[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Just wanted to clear some misconception here. The vehicle is not parked on "middle" of the road. It was parked on side of the road, but not on the kerb.

The pic taken was from 0.5x zoom to accommodate both bike and car in the same frame. See where the towing truck is parked? That was the place my vehicle was parked. Ample space for even a bulldozer to pass without grazing my vehicle. I should have parked off road for sure and that was my mistake which I already acknowledged, still doesn't mean I am at 100% fault here. It takes two hands to clap.

Sue me on what basis? Anyone who hits from behind is at fault by default, please remember this simple rule. The person riding from back is supposed to maintain safe distance. He should be thankful that I did not proceed legally (which he already thanked me). When you drive nauseated, without helmet, damage my vehicle, don't carry any papers, no TR number, then I am sorry you have no legal right to sue me. This would have easily backfired on him if he went to court.

If you have parked at the side then it's not really your fault. Regarding the hit from behind, a stationary vehicle is not supposed to be on the road, especially a smooth flowing road or highway. Tell me this, was the biker following you and hit you when you stopped? Or did he come and hit your parked car a while post your stop?
Had you put on your blinkers, most likely the accident may not have taken place.
I agree about his lack of licence and insurance, but think of this. What if the biker had died? The police would book you on a illegal parking case and then add on clauses of negligence leading to accident and a death.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Felt sorry for him and quickly booked an auto and took him personally to a nearby hospital. Admitted him in emergency ward and took care of joining formalities.

Good on you.

This is one of those rare instances where the person responsible for the accident isn't behaving like a ruffian. In such instances, I don't mind giving them a hand, if they need it. You had some luck on your side or all the stars were in some form of alignment. If he really did strike your vehicle at the said speed, the force at which he would have slammed his head on your car would cracked his skull!

[aniket13]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Also please be aware that if someone hits your vehicle from back side, it is always the fault of the vehicle behind. This is because they are supposed to maintain enough stopping distance.

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Sue me on what basis? Anyone who hits from behind is at fault by default, please remember this simple rule. The person riding from back is supposed to maintain safe distance.

Brother this type of attitude is extremely dangerous and a recipe for disaster, especially when there are too many variables into play. Your vehicle is clearly parked ON the road, regardless of space to the right for a scooty, bulldozer or spaceship. Adding to that you don't even have the hazard lights ON, which could have been enough to alert the biker (and anyone behind you). By your own admission the road is usually empty - these type of empty, undivided highways/country-side roads usually attract a lot of high-speed driving. Imagine if this was a speeding truck or car noticing your car is stationary a bit too late - the entire scene would have turned catastrophic and this post would have been on another thread - glad you have accepted this as a lesson learned. Without hazard lights, it is genuinely possible for a fast-moving vehicle to assume you are in motion.

On the other hand - massive, massive props to you for helping out the guy. In a parallel world, I can imagine someone in a similar situation absolutely thrashing the hell out of the biker and asking for compensation - damaging him both physically and financially (and legally?).

[kadanaJ]

Lot of people trying to imply Ramnaresh_2000 is at fault, if even partially.

If this happened in a more developed country with better road discipline and infrastructure, I'd be inclined to agree.

In India, where on a daily basis I have to deal with all sorts of vehicles randomly stopping where they wish, I've come to understand that it's my responsibility to not over-speed, maintain safe distance, and be ready to switch lanes if needed.

In theoretical fantasy land, I suppose Ramnaresh could be considered wrong. In Indian reality, I don't see how he's any different from the taxis, rickshaws who swerve and stop wherever they feel like, often without working brake lights.

Also, huge kudos to him for helping the bike guy out. It's more than most would have done in his situation.

[Akki272]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Felt sorry for him and quickly booked an auto and took him personally to a nearby hospital. Admitted him in emergency ward and took care of joining formalities.

The guy begged me not to admit him in such big hospital and he is fine with some small clinics first aid treatment. I assured him that I will take care of the charges. CT scan came clean, the wounds were cleaned and dressed, TT injection was given. After under observation for few hours he was discharged.

I admire your maturity levels and act in such circumstances, where the entire family as well as you were in shock, I believe. Mistakes do happen sometimes from the opposite person and sometimes by our own fate, but what is most important is what we learn out of this.

We need to focus on "what" happened here and not on "what if"s like a few other comments on the thread, one experience changes life and decision making inturn which help us grow.

[Rahul_]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Just wanted to clear some misconception here. The vehicle is not parked on "middle" of the road. It was parked on side of the road, but not on the kerb.

If your vehicle is even partially parked on the asphalted road, even though you are not parked in the "middle of the road by exact measure" as you claim, the fault is entirely yours. All the lanes on the road are supposed to be moving lanes. Blame it on the lax policing in India, but I have myself been questioned by cops in other developed countries, being asked when I parked on the shoulder due to sound coming from the wheel area and was in conversation with the AAA to get the vehicle towed. When I told the officer that I could not maintain the legal road speed limit, he escorted me to the nearest exit and asked me to wait in parking of a mall for the AAA to arrive as stopped vehicle on the road is a safety hazard. There are no ways to justify stopping on highways while you are on paved asphalt.

You should not get irked on so many people pointing this to you. We do not have so much awareness on this topic here, people learn after incidents have happened. One of my friends stopped on the highway shoulder to feed the young baby, only being rear ended by a truck. Although there were injuries, it did not turn to be fatal of them which was the silver lining. My wife who used to get irritated when I did not stop at the exact moment she asked on the highway changed her perception that very day and now herself asks to stop at a safe place "completely off the road" even if it highly urgent.

I really really appreciate your cool headedness in the situation and whatever you did for the injured person. But, you have to understand that you were cause of the accident and not him. You are right that in almost all of the cases, person rear ending the vehicle is at fault, except this one - where they are taken by surprise by stationary vehicle on an area which should ideally have had moving ones.

Please do not take me or the other members pointing out the mistake as something being directed personally at you. I understand you were not aware - but we all do learn sometime (I gave my own example). Hope this gets covered better in the process of obtaining license and there is more awareness on this and also to not drive on highway shoulders.

[DCharger]

My few cents here.

Firstly it was nice a gesture from your side to take the injured guy to a hospital even after suffering damage, not many do that.

From first pic it was clear you parked in middle of your lane as the white strip on left side seems at least a feet away. You are very lucky to get away with this small dent. As many have mentioned, without hazard lights/triangle, even the thought of a bigger vehicle in place of the scooter gives me chills.


As you have already mentioned, whatever be the type of road, please..please never park your vehicles on tarmac, not even one wheel on it. If it is a highway, make sure you find a service road or some small diversion. In worst case scenario where you do not have above options, please use hazard lights/triangle to warn the traffic behind and get off the road as much as possible.

One of my observations from your earlier pics, I saw a pseudo seat belt buckle on passenger side. Lot of guys use it and support their deed saying it saves the annoyance of seat belt warnings in city(my driver used this initially in our Fortuner and after repeated scolding, now he uses proper seat belt even for 1km drive) .

Please DO NOT use pseudo seat belt buckles to avoid warnings/fool system. This habit will make us forget wearing actual seat belt even when on highways and when needed. You seem to travel with your family most of time and you are driving one of the safest cars in India, please do not FORGET to wear seatbelts(I suggest, all the occupants in the car) and get a child seat if you have a kid in that age group.


I do at least a couple of 1,000km trip every month on my GLC/Fortuner(one of the safest cars in market), I make sure to take every safety precautions(above 2 points strictly adhered) possible, most of the tips coming in from TBHP and few from my own experiences.

Have a safe driving in many more years to come on your RED PHOENIX.

[Pancham]

Loved your thread but, Ram, buddy, this is an argument you cannot win on Team Bhp.

You got two strikes here. One with the way the car is parked and other with the proxy seat belt.

The scooter was not at fault, period - even if he was feeling nauseous (unless he was actually drunk or if he had hit you purposely). Can you imagine a situation where a larger vehicle could have hit you instead of this poor chap on a scooty and that too (in all probability) when the passengers seated inside the car were not wearing seat belts? - that is a recipe for disaster.

Glad you took this incident positively and learnt a lesson. We all evolve and get better over time. Cheers.

[kiranknair]

When there is sufficient space on the side of the road, wonder why the jeep was parked on the tarmac (irrespective of whether the hazard light was there or not). That too a 2 laned road/highway (not even a minor street with houses where people park on the street) with solid continuous white centre lines, where a vehicle like Lorry coming from behind has no option to pass other than to cut over the centre line (Only overtaking can be done on broken lines and not solid - other than emergencies and in case of accidents ).

But again this is India and people can park where ever they want and justify it.

[Dead_Pedal]

I wish the roads here had more lay byes. I'm always paranoid about someone losing control on the road and ploughing their vehicle straight into my parked car and hence tend to park it only in lay byes or open spaces in front of dhabas(owners usually don't mind). Killer parked trucks and left side overtakes = perfect recipe for a major disaster. Anyways, a great ownership thread sadly derailed by this incident. Also, I still haven't understood why do people drive with the hazard lights ON, completely confuses the succeeding driver!

Wishing the motorist, the motorbike and the Compass speedy recovery.

[ramnaresh_2000]

After reading some posts here, I came to conclusion that I can go and hit any vehicle parked on the road (parked in middle or side or without hazard light) even when there is ample space for traffic to go, and even then it will not be my mistake or fault (sarcasm intended).

Update on my insurance claim. This can also be considered as my review of Acko insurance.

Day 1: Raised claim in Acko app. The claim got registered and it immediately asked me to upload RC and driving license copies in app. I tried to upload, but i was getting error "unauthorized "? After sometime got a call from service advisor from Acko and he arranged for surveyor visit next day. He also asked me if I wanted to get it repaired in authorized service center or Acko preferred bodyshop. I opted authorized service center. I told him that I am unable to upload RC and license copies, he asked to leave RC in glove box. He said that the surveyor will click and upload the pics. He assured me that my presence is not required when surveyor visits.



Day 2: Surveyor visit was scheduled at 09:30 AM, he called me to confirm address of the service center. I told him there is only 1 Jeep authorized service center in Hyderabad and he can google the address. No update till afternoon. In afternoon requested callback from Acko app. Received the call in 30 minutes. The advisor apologized and said the surveyor went to wrong address . He then visited in afternoon and uploaded the pics. Waiting for approval.



Day 3: Received call at 16:00 from Acko. Work order for 63k got approved. This included the items listed below. However silencer bracket was not included. I was assured there will be one more estimate after the vehicle repair starts. This is to access the internal damages if any. The rear fender scratches if required repaint, then I will have to bear 12.5% of the total cost? Someone please confirm this. If the scratches can be removed by buffing, then I don't have to pay anything. They emailed the estimate and approval to Jeep bodyshop manager and copied me.



As of now apart from the minor hiccups, claiming insurance from Acko has been a great experience. Their app needs fixing. The SA and Surveyor called from numbers which don't have incoming

[brt_mhn]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

I slowly recovered from shock and noticed he was bleeding from his forehead. Felt sorry for him and quickly booked an auto and took him personally to a nearby hospital. Admitted him in emergency ward and took care of joining formalities.

Congratulations man! You kept your cool the whole time and showed true humanity in a world where there is a dearth of noble nature.

However, like others, I do have to say that stopping in the middle of a road is a serious no no. Had the police been involved, you would have been held atleast partially responsible for the damages.

Maybe put a bit of all that off-roading capability of the Compass to use and drop off the shoulder next time?


Edit: Looks like the stuff I spoke of has been mentioned by other members already and you have rightfully acknowledged them so my post is basically redundant. But anyway, hope your insurance claim goes smoothly and many happy more happy Ks of motoring

[GLAD73]

Always painful when our beloved ride suffers such damage, kudos to you for the maturity displayed in dealing with the situation and tending to his injuries. I am surprised to see deductions on a zero dep policy. On the two occasions that I have claimed insurance for my car, the only deduction was a flat 1k fee. Everything else from bumper replacement to painting and denting was covered.

[Tuisha110HP]

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

If this happened in a more developed country with better road discipline and infrastructure, I'd be inclined to agree.

It is the people of a country that defines the collective responsibility of the society and not the government. The government can make rules but cannot force you to obey 100% of the time. Designating 1000 traffic police officers to track 1000 motorist is impossible. We, in India, obey traffic rules to avoid challans, not to behave like ideal citizens and that is a big irony. We, the people, zigzag, stop at the middle of a traffic signal instead of waiting at zebra crossing, cut in where there is not space and then blame India for being poor in discipline. How convenient!

In developed countries, it not the govt who hangs a sword on everyone's head, it is its own citizens own willingness to respect the rules and respect the convenience of others.

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

After reading some posts here, I came to conclusion that I can go and hit any vehicle parked on the road (parked in middle or side or without hazard light) even when there is ample space for traffic to go, and even then it will not be my mistake or fault (sarcasm intended).

Ramnaresh, huge shoutout to you to help the biker.

Having said that, if you have driven bikes or for that matter, cars, you would understand that in narrow roads or on highways, the sense of speed of the vehicle at front is very difficult to gauge. Differentiating between a moving car or stationary vehicle becomes difficult until you come very close to the subject. I completely agree with the other members here that it is your fault and there is a learning for everyone of us, everyday.

Similar situation is parking on side of a marker road, thinking people have enough space to pass by. It is always an agonizing pain for vehicles at the back when you parking on flyover sides, at the corner of the tri-junction, park just after a left sharp corner, taking a sharp left from right side to go left.

You might have fundamental rights sometimes, but your fundamental duties are not to cause harm to others.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Originally Posted by GLAD73

I am surprised to see deductions on a zero dep policy. On the two occasions that I have claimed insurance for my car, the only deduction was a flat 1k fee. Everything else from bumper replacement to painting and denting was covered.

When I renewed my policy last year, I was rarely using my vehicle, I found Acko insurance to be very reasonable compared to other quotes I got. It was nearly 10k cheaper. The catch was that it had 5k mandatory deductible if a claim is made. Hence it was cheaper. I was fully aware when I took it. Hence I have to pay 5k plus 2k which are some mandatory fees when a claim is made. I am not sure why I have to pay 12.5% of rear fender repaint charges. I need to confirm from Acko.

Originally Posted by Tuisha110HP

It is the
Ramnaresh, huge shoutout to you to help the biker.

Having said that, if you have driven bikes or for that matter, cars, you would understand that in narrow roads or on highways, the sense of speed of the vehicle at front is very difficult to gauge. Differentiating between a moving car or stationary vehicle becomes difficult until you come very close to the subject. I completely agree with the other members here that it is your fault and there is a learning for everyone of us, everyday.

Thank you.

Wanted to clear few things here. The road was not a narrow road. I am not 100% sure but it was around 60 feet road and a proper 2 lane marked road. My Compass is parked on left side of the road is hardly 6 feet in width. If my math is correct the biker had a healthy 20+ feet road to overtake my stagnant vehicle. The vehicle was not parked suddenly, so the question of sudden break is out of question. After parking for 2 minutes I heard the thud sound.

The biker who was already nauseated hit my stagnant vehicle at a very high speed (approx 60 speed I guess). The point of impact for my silencer. It got bent and the clamp broke off due to the impact. The rear bumper broke and hit the fender. Such was the impact. I agree parking a car on road side is my fault, now someone please give me a reasonable example of how someone can miss a bright red color vehicle on main 60 feet road with zero traffic and hit it? Any sane driver would not drive a 2 wheeler at a speed of 60 kms and hit a stagnant vehicle. Either they must be drunk or blind or sleepy or in my case nauseated.

That biker would have surely hit a moving car as well, that was his state when he was driving. There was no sudden stopping or breaking at my end. I agree it was my mistake to park on empty road side, but it is more of the fault of the biker than mine. No matter how much some members trying to paint me here as the culprit, hitting breaks on bike from a distance is far easier than it sounds. Biker lost his focus here, period.

Adding screenshots from the video I took. This should give an idea about the road size. Notice how empty the road is?