[Omkar]

Most of us who spend a lot of time on the road, are aware of the fact that things can be extremely unpredictable. Even if you are a cautious driver and drive defensively, you cannot control how others drive. Getting to the point of this thread, I was recently involved in an accident and wanted to know how BHPians would’ve handled the same situation.

The Accident

On the recent Holi weekend, I was driving to Alibaug from Mumbai in my Swift. Since I couldn’t get the M2M ferry booking on time, I had to take the road and I was more than happy to drive. Had lunch at Monza Café in Kharghar and proceeded towards the destination. Crossed Kalamboli and got onto the Mumbai Goa Highway (NH66). About half an hour after crossing Karnala Bird Sanctuary, there was a Hyundai Creta ahead of me and I was maintaining a safe distance. The average speed was ~40-50 km/h and we both moved to the right lane of the 2-lane road to overtake a slow-moving Alto.

A few meters after crossing the Alto, the Creta started to slow down because a Dzire had stopped abruptly in the right lane. There was no signal, just that there was no divider on that part of the road, so the Dzire had stopped to take a U-Turn. The Creta obviously couldn’t move immediately to the left lane as the Alto was approaching from the left lane. I also stayed behind the Creta as I could see that there was more oncoming traffic on the left lane behind the Alto. The Creta came to a halt gradually and so did I.

After coming to a halt, I turned to my friend in the passenger seat, and we were talking about something. It must’ve been a good 7-8 seconds after coming to a halt when BAM! My Swift got rear-ended by an Ertiga. The impact was strong and it almost felt like I was going to fly out of my seat. I don’t remember much, but my right foot was on the brake pedal since I knew that the Creta would soon move. I was a good meter and a half or two behind the Creta, but the impact sent my car into the rear end of the Hyundai.

Inside the cabin, me and my friend were talking and facing each other at the time of impact. We both were jolted forward and then both our heads hit the headrests on whiplash. The seatbelts did their job perfectly as I faintly remember coming very close to the steering wheel. After making sure that my passenger was okay, and there were no injuries, I stepped out of the car.

Some very “nice words” came out of my mouth for the Ertiga driver. Looked like he was a hired driver by a family as the car was full of people and the luggage rack was full as well. The driver said that his brakes didn’t work at all, which I didn’t believe. Most likely he was distracted and couldn’t brake on time as the impact was heavy.

Meanwhile, the Creta driver stepped out thinking that I couldn’t brake on time. Showed him the condition of the Ertiga and he too said some “nice words” to the Ertiga driver. I checked the damage to the rear of the Creta, and there was a minor scratch on the tailgate. Checked the frontal damage of the Swift, the bonnet had been dented, the bumper had a scratch and the number plate had fallen off. Checked the rear damage, the rear bumper had torn, and the tailgate had a dent. The Ertiga’s radiator was punctured and was leaking coolant. At this point, the Ertiga driver was apologizing, and I decided to let him go. Told him to not drive the car for long and to get the radiator fixed or he’ll blow up the engine. Clicked some pictures of the cars and the damage for insurance purposes and decided to carry on with the trip.















Different views came in from different people:

• Should’ve taken Rs. 1,000-2,000 from the driver to cover for claim charges.
• Should’ve taken his car’s papers and made the owner of the car pay for the damages in full (no insurance).
• Should’ve taken the driver to the police and made him pay so he doesn’t make the same mistake again.

I still stand by my decision of letting it go for the following reasons:

• No mechanical damage - the car was working perfectly fine.
• Having worked for and with car insurance companies, I knew that the claim process would be straightforward.
• Didn’t want to be on the road creating a scene and ruining the mood of the weekend.

What would you have done in such a situation?

[Omkar]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[raptor_diwan]

It all depends on how bad the accident is. If it's just a small scratch or something not too serious, I might try to talk to the other person and get some money from them to repair it instead of involving insurance. It's not a must task, but I might give it a shot.

But if the accident is really bad, like if the car might be Total loss or needs major repairs, then it's important to call the police and tell them what happened. Take lots of pictures and videos of the damage, get the other driver's insurance info and phone number quickly.

We need to make sure we have everything the insurance company might ask for, Including police report( CSR ) . So getting the police involved is a good idea in those cases for me.

Having worked for and with car insurance companies, I knew that the claim process would be straightforward.

Based on my past experience of attempting to claim insurance for a total loss case, the process was extremely demanding. The insurance company kept asking for various documents every week, including the CSR, which ultimately forced me to pay a bribe to obtain it later. Therefore, I'm avoiding any risk by choosing not to notify the authorities.

[ninjatalli]

This depends on the situation and the damage. I had been in a similar situation on the JVLR highway where some random car stopped on the rightmost lane to do a U-turn. This was during evening hours with all vehicles doing 40+ kph, driving bumper to bumper. It resulted in a line of 4 or 5 vehicles hitting each other, my vehicle being #3 iirc. Not much of a damage to my car, apart from a broken number plate and iirc a headlight cracked.

I just shrugged and moved on, and the others two cars behind and in front of me did the same, with only the last two continuing arguing.

In your case, I think you did the right thing. The Ertiga could potentially argue (for arguments sake) that stopping on a highway is wrong and etc etc.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by Omkar

What would you have done in such a situation?

Unless the accident involved a serious injury, I would have done the same thing and would have let him go. In case of something bad, I would call the police as @raptor_diwan suggested. It's best to involve police in such cases.
My experience of claiming insurance was not that smooth in the case of bigger damage.

[GTO]

Do nothing, drive home and let the garage / insurance take care of it. It's exactly why I pay insurance premiums every year.

Couple more points:

- It's a myth that the other party has to pay you. At best, it is his / her insurance company that will pay you and that too, after a court order (meaning = long legal case). I still don't know anyone who has claimed 3rd party damages from the opposite party's insurance.

- We share roads with all kinds of creeps & thugs. You never know who is hiding a knife under his seat. Last year, I was on the Lonavla road in a super expensive car and an idiot rear-ended me. I smiled, gave him a friendly thumbs up and drove away. It's not my style to get out of the car to discuss who is at fault, argue or fight. Got more important things in life to take care of.

[Samba]

Once a drunk driver rear ended my Figo back in 2016. The repair cost was coming to Rs 25,000.

I asked that guy to pay me for the insurance claim charge, and the NCB which I lost due to him. Took 4k from him, and claimed the rest from the insurance.

Though letting go the other party who is at fault, and claiming the insurance is the most peaceful way.

[ex-innova-guy]

I am glad your friend and you are safe Omkar.

I would not have taken compensation from the party. Last year, when I was involved in an accident that totalled my car, there was no option but to claim insurance, as an ordinary citizen would hardly be able to get money to repair the totalled car from the other party.

A couple of months ago, my dad rear-ended an Innova, which stopped suddenly after a toll. Three burly agitated men got out, and my dad just handed his business card, and the issue was resolved then and there. Sometimes it’s that simple to handle such situations.

[YD14]

I have a similar story. Some 7 or 8 years back, I was traveling with my father in our town when suddenly a really old rusty scooter lost control (on a perfectly straight road with no potholes) and hit our car from the front. The speeds were slow so no one was injured and the two teenagers riding the scooter ran away, leaving their scooter right there on the road. Most probably had no license or something. Our Dzire's front bumper was damaged but the radiator was alright. My father called the police to impound the scooter and we went on our way. Later that day my father visited the police station where the scooter was held and handed over a written description of the accident and damages to the police. After a few days the guy showed up at our home to pay for the damages. (We live in a small town so it is not hard to figure out where we lived) We had already visited the local authorized Maruti workshop, so my father already knew the exact cost and took only that from him. Initially we had planned to claim insurance, but what think happened is that the policemen figured out the owner of the scooter (again not hard to do in a small town) and gave him a call. The owner didn't want a case to be filed against him so decided to settle instead and no case was filed.

I think I would have done something similar. It is not worth it to disrupt your current business just because of a broken bumper. Informing the police to impound the scooter and then giving them information in writing was also smart and saved us time too. Going all nuclear and insisting on filing a case would have been an unnecessary waste of time.

[sagarpadaki]

In India, the third party insurance covers injury or death for people on the road. Suppose you hit a person and he loses a leg then the victim or kin can file a case with the motor vehicle tribunal and claim compensation under the third party insurance of the offender. It does not cover the damages to the vehicle unlike the western countries.

So, in my view, the best thing to do in case of damage to your car due to other person's vehicle is to get the amount that covers your ncb and the amount not covered by insurance.

[Rangy62]

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[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

In India, the third party insurance covers injury or death for people on the road. It does not cover the damages to the vehicle unlike the western countries.

This is incorrect. In India the 3rd party vehicle insurance does cover damages to 3rd person's properties, including his or her vehicle. I think there is an upper limit of 7.5L that can be claimed and the process to claim is a lengthy process. Hence most of us use own damage cover to claim any expenses.

[Hayek]

Agree fully with the OP - claim insurance and move on. I have however filed a police report when this happened to me (back in 2007 when someone rear ended my Getz when I was waiting at a signal near Lala College in Bombay) and that was a good decision since the insurance company asked for that. May be they can use it to claim at the back end from the insurer of the other car even if I claimed under own damage.

The fact is that you have no right to get compensation even from the person who is at fault without a court order. However, the other person could be decent enough to compensate you but that is a voluntary choice.

[Tiago_Boy]

According to me, the most important thing during an incident is to stay calm which the OP demonstrated very well. I always try to defuse the situation and prevent any escalation.

Moreover, if you are on trip and if there are no mechanical damages to the car, then it makes more sense to carry on with the trip. We often pay quite a lot for the bookings and the opportunity cost of spending time with family is way too high.

So, the best thing to do is to avoid any clash and move forward. I agree with what the OP did and I would have reacted in a similar way.

[MadinMumbai]

Originally Posted by GTO

Do nothing, drive home and let the garage / insurance take care of it. It's exactly why I pay insurance premiums every year.

Thanks for saying this.

One of life’s guiding principles is- never buy a car that you can’t repair without feeling the pinch. Accidents happen. And on Indian roads, with the density of traffic and lack of rules, they’re a part of everyday life. To expect an auto guy or taxi driver to pay for a broken mirror or bumper on a 50 lac car just silly. To fight about it even more so.