone and just continue with your life.

pacman2881 · 2nd November 2013, 20:21

I can empathize with you and can clearly understand how you would feel now. I've had two such incidents and one was actually with a local politico near my area- so it was actually worse (Imagine my plight- for no wrong of mine! For a long time after the incident I was worried about safety of my family)

There was a third time when I was rear ended by a SUV with a party flag at a signal - I kept my cool. Turned out to be a 'friendly' conversation (afterall it is me who is going to pay for his mistake so he was friendly

)

These goons always want to show off especially when there is crowd around. I would suggest to take a break, if possible go to a place where you can relax.

They'll probably have someone else to take on by now and will not bother tracing you.

saabasheer · 2nd November 2013, 20:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrangeWizard

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

Please try to avoid that route with your car atleast for some days. These fellows will ask the localites to monitor your vehicle and inform them.

F150 · 2nd November 2013, 20:31

Sorry state of affairs in our country. There are so many people out there, looking to pick fights just for the sake of it.

I am pretty sure this guy will be running around on a CD100 or ACTIVA in his leisure time. They all own a scorpio or safari or bolero. The typical mitra mandal guys in the locality with no work through out the day, aspiring to be a local corporator or MLA sometime in the future.

As stated above, I would avoid that route for a week or commute on a bike.

Anyway, lesson learned, practice patience and move on.

EFF-EIGHT-BEE · 2nd November 2013, 20:52

Morons like these should be left alone for good because a moron will be a moron no matter how much frustration you show to them, and above all these political goons should never be(I would say) dealt with any way because at the end its only you who will be suffering. Things like these are unfortunately a sad reality of our country and should be swallowed like a bitter pill after all we have a family waiting for us at home. Nevertheless you should take it in a positive sense and as a lesson learnt.

speedsatya · 2nd November 2013, 21:04

Read this http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...d-up-like.html

Other than this I have been in a situation long back where I was beaten with cricket bats and iron rods and left to die on the road. All because I asked a biker with 2 pillion riders to ride carefully. Little did I know that they were cronies of a local politician. A huge crowd watched me beating beaten up ,but no one came to my rescue. Later on when I went to the police station to complain , I was threatened by a sten gun wielding cop ,who told me I may not reach home alive if I tried lodging a complaint

You did the right thing by not getting out of your car. Never ever get out of your vehicle in case of any road rage incidents. If the other vehicle blocks you , just lock your doors and let them do whatever they can

amit_purohit20 · 2nd November 2013, 21:09

Just relax. He is not going to come back for you. Get this out of your mind. Just dont drive your car on that road again for a short duration.
Let god kill the ravan in such people.
Have a happy Diwali. Dont let others fault ruin your happiness this Diwali.

pyrodrive · 2nd November 2013, 21:21

Sorry state of affairs in our country.You are lucky to get away without any physical assault.
You should have really taken a video recording instead of pretending to. Who knows, with the right connections, it could have been an embarassment to the concerned party bigshots. An opposite political party or local media might just love the video..

W.A.G.7 · 2nd November 2013, 21:34

Just relax and forget about the incident. He won't come for you amd he won't spoil your diwali or your life in anyway. Such people are not worth giving even an iota of importance. The more you think about it, you will only worry more. Go about your life normally. Don't let such incidences spoil your life. These people are not even worth a penny that you should spoil your mood and life over them. Happy Diwali to you and your family.

pgsagar · 2nd November 2013, 21:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrodrive

Sorry state of affairs in our country.You are lucky to get away without any physical assault.
You should have really taken a video recording instead of pretending to. Who knows, with the right connections, it could have been an embarassment to the concerned party bigshots. An opposite political party or local media might just love the video..

Embarassment? Which world do you live in? They are the most shameless scoundrels in this universe. No one can take on them. They are the sons of soil and even police fears them. They only bow to voter-class and that too once in 5 years. They care a hoot for law abiding middle/upper-middle class professionals.

It is for this reason that I maintain that we have the worst kind of scoundrels let loose on our public roads and public places. The worst in the whole world.

GrammarNazi · 2nd November 2013, 21:43

You did the right thing keeping the windows rolled up, it's a murky world out there with all kinds of waste fellows, you shouldn't bother to lose calm while driving. Don't let it bother now, enjoy Diwali.

(Also, consider having a car camera. Whatever they say, everyone gets alerted when they know they're being recorded, so they may try to snatch away your phone, but IMO people barely notice a dash-cam.

If not as conclusive evidence, courts will atleast admit it as an audit of events incase any unfortunate event gets serious.

A dash-cam, even otherwise, is quite useful if you wanna keep GPS tracks, route videos etc.)

shankar.balan · 2nd November 2013, 21:45

Why do we full blooded tax paying Indian Citizens possessed of the right of Franchise have to live in such mortal fear of the political classes?
How dare an elected representative and his people browbeat a person who pays his taxes and is using a public facility which he is perfectly entitled to?
This kind of thing is what makes me hate this country!

StrangeWizard · 2nd November 2013, 23:02

Thanks for the reply guys.
I was travelling by this route for the first time ever and I don't think I'll be driving there again. Its just a small road which connects two localities.

I feel quite sorry for the guy who's rickshaw I banged by the right rear corner of my car. Even though there wasn't any noticeable damage the lady passenger got quite startled.

Happy diwali to you all.

2nd November 2013, 17:03	#1
StrangeWizard BHPian Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bombay Posts: 760 Thanked: 311 Times	Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me This incident happened an hour back which has completely spoilt my day and shaken me. 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, which led me to brake hard. The Bolero had orange political party stickers but I forgot which party it was. 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. I knew I'll get in trouble so I said look I'm sorry its my mistake let me go. He came infront of my bonnet and completely blocks my way. He then calls out to 3 other guys seated in the car to come out and beat me up. They didn't come out though. I took out my phone and pretended taking a video but he said do whatever you want to do I'm not scared. He was shouting so much I could hear even when my windows were closed. A small crowd had gathered and as usual they were just enjoying the drama and not willing to help. I'm sure the guy would have smashed my window had I waited for some more time. The road has 1 lane in each direction and the traffic in the opposite lane had stopped so I couldn't go anywhere. The Bolero's door was also open. The traffic in the opposite lane started moving slowly and I managed to squeeze my way out and just floored the car. The goon gets in his car and gives me a chase for around 400m, coming very close to my car and almost banging it. Since there was a lot of traffic ahead I moved my car slightly to the left and stopped and Bolero braked late and went a bit ahead and stopped. I slotted into reverse and again floored it and took a turn banging a rickshaw in the process. Now everyone was seeing the drama and the rickshaw guy came to the front left window and I told him look I'll pay for your damages but these goons are running behind me right now. Thankfully there was hardly any damage to the rick while my car got a slight dent and many scratches. By this time the Bolero got blocked by the traffic all around him so I managed to flee in the opposite direction and came straight home. 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. (though I'll easily recognize it IF I see it again) Lesson learnt - While driving in India everyone except you has right of way, no matter which direction he's coming from. Avoid any type of eye contact or other forms of contact like honks or gestures with such people. Now I just hope he has not noted down my car's number. First I felt like complaining to the police but I know it won't be of much help since I don't know the car's number and nor do I have any proof of what happened. Also I'm not sure the police would even register and act upon my complaint since this was a political party's car and everyone knows how this system works Last edited by StrangeWizard : 2nd November 2013 at 17:08.
	(8) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 19:52	#2
SDP Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,737 Thanked: 11,279 Times	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Scenes like this are extremely frustrating. You did the right thing by not stepping out of the car. Those idiots have very short memory and would not come looking for you. Its over, just relax and let it go.
	(6) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 20:07	#3
Akshay1234 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 10,265 Thanked: 12,317 Times	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Frankly you have more to lose than these guys. I just keep a distance when I see a Bolero, Scorpio, Safari with a political sticker. Normally they are just out looking to pick fights. If they do drive badly enough to make you want to retaliate by doing something, do it in a place where you can get away without getting stuck. These kinds of people don't take kindly to getting continuously honked at, getting cut back, or being shown the finger. But the easiest thing is to leave these illiterate fools alone and just continue with your life. Last edited by Akshay1234 : 2nd November 2013 at 20:09.
	(7) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 20:21	#4
pacman2881 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 411 Thanked: 529 Times	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me I can empathize with you and can clearly understand how you would feel now. I've had two such incidents and one was actually with a local politico near my area- so it was actually worse (Imagine my plight- for no wrong of mine! For a long time after the incident I was worried about safety of my family) There was a third time when I was rear ended by a SUV with a party flag at a signal - I kept my cool. Turned out to be a 'friendly' conversation (afterall it is me who is going to pay for his mistake so he was friendly) These goons always want to show off especially when there is crowd around. I would suggest to take a break, if possible go to a place where you can relax. They'll probably have someone else to take on by now and will not bother tracing you.
	(1) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 20:31	#6
F150 Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2011 Location: PUNE Posts: 1,730 Thanked: 870 Times View My Garage	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Sorry state of affairs in our country. There are so many people out there, looking to pick fights just for the sake of it. I am pretty sure this guy will be running around on a CD100 or ACTIVA in his leisure time. They all own a scorpio or safari or bolero. The typical mitra mandal guys in the locality with no work through out the day, aspiring to be a local corporator or MLA sometime in the future. As stated above, I would avoid that route for a week or commute on a bike. Anyway, lesson learned, practice patience and move on. Last edited by F150 : 2nd November 2013 at 20:40.
	(2) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 20:52	#7
EFF-EIGHT-BEE BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Patiala Posts: 196 Thanked: 113 Times View My Garage	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Morons like these should be left alone for good because a moron will be a moron no matter how much frustration you show to them, and above all these political goons should never be(I would say) dealt with any way because at the end its only you who will be suffering. Things like these are unfortunately a sad reality of our country and should be swallowed like a bitter pill after all we have a family waiting for us at home. Nevertheless you should take it in a positive sense and as a lesson learnt.
	(1) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 21:04	#8
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	Read this http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...d-up-like.html Other than this I have been in a situation long back where I was beaten with cricket bats and iron rods and left to die on the road. All because I asked a biker with 2 pillion riders to ride carefully. Little did I know that they were cronies of a local politician. A huge crowd watched me beating beaten up ,but no one came to my rescue. Later on when I went to the police station to complain , I was threatened by a sten gun wielding cop ,who told me I may not reach home alive if I tried lodging a complaint You did the right thing by not getting out of your car. Never ever get out of your vehicle in case of any road rage incidents. If the other vehicle blocks you , just lock your doors and let them do whatever they can
	(6) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 21:09	#9
amit_purohit20 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 676 Thanked: 902 Times	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Just relax. He is not going to come back for you. Get this out of your mind. Just dont drive your car on that road again for a short duration. Let god kill the ravan in such people. Have a happy Diwali. Dont let others fault ruin your happiness this Diwali.
	(3) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 21:21	#10
pyrodrive BHPian Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: guwahati Posts: 208 Thanked: 1,275 Times	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Sorry state of affairs in our country.You are lucky to get away without any physical assault. You should have really taken a video recording instead of pretending to. Who knows, with the right connections, it could have been an embarassment to the concerned party bigshots. An opposite political party or local media might just love the video..
	(2) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 21:34	#11
W.A.G.7 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Pune Posts: 1,385 Thanked: 2,025 Times	Just relax and forget about the incident. He won't come for you amd he won't spoil your diwali or your life in anyway. Such people are not worth giving even an iota of importance. The more you think about it, you will only worry more. Go about your life normally. Don't let such incidences spoil your life. These people are not even worth a penny that you should spoil your mood and life over them. Happy Diwali to you and your family.
	(2) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 21:43	#13
GrammarNazi Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,419 Thanked: 3,490 Times	You did the right thing keeping the windows rolled up, it's a murky world out there with all kinds of waste fellows, you shouldn't bother to lose calm while driving. Don't let it bother now, enjoy Diwali. (Also, consider having a car camera. Whatever they say, everyone gets alerted when they know they're being recorded, so they may try to snatch away your phone, but IMO people barely notice a dash-cam. If not as conclusive evidence, courts will atleast admit it as an audit of events incase any unfortunate event gets serious. A dash-cam, even otherwise, is quite useful if you wanna keep GPS tracks, route videos etc.) Last edited by GrammarNazi : 2nd November 2013 at 21:55.
	(1) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 21:45	#14
shankar.balan BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,368 Thanked: 23,158 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/2 (8)	Why do we full blooded tax paying Indian Citizens possessed of the right of Franchise have to live in such mortal fear of the political classes? How dare an elected representative and his people browbeat a person who pays his taxes and is using a public facility which he is perfectly entitled to? This kind of thing is what makes me hate this country!
	(12) Thanks

2nd November 2013, 23:02	#15
StrangeWizard BHPian Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Bombay Posts: 760 Thanked: 311 Times	Re: Road rage : Had an altercation with political goons who threatened me Thanks for the reply guys. I was travelling by this route for the first time ever and I don't think I'll be driving there again. Its just a small road which connects two localities. I feel quite sorry for the guy who's rickshaw I banged by the right rear corner of my car. Even though there wasn't any noticeable damage the lady passenger got quite startled. Happy diwali to you all.
	(1) Thanks