re: 2012 Maruti Ritz VDI - Our new family workhorse! **EDIT: Now sold!** First Accident:-
Sylver met with a semi-serious accident today. Luckily Dad, who was driving, escaped unhurt.
He was returning home from the bank when a CRPF truck, which was just in front of him in a traffic jam, suddenly started reversing in some speed and, despite his blowing the horn continuously and some observers yelling that he was about to crash into our Ritzy, rammed Sylver from her driver-side front and tore her front grille/bumper into two pieces. The driver side headlight unit fell out completely detached, it's plastic straps/locks broken. The driver side fog lamp got destroyed as well. Luckily the radiator, engine and the chassis part of that side of the car didn't suffer much, except for some scratches.
The car panel section on the right, just in front of the driver door, needs some serious denting and painting jobs. Sylver will need a new grille/front bumper (since it's a whole complete unit) and new front headlight and front fog light.
Approximate valuation of the damages for now by the Maruti guys = 27,000/-. Exact amount to be known when the valuator arrives tomorrow.
The incident happened at around 12 PM today. Dad called me from the spot and he was barely able to talk, he was so much in shock. I jumped into Pegasus without a second's hesitation and called up a colleague from office while driving and immediately reached the accident spot, which is almost dead-center of the city, just in front of the Yamaha showroom.
Dad was completely shaken and by the time I reached the scene, his hands and legs were shaking badly. Apparently the driver of the CRPF truck came down and walked over to Dad, and instead of apologising, had the extremely rude nerve to give Dad a blast, commenting "Jo karna hai kar lo, truck number bhi note kar lo, mai nahi darta" (translated - "Do whatever you can in your power, you can even note down the truck number, I am not afraid") and left the scene.
None of the watching public/passers-by bothered to get involved. Some tsk-tsked and offered their sympathies before going their ways, leaving him alone in that spot with the wrecked Sylver till we reached the scene.
I reached the scene with my office colleague, and my father-in-law reached there as well on his Pleasure. I called the Maruti dealership to my SA, Dhananjay, and asked him if police complaint/FIR needed to be lodged for insurance claim. They said no need if nobody was hurt, and he immediately inquired about everything, and told me he was sending someone over. I asked everyone present if we should lodge an FIR, but my colleague and FIL voted against it, since it would only result in more hassle. Within 5 minutes, a Maruti SA (who was present in the nearby HDFC bank branch) reached the scene. He surveyed the damage, brought a couple of thick wires from the nearest welding shop and tied up the two parts of the damaged grille/front bumper together and helped Dad drive Sylver to the dealership.
We have cashless, Zero Dep & B2B insurance so claim won't be a problem, but the damage to a practically brand-new car is completely disheartening. Add to it, the sheer audacity of that CRPF fellow who was so rude that he came over to bad-mouth a senior citizen, retired, 65-year old old man who was already so badly shaken by the entire incident and by the damage inflicted to his new car.
Dad hasn't spoken much since the moment he returned home with me from the dealership. I can only imagine how badly hurt he must be feeling. His car getting damaged so badly AND that crude, foul-mouthed beast of a man yelling at him, as if it was DAD's fault, entirely.
I was visibly upset but kept my nerves cool. Barely 4 months old Sylver, 2100-ish KMS on the ODO, and the first sight of her damaged self from the distance made me hold my breath sharply and completely broke my heart. I couldn't even take any pics. I will see if I can muster enough strength to take some pics tomorrow. Sigh!
Last edited by RavenAvi : 2nd May 2013 at 23:27.
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