[igemini]

@OverKill It is really sad to know what you and your car had to go through. Mainly because the whole scenario was not because of your fault.

Regardless of that, I really admire the way you dealt with the situation. Teaching the culprit a lesson won't make any difference to you (I feel). That would cost a lot of time, effort and money than you repairing the car. Moreover at the end that would not be worth it. If it was 10 years ago, I might not have responded like this. But as you grow older, your patience level may increase. And you'll also realise that time in life is more important.

It is true these kinds*of reckless drivings needs to be stopped, but there would a time he will learn his mistake by himself.

The damage is already done, so move on and try to get back the car in top shape again. Even though cars are an emotion for people like us, in the end, cars are machines and we all need to value our lives (and others too) more than anything. None of the people involved including you was badly hurt, that is more important.

My 2 cents on this.

[urban legend]

I understand the way overkill has handled the situation. In the 28 years I have been driving I have had umpteen dents , scratches, broken bumpers on my cars, usually due to some idiot trying to squeeze through an impossible gap or overtaking or speeding. I even had someone bump my parked car and not even having the courtesy to wait and inform me. Initially I would get upset , try to argue and get some compensation or try to prove it was the other persons mistake. But over a period of time I made some observations and try to keep calm in such situations 1. The roads are filled with many such people. It’s not possible to teach them how to drive or behave or speak or hope they learn a lesson 2. Everyone knows someone and so an argument usually ends up trying to prove who has a bigger ego or show it was not anyone’s fault 3. You never know when someone will pull out a weapon or attack you as happens when the argument gets hotter. Many such incidents are known to happen 4. If the damage is only monetary it’s better to move on and save your time and efforts unless the other person is cooperative 5. In cities - only the insides of the car can be kept spotless. The exteriors are going to be damaged no matter what. I do a yearly touch up of my cars for All such damages ( not using insurance )6. When parking the car on roadsides it’s a good habit to check if the car is in a location or positions that it’s likely to be damaged ( corners , near intersections , narrow roads etc
Personally if me or any of my passengers would have gotten hurt in such situations where it’s the other drivers mistake then definitely a criminal fir needs to be made.
Is there any thread which guides what is the correct legal course of action in case of such or other type of accidents - for getting the insurance claim

[NiInJa]

Since the damage is not that big and luckily nobody was hurt, I think the OP made a good decision of letting him go without filing an FIR. The thing about FIRs is that, once it is lodged, it is the duty of Police to get hold of criminal and the legal proceedings that follow. FIRs cannot be just 'cancelled' based on the fact that the person who committed crime is now feeling sorry and ready to pay up for damages. Due to automation, FIRs are now fed into a database and Police are answerable to their higher ups if it is open for a long time.

One of my friends had lodged an FIR against two delivery boys for stealing cash from his shop. They called him and said sorry etc. and he 'sort of' let them go (it was a petty amount and they were just about 18-19 year old), but this happened just a few hours after he and his dad filed the FIR . The guys are now untraceable. But now the police are not closing the case and call him up every few days if they have any information on the thieves. There is a separate legal path to close an FIR like that if I am not mistaken.

[riteshritesh]

1 clarification required, if there was no intent of claiming 3rd party insurance, why was the NC asked for? In all my accident claims, if I am not claiming 3rd Party insurance, no Insurance company has asked me to file a police report. The insurers just write down the incident report/chain of events and the claim is processed.

[arijit_chat2006]

My sympathies with you for the incident.

I understand your feelings about not wanting to ruin his career and your belief in karma. I also have such sentiments.

However, there are 3 things I would want to highlight here that you have mentioned yourself :
1) He had no remorse for the act he had committed (of course, might not have been his mistake, but still, he has caused damage to someone else's property)
2) He had quite some ego, and he held it even after causing such an accident
3) He had not transferred the RC & insurance yet, and he knew quite well that the previous owner would be in trouble, still he was not careful.

Keeping the above in mind, going easy on this guy and believing in karma, is a recipe for disaster, and a monster in the making, with already a high ego and a couple of incidents like this where he gets away easily, and a sense of "I'll get away with anything" builds up. He can kill someone/many on a given day in future.

Of course, I believe in karma, however not in such a case.

[viXit]

Being a pretty young chap myself, I have a lot of respect for you for not taking the FIR route to avoid messing his career up.

Seeing the damage to the cars, I thought he'd be pretty shaken up and do anything to right his wrongs. I for one would be extremely scared. And super thankful to someone like you for the understanding.
But for him to behave like that with you after you've been so generous with him is absolutely stupid. Really really bad on his part and If I were you, I would file a complaint against him for being the ungrateful little idiot he is.
Just before I read this part

Originally Posted by OverKill

When I spoke to him after I finished the Insurance work on Saturday evening, I realized one thing. This guy is blinded by his humongous ego.

I was thinking about how grateful he must've been for you being so nice to him. Doesn't seem like the case. sad at the kind of people on the streets

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by OverKill

In an unfortunate turn of events, my 17 month old parked Hyundai Creta & two other vehicles were rammed into by a VW Polo.

Just curious as to how you ended up choosing OverKill as your user ID!?

Doesn't make too much sense looking at your cool head & calm attitude!

[guywhoclicks]

OverKill, Just wanted to say that I aspire to reach your level of calm and level-headedness. I am completely with you on this and share your viewpoint. Well handled and thanks for sharing.

[dark.knight]

In this debate of people, on the one hand beliving that an FIR should've been filed (I would've) and the OP's stance of not expecting anything (which is.. kind, to say the least), we're all forgetting one important thing, the 5,000 kg African elephant not only entered the tiny room, but it also slunk away when no one was watching :

THE POLICE are dutifully mandated to investigate every accident and take both parties into the station and process the case as per party allegations and/or facts, eyewitness corroboration etc, and no this isn't a choice of the affected parties, its something the law does by itself, irrespective of whether they want to "settle" it or not.

This is what ultimately makes people fear consequences for their actions on the street, the law isn't an option when potential damage to property or health comes into play. As usual, we the tired, abused citizens, have so kindly absolved legal system and governance from all sins and bear the burden ourselves. Atma nirbharta?

[AirbusCapt]

The accident description by you doesn't seem to match the pictures shared by you. In the images shared, I see a red polo which is smashed both in the front and the rear. You say, the polo driver was surprised by a hatchback, lost control and smashed into a tempo, a rickshaw and into your Creta. How can that explain his rear end getting smashed? Also if a lightweight hatchback smashes into two other vehicles, before ramming into your stationary car, the speed for impact and the shown damage should be in excess of 80 kmph, which seems impossible on the narrow road seen in the pictures.

[coolmind]

Originally Posted by OverKill

I believe in Karma!

I have not given up on the case or anything, like I mentioned above an FIR on his name can surely cause a lot of trouble for him/registered owner and I don't wanna be responsible to ruin someone's career.

Absolutely no affection towards him, just a firm believer of Karma.

Iam very sorry for the accident and its heart breaking to see the car in such condition.
Now coming to the FIR on that Polo guy, I don't find one good reason to skip FIR. All the acts of him vis. rash driving, not transfer of ownership, not standing by his words, indicates his due negligence. And he may very well damage another car or even cost someone's life in future.
If you leave him now, he may take it for granted that he can drive as per his wish and no one can do anything. So I request you to take up FIR without delay and see that you correct his karma. This may help him to be careful next time.

[KL01toKA03]

I think you should contact the person who sold the Polo, and did not care to transfer ownership. You should state that you will have to go to the police holding him responsible for the accident since you do not know about the actual owner of the car. That will hopefully make him realize his mistake, and force him transfer ownership, thereby protecting him from future trouble concerning that vehicle. Also, that will cause the current owner to take a small financial impact when he tries to sell the vehicle.

[alikidwhy]

Originally Posted by OverKill

Well if I go down the FIR route, he surely will be troubled/have to cough up money.

But to think about it an FIR on his name will definitely spoil his work/educational career and I don't want to be the one who does that.

And? I totally agree with you that it will spoil his work/educational career but you should file an FIR nonetheless. If he had been cooperative and gave you the amount, it would’ve been all well and good but since he wants no liability you should go ahead.

If not you, tomorrow it might be some other poor chap and god forbid he kills someone.

If the car was sold and is in progress of getting the ownership changed, it’s a different thing but I think it’s a different case here as is seen mostly wherein the car is sold but not transferred to protect the resale value.

I suggest you to either make him cough up the damages or file an FIR since he doesn’t want to cooperate and you suffered a damage for no fault of your own.

[ManneAtWheelz]

As someone who would have not forgiven so easily, let me first applaud your stance. I am guessing the systems in India are the reason why even such trivial matters are so difficult to deal with in the real world and you deciding to value your own peace of mind and time is actually a very intelligent decision.

Originally Posted by rdst_1

I would like to know from other knowledgeable forum members that when third-party insurance is compulsory and most people have it, then why aren't claims made through it. Are the procedures that difficult to make the other person's insurance pay for your damages. If the other person concurs that the damage is due to his own fault, shouldn't his insurance take care of the third-party.

Claiming 3rd party insurance is a tedious and time taking process and in the end there is no guarantee that you will be getting rewarded fully.

Firstly, you need to file a FIR and get charge sheet from police which itself is a challenging task.
Second, you need to file a case in court and prove yourselves that it's because of the other guy you are in loss.
Finally, court will decide how much compensation you will get based on the record/proof strength.
And this whole process may take months to years time depending on the type of damage.

[@dr_figo]

Completely agree with Overkill on how he handled the situation. Damage was done to his car for no fault of his. But, having experienced replacing my figo's both bumpers twice and driver door once I know for certain the Creta will be back as good as new. Agree on the karma part too, better to let go than hold on to grudge and fight such people. He will learn his lesson sooner or later. It's useless wasting your time and energy on such a small incident/egoistic person. As Overkill said if the guy had caused injury to anyone it would've been a completely different story for him.