[uttamc]

Hey,

So i was travelling down to pune on sunday from bombay, and all of a sudden it started pouring (really hard rain, it felt like 26/7). Anyway, we get off the expressway and continue travelling on the national highway till Kothrud (instead of turning in left to enter Aundh at pune).

About 7 km down the road (after the bangalore highway) there was this HUGE traffic pile up (for about 1 km) cuz there was flooding on the road. Bumper to bumper traffic on a highway is a nightmare, even more so when you can't flip onto the other side of the road because of barriers. So i got in queue like everyone else.

I have a habit of keeping my foot pressed on the brake while waiting so i guess that's a really good thing (read on to know why).

All of a sudden, while i'm stationary, this truck comes and whacks into me from behind!!! IN POURING RAIN! I had my brake lights on, my hazard lights on, and still this blind *&%$ whacks into me - REAL hard. The rear glass shatters and flies. I turn around and see the truck driver abandon his truck and run away (he probably did this cuz he thought he killed someone).

There were 4 of us in the car (and my dog) and thankfully no one was hurt. But now everyone in the backseat was getting wet as it was pouring!! Anyway, i get out of the car to assess the damage, and the tail lights are busted (but all electricals work), the rear bumper is messed, the dicky hatch is screwed, and even the top of the the roof was messed (that we noticed later when we tried to open the boot). Overall, the car was bajaoed in stile (pun intended).

Anyway, i had the presence of mind to take photographs of the truck that whacked me (although i haven't filed a complaint as yet). I was also lucky that i had my foot pressed hard on the brake otherwise we'd have got sandwiched between cars and there could've been a fatality.

Now bad got to worse -
We had to wait in that pouring rain with a busted car for 2 hours!! No one was gonna come to help in such rain. After the 2 hour wait, we noticed that there was 2 foot deep water ahead - and the locals had come to help, they were just allowing big cars (scorpios etc) go through.

So i decided to watch - scorpios got through without any problem as did tata safari's. Then i saw an accent try - poor guy got messed up and had to be push out of the way. Then i saw a Swift go through, that was the moment of truth - anything a swift can do, a palio 1.6 stile can do better !!

So i went through it - no problems. Of course since the dicky was messed up we got a little bit of water in the car, but not too bad. Got home to pune with a 3 hour delay.

THe next day i took the car to the reliance cashless garage there, and within 4 hours the surveyor came and okay'd the damages and asked the garage owner to start work. I am still to get an estimate will keep the thread posted.

Here are some pics of the car.









And also of the *&$% truck driver who whacked into me!!!

[1self]

Well, I'm glad nothing happened! It could have been a lot worse!!! Since the colour of the vehicle is black, I would DEFINATELY suggest ytou get some retro-reflecting tapes & stick them on the bumbers & other aft parts of the car...trust me...it helps a MASSIVE amount. This is what i have at the back of my Elantra (even though it's not black).

[sukiwa]

sorry to know about incident, hope your car exteriors get repaired soon.

I have a habit of keeping my foot pressed on the brake while waiting so i guess that's a really good thing (read on to know why).

I have a habit of using applying hand brake while waiting & keeping gear in neutral, even on a traffic signal. It helps to relax feet a bit.

[finneyp]

Uttam, sorry to know about the mishap!

I suggest you to get the contacts of the truck owner, ask him for to pay for the damages else you will file a FIR, very strange that truck driver moron didn't notice the glowing brake lights & hazard lights!
He should pay up for his carelessness!

[pradkumar]

File an FIR right away. The only way you can contact the truck driver would be by filing an FIR and then seeking the help of the RTO. To seek the help of the RTO, an FIR would be mandatory.

Pradeep

Originally Posted by finneyp

Uttam, sorry to know about the mishap!

I suggest you to get the contacts of the truck owner, ask him for to pay for the damages else you will file a FIR, very strange that truck driver moron didn't notice the glowing brake lights & hazard lights!
He should pay up for his carelessness!

[moralfibre]

Thats a bad bang Uttam. Which garage are you getting it fixed from?

Originally Posted by finneyp

I suggest you to get the contacts of the truck owner, ask him for to pay for the damages else you will file a FIR, very strange that truck driver moron didn't notice the glowing brake lights & hazard lights!
He should pay up for his carelessness!

If I am not mistaken, the truck driver is legally not entitled to pay you a penny from his pocket if he has a third party insurance. If he doesn't have an all clean chit on his documents then there is a possibility that you can opt for an out of court settlement. Otherwise I am pretty sure that he is not required to pay you for the damages from his pocket which is why you MUST have a third party insurance mandatory as per RTO rules.

[cooldude1988765]

That looks like a real bad hit. Glad to hear all of you are ok. Was the dog in the boot ?

[METISWHG]

Good everyone was safe and thankfully nothing was close in front of you, else it would have been double damage

[bottle]

**** **** this is really really bad, glad to know that you are safe. Do keep us updated.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by cooldude1988765

That looks like a real bad hit. Glad to hear all of you are ok. Was the dog in the boot ?

oh cmon. lol. no one is harsh enough to put their dog in the boot of a hatch. that too with the parcel shelf over it?

[PatchyBoy]

That is a real bad hit. I don't think the truck driver would not have noticed your brake lights and hazard lamps. I guess he just was not able to stop in time. Anyways, the damage is done. I strongly recommend you file a FIR right away. Insurance will pay only 50% of the plastic parts and the rear bumper and tail lamp assembly of the Palio are not cheap.

Originally Posted by cooldude1988765

That looks like a real bad hit. Glad to hear all of you are ok. Was the dog in the boot ?

I hope not. If it was, Uttamc should not be having a pet.

Cheers,

Rajan

[AbhiJ]

Bad luck brother , but a tough car there....

Glad to know everyone is ok, coz thats all that matters.

[anandpadhye]

Bad luck...I know how it feels when one's car is hit...Admire the way you have handled it...having a "cool head" is a godly gift.

[TrueDreamer]

Sorry to hear this. Hope it comes back quickly like original. And don't let that truck driver away without getting compensation.

[Palio_2005]

That's a close call. Good to know that there weren't any injuries. It must have been really scary. Palio is a tough car which probably saved you.

Bumper to bumper traffic on a highway is a nightmare, even more so when you can't flip onto the other side of the road because of barriers. So i got in queue like everyone else

.

This is definitely not a good driving practice, especially on the highway. You could get whacked on the front and with serious consequenses.