[silversteed]

My car was rear-ended inside Prestige Tech Park campus, right at the entry ramp to the parking lot, in December 2015. Here's a clip from my dash cam as it happened:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTUAIRe6nCs

I was entering the parking lot, when the imbecile on a Dio, came at a breakneck speed, skid, and fell near the car's rear tyre.

The sketch below shows the paths:

Blue was my path, and Red was the Dio's.



Damages:

To my car: hardly anything.
To the Dio: broken fibre-glass panels, damaged lock-set, etc

How the story unfolded:

The speed limit inside the Tech Park is 15kmph, and I was within this limit, if my speedo and the dash-cam's GPS logs are to be believed. After the speedbreaker in front of the building entrance, I turned on the indicators (the click-click sound can be made out from the video), and slowly turned into the ramp. No sooner than the front wheel touched the ramp, that I hear a crash, and see the Dio crashed between the car's right rear wheel and the curb.

Soon, there was a crowd. One particular gentleman (who can be seen walking in holding a paper-cup, in the video) proclaimed that my car was speeding and I hadn't turned on the indicators. Soon, another 'kind soul' took over from there, attesting to his 'observation' that the indicators were not on and added that I cut the Dio off. The latter turned out to be an Ambulance driver who was using the driver seat as a reclining couch. The ambulance was parked inside the parking lot and in parallel to the road in front of the building. The first gentleman after a while whispered in my ears that it was the Dio guy's fault but bigger vehicle has to pay - in proper English and went on to say that he works for a company in the same building.

I was surrounded by a small crowd, mostly made up by the housekeeping employees and cab drivers. The Dio guy demanded that I get his scooter fixed. A couple of my colleagues turned up, and the discussion began. We told them to claim insurance and then settle the difference amount. For a while they didn't budge but seeing that their pressure tactics aren't working, they left, saying they'll first get a quote for the repairs.

Around afternoon, the crowd was at my office lobby, with a not-so-small estimate and again demanded that I pay up. I asked them to do whatever they want and stuck to my stand. The Ambulance driver who was also in the crowd, now changed his stance that I had the indicators on, but they were turned on only while I turned into the parking lot. After some heated exchanges, the crowd dispersed. In the evening, I got a call saying they've locked my car by putting a wheel clamp and I will not be allowed to take the vehicle out until the cops arrive. My employer's security staff got involved, who involved the Tech Park authorities who finally ordered the Dio guy to claim insurance and fix it, and not contact me directly any more. On mentioning that I have the video footage, many "eye witnesses" including the Ambulance driver changed their versions, saying I already had the indicators on and was driving very slow, while the Dio couldn't brake in time. The same day, I uploaded the dash-cam footage and sent it to the security staff. They responded that their policy is to mediate between the affected parties before the cops are involved (which they didn't want either), as the incident happened inside a private property and not on public roads, hence their word is final here. This seemed to have done the trick.

Two days later, the Dio guy called me and asked if I would be giving him any money or not. I reiterated my stand, and also told him that it's only considering his financial status (had found out a lot of things about him in the meantime, and I could very well use them to my advantage) that I am not going to the police station myself. This silenced him.

Lessons learnt:

- Dash cam footage helps
- Any loudmouth Tom, Dick and Harry can claim to have seen everything and direct the mob's ire
- Local vs Outsider sentiments are very easy to be brought up, to score points and extort money. This was diffused by a colleague who slipped the question whether I was a Pakistani or an Indian for them to bring this matter up.
- Many people are ignorant about how Insurance works. For them, when something happens, the bigger vehicle's owner/driver should mandatorily pay up whatever the other party demands. In cash.
- When confronted with such situations, always call the highest link available in the chain of command; this will ensure a faster involvement than going the escalation route

BHPian @vnidta and a few other friends of mine had passed the area when the crowd gathered, but little did they realise I was the one in distress. Since I hadn't caused a traffic block, nobody would have bothered to check what was going on. Fortunately, I didn't have to involve anyone else, after pulling the right strings.

PS: It's good to stay under the low speed limits while inside Tech-Park campuses, as you never know when some imbecile would get wild ideas.

[vnidta]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Lessons learnt:
- Dash cam footage helps
- Any loudmouth Tom, Dick and Harry can claim to have seen everything and direct the mob's ire
- Local vs Outsider sentiments are very easy to be brought up, to score points and extort money
- Many people are ignorant about how Insurance works
- When confronted with such situations, always call the highest link available in the chain of command; this will ensure a faster involvement than going the escalation route

BHPian @vnidta and a few other friends of mine had passed the area when the crowd gathered, but little did they realise I was the one in distress. Since I hadn't caused a traffic block, nobody would have bothered to check what was going on.

This was the situation as captured from my DashCam when I passed that spot.


As you've clearly mentioned, there was a crowd but no traffic blockage whatsoever. Never realized the heat of the situation.., and on an different note, crowd scares me most of the times. I tend to stay away from crowd rather than get involved when I do not know the ground reality.

And with all highlighted points in the lesson learnt section.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by silversteed

The speed limit inside the Tech Park is 15kmph, and I was within this limit, if my speedo and the dash-cam's GPS logs are to be believed. After the speedbreaker in front of the building entrance, I turned on the indicators (the click-click sound can be made out from the video)

Had my doubts about the indicators the first time i watched the video. Then i read your post and re-watched. Could definitely hear you move the stalk at 00:14, and hear them clicking after.

In case this comes up again, you can clearly show that you were at the indicated speed limit, so for the scooter guy to be approaching / passing you, he'd have to be going faster!

Originally Posted by vnidta

This was the situation as captured from my DashCam when I passed that spot.

** Inception theme song starts playing **

[sunishsamuel]

Even i have been victim of this big vehicle always at fault syndrome. Obviously when i am going to get my new car, dashcam is the first accessory to be fitted.

However, is there any rule/judgement that says the bigger vehicle is always at fault ? Even when a small vehicle rear ends a big vehicle ? Or just because crowd is prejudiced, cops follow their line (unless the big vehicle is of the real big guy like a minister or movie star) and puts the blame on the big vehicle ? Bollywood and news always glorify such actions -- i think they brought this cliche to the fore that rich guys/big vehicles are always the ones either brats, cheat, thief's, while the guys who remain poor or have smaller vehicles are because they are the wafaadar, imaandar and ethical. Plus the poor always got a golden heart and kind natured

we did some discussion on this topic at thread but did not reach any conclusion.

So for making sure there is justice delivered in accident cases, time for a campaign to get rid of this cliche of big vehicle always at fault syndrome. And I am sure there are a thousand of such unfortunate victims who ended up getting arrested or paid huge compensation just because he/she was driving the big vehicle.

[bblost]

@silversteed
Was there no security camera focused on the entrance to the parking lot?

[Eddy]

Note from Support: Discussion moved to a separate thread.

[aditya79india]

Originally Posted by silversteed

My car was rear-ended inside Prestige Tech Park campus, right at the entry ramp to the parking lot, in December 2015. Here's a clip from my dash cam ...........

Hello, which brand of dash cam do you use. Can you also provide a link pls.

[Mortis]

Its excellent that a dash cam and some common sense helped you escape a sticky situation. Several alarming recent threads have prompted me to get a dash cam fitted in my car also as they can be invaluable in such situations. Have ordered a basic one from aliexpress and if the quality is decent enough I will order more for all cars in the family.

Just one question ? what to do if someone tries to snatch/break the dash cam ?

Also, are there any options to have one with dual front and rear (via an extended camera) view ?

[vnidta]

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

So for making sure there is justice delivered in accident cases, time for a campaign to get rid of this cliche of big vehicle always at fault syndrome. And I am sure there are a thousand of such unfortunate victims who ended up getting arrested or paid huge compensation just because he/she was driving the big vehicle.

Hmmm.., if many people join, it is surely possible to voice our opinion. Not to forget that the current laws judging us (may it be for anything, not just related to traffic) need a second look since they are quite old and almost irrelevant today

Originally Posted by aditya79india

Hello, which brand of dash cam do you use. Can you also provide a link pls.

Pramod (silversteed) has written a review on his DashCam and you can find the details at.

I use the SJ4000. You can find detailed reviews of other DashCams at.

Originally Posted by Mortis

Just one question ? what to do if someone tries to snatch/break the dash cam ?

Also, are there any options to have one with dual front and rear (via an extended camera) view ?

The first one is a very tricky question. Mob sentiments are something that we can never have a control on! Even I'm waiting for answers to this question.., and to be frank, this never hit me till now!

When it comes to dual cameras, yes there are many options that I have seen. But I am not sure about prices since I did not inquire till now. One such link is here.

[Mortis]

Maybe ASAP stop recording save the video and slip the memory card into your pocket for safety. Try to use the empty cam as a deterrent and insist on waiting for cops to show up if asked to show video and such

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by bblost

Was there no security camera focused on the entrance to the parking lot?

The entire facility has been a WIP for a long time, there was no CCTV camera in that area until a couple of weeks ago.

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

So for making sure there is justice delivered in accident cases, time for a campaign to get rid of this cliche of big vehicle always at fault syndrome. And I am sure there are a thousand of such unfortunate victims who ended up getting arrested or paid huge compensation just because he/she was driving the big vehicle.

Originally Posted by vnidta

if many people join, it is surely possible to voice our opinion. Not to forget that the current laws judging us (may it be for anything, not just related to traffic) need a second look since they are quite old and almost irrelevant today

Unfortunately, the Indian middle class where most of us here belong, has the least bargaining power. We feed the upper and lower strata. The former armtwist the ruling class with money power, while the latter takes it to the streets and win. We, stuck in between, are never in a position to lock horns with the high and mighty, thanks to the commitments and liabilities. And our ego and selfishness get the better of us when it comes to joining hands for a cause. At best, we will go out holding banners and writing long posts (like this, for example) in social media. Sad, but true

[Rahulkool]

You really handled the situation well and thank god for that dashcam.

I dont understand how this guy start asking for money. The way you are driving on the such a narrow road only a idiot will start overtaking. Its clearly his mistake, he should be paying you for the damages caused. People are not worried about their safety or well being, first thing they want to do it harass a law abiding citizen and blackmail for money, whatever they may get out of it.

[vnabhi]

Thanks for sharing your ordeal, and it's good that your dashcam came to your rescue.
However, experience has taught me to expect such morons at every sharp turn that I take, despite my indicators being on.

It always pays to check your mirrors and also your blind spot. But in the case you posted, I wonder how the scooter picked up so much speed after what seems to be a speed-breaker. It hints towards reckless speeding on his behalf.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

It always pays to check your mirrors and also your blind spot. But in the case you posted, I wonder how the scooter picked up so much speed after what seems to be a speed-breaker. It hints towards reckless speeding on his behalf.

If that Dio guy were riding on my RHS curb, I would've seen him rocketing at me, but I'd still be a sitting duck. There's only so much a human being driving an ordinary hatchback can do. These Dios pick up speed really quick, and I've seen some of them zip over these speed-breakers, hardly reducing speed. Seems to be the case here too.

[sidzzone]

Okay, that does it. I'm getting a dash cam for my car. Glad you handled it this way, and it's sickening to see how people just blindly side with the smaller vehicle. And worse, how they changed their statements after they came to know about the dash cam.