[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Ketan

I guess we have those products avaialble in India as well, the other day I was looking for it on the same website where some other security / surveillance products. HVK uses one I guess (for the different purpose though), he or other users may throw some light on similar products.
DASH CAMERA FOR CAR IN DELHI, CAR DASH CAMERA IN INDIA, CAR SECURITY CAMERA DELHI, CAR SECURITY VIDEO RECORDER INDIA, WWW.spycameradealerindelhi.net

This camera that is previewed in the link is different from what I use. This one is very basic, the models I saw featured in the link are only shooting video.

The car cam I use records video. Captures audio. Has a GPS, so it geo-tags the video. When you play it in your computer, you see the Google Map of the place you are driving through. You get altitude & geo-coordinates. It computes speed. It also tracks trajectory.

This is how it looks like:







And when you run the data on your computer, this is what you see:



Yes, a car cam will be very useful, but then you have to keep the ignition switched on all the time - unless you have connected it continuously to battery directly - and you get only frontal views (and not side views) (although I think there is a model where you can swivel it around manually to the side you want it to shoot.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by hrman

2. A techie with HP found dead in his Polo with duct tape all around him. This was reported today in TOI and happened around Mahadevpura. Gruesome and chilling!!!
Link from NDTV:Bangalore techie found dead in car, seatbelt fastened

Police seem to have cracked the case. Its a suicide, not a case of mugging.
Sreerag died of suffocation: Reports - South India - Bangalore - ibnlive

[kavu75]

Happened to see this in my face book share. I am not sure this has already posted here.
Note - I haven't tried any of these numbers.

[bharat4ever]

This thread is an eye opener for me, but it's come late. I've been mugged, that too on two occasions. Yes, i am the donkey who got mugged twice.

1. This was near Maharaj hotel in 4th block Koramangala. At around 7:30 am in the morning. I was driving from HSR layout, and going to my friend's place in Koramangala to pick her up for office. Just when i was turning into one of the side roads opposite to Fitness One gym, i heard a knock on my rear window. I turned and saw these two guys on a bike. I was just 6 months into driving then, so I was not that confident of my driving as well.

He asks me to stop, so I stop to go talk to him. I left my wallet and my phone in the car, locked it and went. As soon as I went to talk to them, two more bikes with 4 such goons circled me, and started punching me on my back. I have a wheezing problem, so I couldn't tolerate it. Moreover, my friend's place was just around the corner, and she stays alone in that house. So I didnt want them to find that out and trouble her or even worse.

They started saying that i pushed one of the bikes and made them fall, and they started asking for compensation. I said lets go to the police station, and that got me three more punches. There were pedestrians on the road, but no one even bothered to look at me also. I was scared stiff, and not knowing much of Kannada also didnt help. Then they took me to an ATM and asked me to go withdraw cash. They smartly didnt come near the ATM. After a lot of threatening and being physically beaten up, I had to part with Rs. 20000. I had a life changing job interview that day, and I had that on my mind, was very pre occupied and this happened.


2. The second time was near Forum Mall. I was turning into the side road, near @Home, going into Thaverkere. My parents stay there and I was late to meet them. This was at 7 PM in the evening. There was a big jam on the Hosur road, and i was crawling along. Both the front windows were rolled down (you know, to save fuel. )
As I was turning, a guy came on my side, and said that I ran over his leg. I stopped the car, and started telling him that I didn't do it. Then he said ok ok and he left... two minutes later I realize that my phone, which i'd kept on the passenger's seat is missing. :(

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by bharat4ever

This thread is an eye opener for me, but it's come late. I've been mugged, that too on two occasions. Yes, i am the donkey who got mugged twice.

Sad to hear your story. I may sound crude and weird but these are some of the rules that I strictly follow in my 8 years of driving in Bangalore:

1. In these 8 years I have driven with my windows down only for a few seconds - I'm not joking, this is true.
2. I'll never "look" at any other driver directly.
3. I NEVER stop my vehicle even if I have to kill a few guys - God forbid that has not happened; if I have to I'll either stop in front of a Police Station or inside my Apartment complex
4. I'll never give lift to any one even if someone is dying in front of my eyes
5. This has not happened - but if a biker stops me by placing the bike in front of my car - I'd rather run over him than stop
6. In the worst case, I'll directly drive to the Police Station

What to do - The Bangalore traffic has made me heart-less

[mav2000]

Well, after reading what you have written, all I can say is that most of the blame lies with you.

In this day and age, what you did was naive and you paid for it. I drive with the drivers side window open 50% of the time, but I never leave the passenger side window open, ever. I may open it by an inch or two, but thats about it. About 6 months ago I had some idiot come up to me at a signal at around 11 in the night, saying that I had pushed him off the road.

He wanted me to get out of my car and see the damage on his bike or something and was getting quite insistent about it. If not for my 4 year old son and wife in the car I would probably have given him a few of the finest words that I have learnt during my hostel days. But on that day, I just put up my window and continued driving as if I didnt hear him at all.

When he decided to follow me like the idiot that he was I did run him off the road. I feel a bit taken aback as to how I felt then, but at that point of time, I would have probably run him over if things got worse. He got back on the road and didnt bother to follow me after that.

I care for my family more than anything else in the world and thats why I shut up when he tried to force me to get out of the car. But its the same care for my family that probably made me run him of the road as well.

I am not ashmed of what I did and I would do it again. If the police and the state cannot help me then I will just have to help myself. Today's India is probaly more uncivilised than it has ever been in the past and with a mix of taxi/auto/bus drivers driving around is if they were on crack, is enough to turn any law abiding driver senile.

You are already trying to look around 360 degrees as well as the condition of the road to take a simple right/left turn. You are already trying to save the lives of a hundred motorcycle riders everyday who love to cut into your lane at high speed without a care in the world. Most of these riders believe that its the duty of other road users to save their lives.

When we add petty thieves to this mix, it all gets a bit out of hand. My simple advice, learn a few Kanada bad words and let loose when you get a chance. Dont put your window down and keep driving what ever happens.

I saw a very scared couple a few days ago on the main old airport road. They were in their Maruti 800 along with a child. They must have cut a lane or something, I have no idea, but suddenly at the signal, where I was stopped behind them, a couple of guys got off a bike and started to hit the car with their helmet. To the credit of the driver, he did not get out of his car.

Funny thing, a cop standing a few meters away from the scene decided that it was not his job to stop these guys. He just continued taking photos of cars which had stopped after the line instead of doing something that he should have.

[jinojohnt]

Six months back I had a 'narrow escape' while walking alone at Hosur Road. I got down one bus-stop before "Crown Plaza / Electronics city Phase1" by mistake at 9:30 P.M. It was dark (likely power cut in one area), but I decided to walk. I was surrounded by 3 or 4 'gentle-men' on the way, but some wild instinct prompted me to run for my life :-). They 'chased' me for around 50 meters, but backed-off on seeing that I was running towards the next lighted area on the road.
Valuable lesson learnt:
1. Avoid dark, deserted areas, specially at night.
2. Do not try to resist. Best option is to run for your life (preferably towards crowed/well lit areas). If that is not possible, remember that your life is more important than your valuables.

[aqualeo2040]

My experience with Bangalore traffic:

I keep the windows rolled down most of the time when I am alone as long as the temperature is below 30 degrees and its not raining.

When I am with my better half, the windows remain rolled up.

When the windows are down, my music system is blaring some kind of music (mostly rock, trance, hip hop, mexican, french, english et al) pretty loud.
Gets me nasty stares from passers by however, this has till date kept nuisance makers at bay.

My regular route to/from work , which covers Sarjapur Road, Agara, & ORR,
is notorious for mugging. However, by the time I drive back, i.e. around 10pm, traffic is sparse and the road is pretty empty allowing me to touch decent speeds. If anyone decides to stop/catch up, they will probably need a bigger bike to do so.

Knowing the local lingo always helps. I am not born in Bangalore, but I have tried to learn the language of the city that has so gracefully adopted me. So, I can have a managable convo in case of any issues.

Worst case scenario : I replaced my rear suspension and the rods are still in the boot. A big thick steel rod is a very nice deterent. (I Hope I do not have to expose Mr Gabriel to some one).

I have had 3 drunk locals crash head on into my ride. The aggression + local lingo enabled the small 5.7 frame to be pretty effective in spite of my Techie Tee shirt (having my company logo).

I might be just simply lucky and have evaded the mexican stand off till now. Fingers crossed.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by mav2000

I saw a very scared couple a few days ago on the main old airport road. They were in their Maruti 800 along with a child. They must have cut a lane or something, I have no idea, but suddenly at the signal, where I was stopped behind them, a couple of guys got off a bike and started to hit the car with their helmet. To the credit of the driver, he did not get out of his car

No doubt or question about what you did with the guy who tried to get you out of your car. But I have a question about the second incident. Generally in Bangalore, dont the other vehicles/ passersby stop such morons who hit vehicles with helmets etc? If there is some kind of questioning by passers by, it can be interpreted as resistance and the impunity of these morons would probably not increase.
Or have we just got to the stage where we dont care as long as its not happening to our car?

Again, when I say this the response of the second person onwards in the crowd is most important. or else the first person to protest will picked upon by these thugs.

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

When the windows are down, my music system is blaring some kind of music (mostly rock, trance, hip hop, mexican, french, english et al) pretty loud.
Gets me nasty stares from passers by however, this has till date kept nuisance makers at bay.

How does loud music help keep nuisance makers at bay? I didnt get it and would like to understand.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

How does loud music help keep nuisance makers at bay? I didnt get it and would like to understand.

Apologies. Its a Bangy thing.
General notion : Loud music = Moron
Morons in Bangy have a lot of moronic friends. Not good to mess with e.g. areas around Tilaknagar, Shivajinagar (no offence meant to any dwellers. I have lot of my moronic friends from that area who can pop up any time of the day for any help).

A bit of bling can sometimes act as a deterent here.

I try to act moronic or as I said, just simply lucky

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Apologies. Its a Bangy thing.
General notion : Loud music = Moron
Morons in Bangy have a lot of moronic friends. Not good to mess with e.g. areas around Tilaknagar, Shivajinagar (no offence meant to any dwellers. I have lot of my moronic friends from that area who can pop up any time of the day for any help).

A bit of bling can sometimes act as a deterent here.

I try to act moronic or as I said, just simply lucky

I cant help but , funniest thing I have read in the recent times being moronic and playing loud music helps. Which era are you living in dude ? I have been in Bangalore all my life and can speak the local lingo very fluently and I have almost been at the receiving end a few times.I am not small in frame , 6 feet tall 87kgs and drive the most hated SUV called the Scorpio and this hasn't deterred anyone who wants to prove his prowess.

That said, every area in Bangalore has it's fair share of goons be it Tilaknagar or an up-class area like Dollar's Colony, RMV.

I would say be on your guard always and try to walk away from an argument. Helps quite a bit.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

I cant help but , funniest thing I have read in the recent times being moronic and playing loud music helps. Which era are you living in dude ? I have been in Bangalore all my life and can speak the local lingo very fluently and I have almost been at the receiving end a few times.I am not small in frame , 6 feet tall 87kgs and drive the most hated SUV called the Scorpio and this hasn't deterred anyone who wants to prove his prowess.

That said, every area in Bangalore has it's fair share of goons be it Tilaknagar or an up-class area like Dollar's Colony, RMV.

I would say be on your guard always and try to walk away from an argument. Helps quite a bit.

Yes sir. The last one is the most important thing to keep in mind.

Going by the serious tone of the thread, thought of giving some moments to our brethren

If I really believe that all that hullabaloo can actually keep me safe, I am probably the second smartest guy next to Johnny Bravo!

I strongly support the pointers made by Templehof *except for the killing bit (bit too gory for my liking).

Apologies if I have hurt any feelings.

[goandude]

Hi guys, This is not a mugging as such but a pick pocketing on a ac volvo bus yesterday.
Wife and I were travelling from Kammanahali ORR junction to Tin factory on a 500 series volvo. It was crowded and two ladies with children in arms got in and stood close to wife (who was sitting facing rear of bus). They looked poorly dressed and out of place in a Volvo. wife got suspicious when the conductor told one of the ladies to sit and she refused. So wife grabbed her sling bag (purse) and kept it in front of her and covered it with a plastic bag in which we had some shopping. This was as we were reaching our destination. We got down and later when she went to pay off a auto we found to our horror that all the money had been robbed from the sling purse. Wife never felt a thing.

This is to warn you all guys of these ladies with kids in their arms.

[kicksperliter]

I would like to narrate an incident happened to me. When I was in my previous company, which was not too long back, I used to work during US CST hours. Though I had the opportunity to work from home 365 days, I made it a habit to visit office from 6.30pm - atleast 12am.
During Project deliveries, I used to stretch till 1-2am. One such day, after a long tiring day, I left office towards my home in Banashankari around 1am and on the way near Bangalore Central JP nagar, a bike borne guy along with another bike sped in front of me and slowed down all of a sudden right in front of my car, thus stopping my car.

Those idiots didn't knew who they are gonna deal with, with fury I got down my car with a HOCKEY Stick (which I always keep along with one security baton too in my car) and without a second thought, I bashed the guy, by seeing this, another biker sped like hell leaving his buddy behind.

No remorse. As, I had not beaten the mugger to bled. But, consciously used it on his thighs and lover calf muscles. (consciously? at such flip sec? I am a black belt in martial arts, hence we know how and where. I mentioned this, to avoid comments from our community sympathizers who feel pity towards the guy I had beaten and curse me for being violent towards a poor thing)

After making sure the guy whom I had beaten was no longer threat, I called cops. They came on the scene after 15mins of my call, where the biker lay on the curb side begging me. I duly handed over the guy to cops and gave a written complaint at the station.
I explained in my complaint upon self-defence I have beaten the guy for my own security due to various mugging reasons, where IT folks are targeted.
The guy was literally taken to the task and another biker who fled was also arrested. I was called to identify the biker, which I did.

I was satisfied with the act, without any regret.

Such guys are not only threat to common or weaker section of men, but also threat to women. So no sympathy to such guys.

Since, then I am more confident in handling such muggers, with required tools at my disposal when in such dire consequences.

[raihan]

Originally Posted by kicksperliter

Those idiots didn't knew who they are gonna deal with, with fury I got down my car with a HOCKEY Stick (which I always keep along with one security baton too in my car) and without a second thought, I bashed the guy, by seeing this, another biker sped like hell leaving his buddy behind.

In a thread where most of the posters have sadly been at the receiving end, your post comes as a breath of fresh air am glad you did what you did & more importantly you had the right training. I wish more of us get trained & take the muggers to task then maybe we can rename this thread to I beat up muggers