[saptarshi]

While I am not particularly in favor of generalizing what could be an one off incident, I really hate the mob mentality of blindly dumping the blame on the car-driver. This is the only reason why I do not let my girlfriend drive alone, should anything happen!

I remember one particular incident that's still fresh in my memory: we were doing a Mysore - Blr sometime couple of years back. My friend was on the wheel. Suddenly, our hero, completely unaware of the whooshing vehicles, decides to cross the road. Funnily, this guy was watching out in the wrong direction while doing so. We managed to save him that day, but we swerved and hit the divider before bumping back on track, damaging the wheel in the process. Also, our orvm had brushed against our hero - no physical harm caused though.
Wait, worst was not over. Quickly, a bunch of villagers appeared out of nowhere. I was expecting us to be congratulated, but no. They started verbally abusing us. Ignorance of local language did not help either. Two goons started demanding compensation money. My friend goes, "Look, he is standing on his own feet. He should be throwing a party, for crying out loud. Could have very well been a stain on the road". Amid all the chaos, one dude suddenly tries reaching for our car keys. Thanks to my friend's presence of mind and sensing trouble, we fled off.

The gene pool pollutant cost us 10k in repairs, but I feel good for his loved ones. And after that incident, I always factor in the irrational mob behavior in handling road situations. Simply put, plan A is to escape the scene if my vehicle happens to be the bigger entity.

[sidcruise79]

Originally Posted by saptarshi

While I am not particularly in favor of generalizing what could be an one off incident, I really hate the mob mentality of blindly dumping the blame on the car-driver. This is the only reason why I do not let my girlfriend drive alone, should anything happen!

I remember one particular incident that's still fresh in my memory: we were doing a Mysore - Blr sometime couple of years back. My friend was on the wheel. Suddenly, our hero, completely unaware of the whooshing vehicles, decides to cross the road. Funnily, this guy was watching out in the wrong direction while doing so. We managed to save him that day, but we swerved and hit the divider before bumping back on track, damaging the wheel in the process. Also, our orvm had brushed against our hero - no physical harm caused though.
Wait, worst was not over. Quickly, a bunch of villagers appeared out of nowhere. I was expecting us to be congratulated, but no. They started verbally abusing us. Ignorance of local language did not help either. Two goons started demanding compensation money. My friend goes, "Look, he is standing on his own feet. He should be throwing a party, for crying out loud. Could have very well been a stain on the road". Amid all the chaos, one dude suddenly tries reaching for our car keys. Thanks to my friend's presence of mind and sensing trouble, we fled off.

The gene pool pollutant cost us 10k in repairs, but I feel good for his loved ones. And after that incident, I always factor in the irrational mob behavior in handling road situations. Simply put, plan A is to escape the scene if my vehicle happens to be the bigger entity.

+1 on that. I also feel that in case you are involved in accident and have hurt someone the best option is to flee and go to the nearest police station to report the incident. Atleat one gets saved from the mob.

[khoj]

This should not be looked upon as an all encompassing judgement.
In a similar accident, a car hit a lady jaywalker. The light was green and traffic was in motion when the lady simply stepped on to the road just as the car was about to go through the intersection. the driver literally stood on the brakes but there was no way he could have avoided hitting the jaywalker who was pronounced doa at the hospital. The case was closed last year with the driver getting a not guilty verdict.

The judiciary is not impervious to the technicalities involved if they are made aware of the same.

The judicial system however is another story. The driver involved was in his early twenties when this happened, he is now in his late thirties. It is the system that needs overhauling, in it's present state it can and does mess up lives.

[GTO]

This should not be looked upon as an all encompassing judgement.

It's a heavy judgement and one that carries a lot of weight. After all, the verdict was at the High Court level. Be sure that it will be cited & referred to in several other cases from now on (at the magistrate level).

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by khoj

The driver involved was in his early twenties when this happened, he is now in his late thirties.

And what about the mental agony that this innocent driver suffered though the 15+ years of the court trial ? Did he get any compensation for that ?

What about the time and money wasted on this trial ? Did the innocent driver get any compensation for that ?

Possibly his driving license was also suspended during the court trial. Did he get compensated for the inconvenience caused for not being able to drive all this time ?

Or is it that our judicial system only compensates the dead party ?

Rohan,
Bangalore

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

And what about the mental agony that this innocent driver suffered though the 15+ years of the court trial ? Did he get any compensation for that ?

What about the time and money wasted on this trial ? Did the innocent driver get any compensation for that ?

Possibly his driving license was also suspended during the court trial. Did he get compensated for the inconvenience caused for not being able to drive all this time ?

Or is it that our judicial system only compensates the dead party ?

Rohan,
Bangalore

Rohan don't you think it’s too much of an ask? Who will compensate the driver? The lady's family, who lost her? There might be a lot of agony that the driver might have to go through but he is defending himself against a "life lost due to negligent driving case", don't you think the verdict proving him innocent itself is compensation enough for him. I can understand the feelings involved when you made such statements but don't you think it would be ridicules if the court asks her folks to pay up this guy who already responsible for her death(knowingly or unknowingly). We are discussing about fellow human beings here, the only difference between us and them is one knows his/her responsibilities and the other doesn’t, so that makes us even more accountable for our acts.

Guys, i feel the main reason for the delay should be her family contesting against the verdict in the higher court, for them its a loved one lost. Though I am strictly with your views for some villagers (not stereotyping any group of people) who were knocked down and luckily came out scratch less and still try to harass drivers to extort money. My only point here is respect the departed.

Pramod

[GTO]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

And what about the mental agony that this innocent driver suffered though the 15+ years of the court trial ? Did he get any compensation for that ?

What about the time and money wasted on this trial ? Did the innocent driver get any compensation for that ?

Hey, you live in a democratic country with a binding judicial system! There is a price to pay, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Rohan don't you think it’s too much of an ask? Who will compensate the driver? The lady's family, who lost her? There might be a lot of agony that the driver might have to go through but he is defending himself against a "life lost due to negligent driving case", don't you think the verdict proving him innocent itself is compensation enough for him. I can understand the feelings involved when you made such statements but don't you think it would be ridicules if the court asks her folks to pay up this guy who already responsible for her death(knowingly or unknowingly). We are discussing about fellow human beings here, the only difference between us and them is one knows his/her responsibilities and the other doesn’t, so that makes us even more accountable for our acts.

Pramod

The point I am trying to make is that we need to understand the difference between the death of a pedestrian because of the driver's negligence v/s the death of a pedestrian because of his/her own negligence.

In the above mentioned case, it has been proved in the court that the pedestrian died because of her own negligence, not because of the driver's. The driver made every possible effort to stop the car after the lady stepped on the road negligently. Hence it is not correct to say that the driver was responsible for her death. IMHO, she was herself responsible for it.

I have sympathy for the family members of the departed. But it seems that they were unnecessarily dragging the innocent driver to the court trials, being fully aware that their party was guilty. I feel that they did this just to cause all possible misery to the driver, who (in their opinion) was responsible for the death of their family member. If they have the time and money to carry on the court trial for decades, then I don't see any reason why they should not be made to pay the compensation to the other party (if he is declared innocent by the court).

I would like to see a judicial system where the guilty party compensates the innocent party, not a system where the motorist compensates the pedestrian or a system where the survivor compensates the deceased.

I repeat my previous statement on this thread, court decisions should be based on facts, not based on sympathy for the deceased.

Originally Posted by GTO

Hey, you live in a democratic country with a binding judicial system! There is a price to pay, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

Sorry, I could not get the point you were trying to make. If you mean to say that - Indian Judician system mein der hai par andher nahi, then I agree with you to a certain extent.

But my personal opinion is that - Justice delayed is justice denied.

For an innocent person, the mental agony of going through a court trial for allegedly killing someone on the road is a punishment in itself.

Rohan,
Bangalore

[tortoiseNhare]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

In the above mentioned case, it has been proved in the court that the pedestrian died because of her own negligence, not because of the driver's. The driver made every possible effort to stop the car after the lady stepped on the road negligently. Hence it is not correct to say that the driver was responsible for her death. IMHO, she was herself responsible for it.

In a situation like above, suppose the court absolves the driver of any offence, i.e. rules that the pedestrian was at fault. Now what happens to the third party insurance claim? Will the family of the deceased be eligible to receive compensation? In other words, does the third party insurance cover any damage due to the vehicle or does it cover only the damage by the car for which the owner/driver is guilty of?

[raghu.t.k]

I totally agree with Rohan. Having to go through the case for multiple years is a punishment by itself. The impact of this on his work and personal life would have been significant. One only needs to see the attitude of the Hyd traffic to realise the gravity. Almost every other vehicle is finding ways and means to break the law. Triples in a bike is accepted norm, while 4 - 5 can be tried. I never knew the large autos had the capacity for 20 with only the front of the vehilcle spared.

That said the down side could be that cases like that of the BMWs case could be easily bought if stringent checks are not in place.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

The point I am trying to make is that we need to understand the difference between the death of a pedestrian because of the driver's negligence v/s the death of a pedestrian because of his/her own negligence.

In the above mentioned case, it has been proved in the court that the pedestrian died because of her own negligence, not because of the driver's. The driver made every possible effort to stop the car after the lady stepped on the road negligently. Hence it is not correct to say that the driver was responsible for her death. IMHO, she was herself responsible for it.

I have sympathy for the family members of the departed. But it seems that they were unnecessarily dragging the innocent driver to the court trials, being fully aware that their party was guilty. I feel that they did this just to cause all possible misery to the driver, who (in their opinion) was responsible for the death of their family member. If they have the time and money to carry on the court trial for decades, then I don't see any reason why they should not be made to pay the compensation to the other party (if he is declared innocent by the court).

I would like to see a judicial system where the guilty party compensates the innocent party, not a system where the motorist compensates the pedestrian or a system where the survivor compensates the deceased.

I repeat my previous statement on this thread, court decisions should be based on facts, not based on sympathy for the deceased.



Sorry, I could not get the point you were trying to make. If you mean to say that - Indian Judician system mein der hai par andher nahi, then I agree with you to a certain extent.

But my personal opinion is that - Justice delayed is justice denied.

For an innocent person, the mental agony of going through a court trial for allegedly killing someone on the road is a punishment in itself.

Rohan,
Bangalore

Rohan,

If you read my posts in this very thread you will see i hold the same sentiments and views as you.

Making the kins of the diseased pay is not an option and they will drag the matter even further in court. so the solution would be india imposing something like foreign countries where in every individual has insurance and if something like this happens the insurance company pays up. But all this is better said than done.

I just rememberd a scene, i witnessed couple of months back when a Lady in a wagon R hit 2 women on a scooty. Both of them died on spot, the impact was on the left side of the car(windscreen). The bike and the two women were facing the other side of the road, the possibility was the scootrists were coming wrong way, but the mob was trying to set her car on fire, had it been a guy i am sure he would have also been set on fire. As somebody rightly mentioned, the issue here is is the huge divide between the Rich and the poor, and always the man/woman with the smaller vehicle is considered poor, this is viglanty justice, if one dodges that situation and reaches the police station then there would be a lot of locals turning eyewitness against the so called rich guy and trying to fleece him. This is india and best option is to avoid such situations, if unfortunately you happen to get into one, just drive away and go to the nearest police station and surrender. The mental agony can be far less to the physical damage the mob might cause.


Pramod

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by saptarshi

The gene pool pollutant cost us

Hilarious phrase!

I gues the best thing is to keep out of trouble while driving. I tend to give 2 wheelers especially a lot of room and many times, give jaywalking pedestrians right of way.

I do not want 5 minutes of impatience to ruin the next few years of my life.

[l_tejash]

The funny rule here is that the bigger your car, you are more liable for the accident even if it not your fault.
Goes something like if the pedestrian is banged by a Rickshaw then it is the Rickshaw fellows fault. If the Rickshaw fellow is banged by a car then it is the car fellows fault and so on.
I have had a bad experience due to this mentality of the police even when it was someone else's fault in the accident as they considered me having the car so it was my fault. They dont even look much at the scene of events that have taken place.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Making the kins of the diseased pay is not an option and they will drag the matter even further in court. so the solution would be india imposing something like foreign countries where in every individual has insurance and if something like this happens the insurance company pays up. But all this is better said than done.

That is a very good suggestion. Even I was thinking along the same lines, but implementing this in India would be extremely difficult. Lets hope that it is implemented in India some day.

Originally Posted by gomzi

I gues the best thing is to keep out of trouble while driving. I tend to give 2 wheelers especially a lot of room and many times, give jaywalking pedestrians right of way.

I do not want 5 minutes of impatience to ruin the next few years of my life.

Keeping out of trouble seems to be the only way for car drivers. But only defensive driving is not sufficient, I recommend defensive driving along with aggressive honking (to alert the jaywalkers).

I know that excessive honking is not good, but sometimes it is really required to get the attention of jaywalkers.

I never honk at fellow motorists, but make sure to honk (excessively) when some jaywalker tries a stunt in front of my car.

Rohan,
Bangalore

[YaeJay]

I have never honked a lot, Dont like it, even used to have a sticker that said " dont honk i am driving as fast as i can" But today I am looking for two pairs of horns, a ROOTs and a HELLA. Why? Because In India, they always hold you at fault for that jay walker or that insane twowheel rider, unless you drive a truck or a govt bus. Might as well Blow the horn an make a few deaf ears than having a situation! Btw If we cant change the whole lot, we do have a better chance at being one of the crowd! HONK them deaf!