[Sidharth Sankar]

Hello fellow BHPians,

As this thread is regarding my dad, please let me walk you all through his garage. Also this is my first ever thread so please excuse my english. My dad owns a Classic 500 EFI (2017) and a 2011 Honda Activa which he bought just after retiring from his 20 year old service with the Indian Army. He uses the RE for highway runs and touring purposes and otherwise, uses the latter and which is why it has clocked a healthy mileage of approx 90k km despite the odometer not working for 2 and a half years. Yes the scooter was starting to show its age and obviously there were rust issues but the engine was still smooth as butter (quite typical for a Honda ). My dad had initially thought of giving it up a year ago but the showroom offered a very small amount which is quite okay considering the age and condition but he thought "why don't we restore it? ". And he did which ended up costing more than double the amount the showroom offered. It was a complete overhaul and after the restoration it was looking and riding as good as new. The paint job was changed to gloss black from sky blue. All of our family members had a good attachment with the Activa, especially me and my mom as we both have took the baby steps of motoring in it.

So the incident happened roughly a month ago. My father had gone to buy groceries mid afternoon. The store is just a km away from our house. Being this time of the day there was not much traffic (our area is semi-urban). He was wearing his helmet as always as he is strict about this. He has always told me to wear my helmet regardless of how far or near I was riding to. So coming back to the topic, on the way at about half a km from our house there is a small clinic. The road bends towards the right and is comparatively narrower at that particular spot. While my father was on his way, just after this small bend there was a Mahindra Tourister (contract carriage) making a U turn. This spot has been widely used by these tempo drivers as they run a parallel service in our area and the neighbouring ones. My father slowed down to the left side of the road and came to a stop waiting for the Tourister to clear off. He could have taken the risk and overtook it but chose not to do so as he was in no hurry and due to the above said characteristics of the road at that point. The next thing he hears is a big sound of a crash and as he opened his eyes he was lying on the road with his helmet on his head (luckily).

My father says he was not able to recall what had happened at the moment. He tried to get up at first but couldn't as his legs failed. Soon two staff members from the clinic rushed to the scene with a structure and gave him first aid. He only suffered minor skin peeling but the real damage was to his lower back. At the same time me, my mom and my father's brother rushed to the clinic and took him to a better multi-speciality hospital as advised by the doctor at the clinic in an ambulance. All of us including the doctor at the clinic was a bit worried about the condition of his spine (he is 51 now and an injury like that would be hard to recover from at this age) but luckily didn't crack. The hospital ran all the tests and the only major injury was a hairline fracture to the lumbar spine and severe bruising to his sacral area.

Analysis of the accident

My father couldn't recall what had happened. From what we could recall from the accident spot was that a Baleno had hit him from the behind. The accident was so severe that everybody at the clinic were terrified from the sound of impact. The car then dragged the scooter with it and only ended up stopping colliding with the rear end of the Tourister. My father luckily didn't get sandwiched in between the vehicles (picture attached at the end). The front of the Baleno was completely demolished, the airbags were blown up and the engine bay also suffered huge damage. For our Activa it was over (almost), it was completely totalled. The Tourister only suffered minor damage.

I was all heated up at the spot of the accident. The main thing which made me mad was the initial conversation with the driver of the Baleno. Yes we all are human and we make mistakes, but what does it take to apologise for it. During the entire conversation he didn't even apologise once and regardless of being it his mistake completely he started giving me excuses . Below is the conversation between me and the driver in Malayalam translated to english :-

Me - How fast were you going?
Driver - Can't you see the road, how much fast do you think I can be. I wasn't over-speeding.
Me - From the look of the spot and the vehicle conditions you were doing so.
Him - What happened has happened. No one would do it intentionally.
Me - Intentionally doing so would end up being as a case of murder.
Driver - 'Awkward silence'. You have insurance?
Me - So if you have insurance can you go on over-speeding and ramming onto other traffic?

At this moment I lost my control and walked away from there or my fist would have ended up in his face. I then along with my family proceeded to take my dad to the hospital. Meanwhile the police had reached at the spot.

A day later we came to know what had happened actually from the cctv footage of the clinic. The driver of the Baleno tried to overtake both my father and the Tourister (mind you it's quite a blind spot and you can't see the oncoming traffic properly). He failed to do so due to the oncoming traffic and instead of ramming straight into the the opposite vehicle, he steered had left ending up in ramming into my dad. My dad was thrown up to quite some height from the Activa and first fell into the bonet of the Baleno and then into the tarmac. Being a dabba Baleno, the bonet took quite an impact from my dad's fall (if it was a German or a Tata I wouldn't be surprised if his spine cracked at the first impact itself). He did hit his head on the tarmac but the helmet saved him. Some people also had the opinion that the driver was busy talking to the passenger (there were two) which could have distracted him.

Some things I learnt

1. Never overspeed, especially in two lane roads.
2. Be extra careful while going through unknown roads. (This car guy was from another district). Also he was not an experienced driver (came to know from himself later) and the car was just a year old.
3. If you end up causing an accident, instead of giving stupid explanations just apologise. A simple 'sorry' might make a huge difference.

I do have one question though and please share some info regarding this - Our Activa only had a third party insurance because the insurance company (New India I think) couldn't give first party due to the fact that the scooter was over a decade old and had run close to 1 lakh kms. So is there anyway where we could claim the insurance as it was entirely the other guy's fault? We are already on the process of police case. So will the car guy's insurance company pay for the loss of our scooter? Thank you.

During the initial days of my driving lessons, my instructor once told me "while on the road driving/riding, consider the rest of the people on the road both on vehicles and on feet as madmen. Nowadays that's the only way you can stay safe. Always be prepared for anything. No road is safe enough." I laughed then but now I think what he said was in fact true.

Thank you everyone for reading. Please excuse me for the long post. Ride safe. Cheers.

[libranof1987]

That is quite an accident!

Glad to hear your father had the helmet on, and does not have serious injuries. Wish him a speedy and total recovery. I'm assuming they've carried out tests to rule out concussion, and any other issues that may arise from the impact on the head.

Hope you've taken a copy of the cctv footage. Experts may chime in, but I believe filing a report may be prudent as well, even if you do not want to pursue a case against the Baleno driver.

[ninjatalli]

That is not a minor hit/accident. The baleno's condition dictates what speed/power he hit your Activa. I would advise to filing a FIR/report immediately - there's vehicle damage and there's medical expenses. I would not rule out more problems arising for your father, but considering a month has passed, he's luckily survived with minimal hurt.

The month long delay will also be a concern when filing the report so the CCTV footage and any other supporting pictures, details of the incident from nearby shop/clinic staff would be good to have in advance. Have you not had any conversations with the baleno owner on compensation for your scooter? It might be a bit tough to to do a month later, but get that report filed immediately.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by Sidharth Sankar

I do have one question though and please share some info regarding this - Our activa only had a third party insurance because the insurance company(new india I think) couldn't give first party due to the fact that the scooter was over a decade old and had run close to 1lk kms. So is there anyway where we could claim the insurance as it was entirely the other guy's fault? We are already on the process of police case. So will the car guy's insurance company pay for the loss of our scooter? Thank you.

Thank God your Dad is alright. But please ensure that you keep a watch on his spine and back as any significant stress like falling on a bonnet & tarmac may have a future impact.

Now on the topic of insurance, since you do not have Own Damage cover, you cannot claim total loss from your own insurance. Only way is to claim against the Baleno driver Third party insurance for the medical treatment of your dad as well the loss of your vehicle. This is possible only with FIR registered. Please check Insurance section threads on how to claim from the other vehicle third party insurance. Driver may get away with criminal negligence but Baleno's insurance company has to do the payout but they may resist paying citing all frivolous reasons. It may go to Motor vehicle claims tribunal, so be sure to get the CCTV footage captured by the police as evidence and have eye witness too from the clinic. Ideally, the clinic should have referred it to Police as medico-legal accident case which will act as proof for the accident victim. Preserve the recommendation of doctor for further tests and ambulance bills.

[Sidharth Sankar]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

That is quite an accident!

Glad to hear your father had the helmet on, and does not have serious injuries. Wish him a speedy and total recovery. I'm assuming they've carried out tests to rule out concussion, and any other issues that may arise from the impact on the head.

Hope you've taken a copy of the cctv footage. Experts may chime in, but I believe filing a report may be prudent as well, even if you do not want to pursue a case against the Baleno driver.

Thank you for showing your concern. Yes he is mostly recovered except for a small edema on the lower back which should go away in a week or so as said by the doctor. No other issues

As for the legal proceedings FIR has been filed and we are on the process. Thank you

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

That is not a minor hit/accident. The baleno's condition dictates what speed/power he hit your Activa. I would advise to filing a FIR/report immediately - there's vehicle damage and there's medical expenses. I would not rule out more problems arising for your father, but considering a month has passed, he's luckily survived with minimal hurt.

Thank you for showing your concern and opinions. FIR was filed about a week later the accident. Yes we did have conversations with the baleno driver and to our surprise he did turn up at our house about a week later. He gave dad some amount of money but according to a local mechanic my father knew, he said that it would take almost 4 times the money the guy gave for the bike to get fixed.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Thank God your Dad is alright. But please ensure that you keep a watch on his spine and back as any significant stress like falling on a bonnet & tarmac may have a future impact.

Thank you for showing concern. Hope nothing turns up ugly in the future.
Also thank you for the info. We haven't consulted a lawyer yet and will enquire more about availing the expense of our motorcycle. We were sure regarding the medical expenses from the insurance company but were not so regarding the motorcycle claim. We filed the FIR about a week later and also have eye witnesses. Yes the hospital we took him to has referred to the incident as an RTA so no problems there I think.

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[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Sidharth Sankar

Our Activa only had a third party insurance because the insurance company (New India I think) couldn't give first party due to the fact that the scooter was over a decade old and had run close to 1 lakh kms. So is there anyway where we could claim the insurance as it was entirely the other guy's fault? We are already on the process of police case. So will the car guy's insurance company pay for the loss of our scooter?

Yes, that would come under the third part liability, of the Baleno. Good luck claiming it though. I haven't come across anyone who's managed it successfully, or without significant hassle.

Here's my suggestion: the Activa is quite old, both in terms of age, and kms run. And now, it has gotten into a fairly serious accident. Retire it, and get your dad a nice contemporary 2W for grocery, city runs. Get what the Activa was worth from the Baleno guy, and end the matter IMO.

[Sidharth Sankar]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Yes, that would come under the third part liability, of the Baleno. Good luck claiming it though. I haven't come across anyone who's managed it successfully, or without significant hassle.

Here's my suggestion: the Activa is quite old, both in terms of age, and kms run. And now, it has gotten into a fairly series accident. Retire it, and get your dad a nice contemporary 2W for grocery, city runs. Get what the Activa was worth from the Baleno guy, and end the matter IMO.

Yeah my father also told me it would be quite difficult claiming that way.
We already took delivery an ntorq 4 days back. Thinking about fixing up the activa if possible.

[TROOPER]

So happy to know you're Dad is alright. Wishing him a speedy recovery and hope he gets back to riding soon.

I am a newbie rider, and this accident makes me more wary of stopping in situations where one must definitely stop, but morons would prefer to run over two wheelers cause the 'coast ahead is clear'.

More than the compensation for the scooter, please try to make a solid case against that Baleno driver. No harm in making an attempt to ban one moron from the road.

Hope the police won't be stupid enough to say the usual settle amongst yourselves.

[IshaanIan]

You can and should definitely claim against Baleno's insurance. His 3rd party coverage is there precisely for this reason. You can claim for the loss of your activa as well as any medical bills. Pretty straightforward process but could vary depending on the insurance service provider. My experience with ICICI insurance has always been seamless.

[Sidharth Sankar]

Originally Posted by TROOPER

So happy to know you're Dad is alright. Wishing him a speedy recovery and hope he gets back to riding soon.

I am a newbie rider, and this accident makes me more wary of stopping in situations where one must definitely stop, but morons would prefer to run over two wheelers cause the 'coast ahead is clear'.

More than the compensation for the scooter, please try to make a solid case against that Baleno driver. No harm in making an attempt to ban one moron from the road.

Hope the police won't be stupid enough to say the usual settle amongst yourselves.

Thank you for showing your concern. The police officials were cooperative no complaints from that part.
My dad has two younger brothers and both of them have had their fair share of accidents only due to the others faults. But there is nothing much we can do in these cases. We have filed the FIR and the court could charge him for rash and negligent driving and fine him for a couple of bucks. This is where we must appreciate the strict motor laws of other European and arabian countries. Hell even using a go pro while riding a bike heats up the cops.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

You can and should definitely claim against Baleno's insurance. His 3rd party coverage is there precisely for this reason. You can claim for the loss of your activa as well as any medical bills. Pretty straightforward process but could vary depending on the insurance service provider. My experience with ICICI insurance has always been seamless.

Thanks for sharing your information and opinion. Yes we will try our best to claim the bills for the activa from the insurance provider. Luckily(or maybe not) both our activa's abd the baleno's insurance providers are the same , let's how it plays out.

[X-Saint]

In Mumbai, if one does not wear a helmet or jump signal there is a 'fine' plus 'suspension of driving license' for three months. On the other hand, these kinds of offenders are set free by paying a few bucks as a fine. IMO driving license for these offenders should be suspended for the life along with their car's registration so that they can neither use the car nor can sell it off. If they get caught again driving any vehicle, there should be a jail term.

Third-party insurance should be provided and settled only by Government insurance firms.

[anjan_c2007]

Quite shocking @Sidharth and it's a great relief that all is well on the health front in respect of your Dad. Nevertheless, orthopaedic injuries at that age though appearing to have got cured, cause occasional trouble for the victim by resurfacing when that particular part is strained due to whatever reasons. Ask any orthopaedic surgeon and they will always say that the not so serious bone injuries till the age of about 35 years get cured fast, but thereafter though appearing to have been cured, the pain manifests and resurfaces at opportune times.

Back to the accident, please refund the meagre amount paid by the Baleno driver back to him immediately. Do not accept any kind of such meagre compensation.

To teach him a real lesson of life, I would suggest you to use a copy of the FIR, medical report, cctv image, other photos of the spot incl the damaged scooter, Tourister and Baleno and immediately consult a good criminal lawyer. You can file a criminal case claiming a huge compensation for injuries suffered by your Dad, the torture and trauma your family members went through. You can also pray to the magistrate's court for a jail term to the Baleno driver for rash and negligent driving causing injuries to your Dad. The Sections 279 and 338 of IPC read

279: Under Section 279 of the Indian Penal Code, any individual who is driving or riding a vehicle on any public way in a rash or negligent manner, which may endanger human life or injure other people, will be punished by law. The punishment under this section is imprisonment up to six months, a penalty of ₹1,000, or both.

338: According to section 338 of Indian penal code, Whoever causes grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

Also relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act could be recorded in the criminal suit. There is a provision under the Criminal Procedure Code to permit filing of criminal cases in addition to the police report which covers any criminal case. After the police submits their charge sheet and files their case (always looked after by a govt appointed police prosecutor) before a judicial magistrate, your lawyer can request the court to hear both these cases together. Hence both the police prosecutor and your criminal lawyer can appear before the magistrate during hearings.

Please request your lawyer to get a copy of the police charge sheet as soon as its ready. This is based on the panchnama report by them. Usually these are very routinely and not professionally prepared by the police. The gaps are immediately understood by a good criminal lawyer. Your lawyer can supplement the gaps with his knowledge to make it stand judicial scrutiny. With the police charge sheet, usually the criminal acts get acquittals as the lawyer defending the accused points out such lacuna.

And as regards the accident damage claims here again you will have to consult an Accident Claims Tribunal lawyer. They are accident claim specialists. He will have to file the FIR copy, estimated cost of repairs preferably from authorised dealer, details about damages to the scooter also in pictures, with a copy of your insurance policy. Details about the car owner, car, it's damages are also required. The tribunal issues notice where both the parties involved/ their lawyers and both the insurers officials/lawyers appear. The Tribunals are quite quick and award claims to the aggrieved for payment by the insurer and if the amount is substantial, the balance is to be paid by the other party (Baleno owner). Insurance company liabilities for third party damages are limited to a certain amount beyond which the amount is to be borne by the accused.

[sgmuser]

Very sorry to see this as a son especially, he had done nothing wrong. Glad he is safe and I am sure he will recover fast as he is a ex-service man and his body should take this small hits and recover. Do not worry much.

Now, I will be very mad at this guy as I can see this car was speeding a lot more than allowed in that area/corner with your description. At least 50-60kmph speed looking at the damage and I wont be surprised even another 10k more. So, it is clearly drivers fault and he need to be reported as rash/reckless driving first.

[sriram.raghavan]

Sidharth,

The third party insurance on the Car should pay for your scooter, all medical expenses incurred and additional potential future problems. Please ensure you put a case and register an FIR. The police and insurance surveyors will look at the video and the damage to determine the speed at which the car was coming in. Please do not let go of such offenders since they will never learn if you do so.

[Cyborg]

Oh my God that was an insane hit from behind which must have become far worse since your Dad must have been caught off guard as well. How you managed to keep your temper and avoid smashing that drivers smug face only you know.

It’s his military training and toughness, both physically and mentally which have helped him recover. He’s well, that’s all that’s important, vehicle is nothing.

Please wish him well from all of us at Team BHP and may he have a happy life going forward. All the best!

Cheers