Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Street Experiences (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/)

-   -   Uber driver hits my parked car - Is Uber responsible? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/202184-uber-driver-hits-my-parked-car-uber-responsible.html)

Our E-Class (W212) E250 was parked outside our House and around 10 PM an UBER hits our parked car, reverses and leaves. The video camera was unable to pick-up the Registration of the Car but the UBER sign is prominently visible (Attachment) .

All our cars are parked inside at night to avoid such incidents (Attachment) and it really tears me up to see our car like this.

Now I'd like to know your opinion if UBER is accountable in any way ?

I'm not asking for compensation but they should have insurance of some sort just in case someone was taking a ride and got hurt or maybe UBER could help us investigate who the culprit is and hold him accountable.

If Yes then how to go about approaching UBER ?

Through email, written letter, formal visit or Notice.

I'll try and attach the video as soon as possible so our eagle eyed forum members can see something that I missed.

Mods may move this thread to appropriate section of I've posted in the wrong section.

Uber doesn't even help it's own customers, they will just put the onus on to driver / owner of the taxi.

There is no way to know if the cab was actually on Uber duty. You cannot ascertain that from only a sticker.

It's disheartening to know one's parked car being bruised for no reason.

I actually tried playing with the image on Photoshop, to adjust the Levels and other settings to identify the numberplate, but it's too grainy. Maybe you could send me or someone you know the high-res image, which may have a better impact.

Filing a normal FIR is a better option instead of contacting Uber. Then maybe the cops can access the public CCTV images from the area of accident.

You could also ask your neighbours staying in the direction the Uber went, so that they could give you a front shot of the numberplate.

If Uber wants to help then it can definitely tell if the driver was logged in or not.

But what is to be gained out of this? Get the damage rectified using your Insurance and move on. Isn't that the followed protocol for all accidents in our country? Let's say Uber helps you and you get the damages repaired using the 3rd party insurance of the Cab. Doesn't that take a long time with so much legality involved? Of-course legally there is no requirement for a driver to pay from his pocket for such a damage.

Sorry to hear about that, and hope you make progress in your efforts with Uber.

It appears like you've parked a good 2 feet away from the kerbside. Besides being deemed bad parking, that would indeed increase your chances of such incidents occurring.

You might want to be careful on that front in future and ensure that you park within 6-8 inches of a kerbside. In some countries you actually get ticketed for violating this.

Did some Google search. From an Australian law firm's website:
https://www.smithslawyers.com.au/hel...cident-insured

There is a way but you would need to work through the police.

File an FIR

Get the cops to work with Uber to pinpoint which car was in the vicinity at that particular point in time.

However, considering that it is a minor but costly damage, and the cops have larger fish to fry, there is not much that you can do except invest in an HD camera in the future!

I don't know about this particular place but I have seen that the area where plants are kept is also encroached land. The cars should actually be parked there.

I am sure this is not the case here because most of our bhpians friends are responsible enough not to do so.

I don't think UBER is responsible for the accident. The car owner and its insurance should be liable to pay for the damages. Even if you are filing a case, you need to file a hit and run case, with the car registration number.

What UBER can do, maybe get you the registration details of the car and details of owner and driver.

Uber has absolved itself of much, much larger and graver mistakes of drivers plying on their platform. This incident will not, unfortunately, be taken seriously.

Your best bet is to catch the driver but knowing the financial background most of them come from, I'm willing to assume you won't make that chap pay. I can imagine how awful you feel about this but guess you can consider this one of the perils of parking/driving on our roads and move on.

I don't know what kind of detailed contracts Uber has but here is my intuitive response.

Uber is an online enabling platform.

The cars are not owned by Uber company but by individuals who tie up with the platform.

My sense would be it would be the car owner / driver (or their insurance) who would be liable and NOT Uber by any stretch, regardless of whether he was doing an Uber ride / duty or not.

I do not know how this sort of legislation works in India. But under all legal systems around the world, I am familiar with it would always be the driver of the car that is responsible and liable. Whether he is a private person, or works for a company like Uber, or a regular taxi service.

Let me give you an example. I have a company car. That car is owned and insured by a lease company. My employer has a contract with the lease company.

Whatever happens to the car is always my responsible and I am liable. My employer has ensured that the lease company has adequate insurance and my personal liability is limited (i.e. will be covered by the insurance company/leased company)

So if I am in an accident and let assume I am at fault, the other party will hold me liable. I will refer to the lease company and they will handle it with their insurance.

It is unlikely that the other party has a claim on lease company and or my employer.

So in cases of accidents it is always the driver of the respective car that is responsible and liable.

Would that be any different in India?

Jeroen

As of date, Uber drivers are independent contractors in India.

Say, I hire a tempo to ship out Team-BHP stickers. If the tempo hits your car, will you come after me?

Just file your insurance claim & move on. That said, you must inform Uber about this incident too. They maintain internal records on their drivers & frequent complaints lead to a ban on the driver.

Speaking from my general insurance industry consulting background - this is a hit and run incident.

When someone else hits your car, your car's Collision coverage (loosely also called as "physical damage" or "comprehensive" coverage, even though these aren't the same things) should kick in and your insurer would need to indemnify you. If the other driver had owned up to his fault in the incident, your insurer would then recover the costs involved from the other driver's insurer under the at-fault driver's 3rd party liability coverage.

In this case, as a hit and run incident, your insurer should still cover your repair costs but they will not be able to recover the costs from the absconding driver or his insurer. By no means can your insurer deny you your rightful coverage though. If your insurer sees enough hit and run cases in a given year, they have the right to push for proportionate rate increases for all policyholders. They do not have the right to deny your claim just because they have no means to recover the costs (a.k.a "subrogate" within the industry) from a hit and run driver.

Please do get other expert opinions and if needed, seek out any insurance ombudsman's help - I am not aware of what provisions IRDAI has made in this regard.

By the way, in the US, hit and runs are covered under a coverage separately sold under the name of "Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage". If you don't have this, such occurrences are not covered by American insurers.