[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Gansan

It is violation of law to drive / ride without a license, but the fact that the dead person did so does not exempt the other driver with a valid license of all blame. It would still be looked in to, about who was driving rashly or irresponsibly.

The person without a license could be anybody - a curious teenager might have brought out an elder's bike without their knowledge or permission; or the driver might be someone whose license had expired recently and not yet renewed. (I believe there is a grace time allowed for the renewal). That fact does not, need not and should not mean the other guy can walk free.

This is true. There are exceptional cases where the the Courts have asked Insurance Companies to pay claim amounts even when the driver (victim) didn't hold a driving license.

[cruising_rapid]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

I have read many posts on T-BHP where slightly questioned, the OP starts bringing out facts which start presenting slightly different picture post after post and after few round of posts the picture gets entirely different.

I request 'for god's sake' to kindly write a balanced post so as to bring the entire picture otherwise I fully agree with the post equating your writing with 'late evening newspapers or better still with never-ending soap operas'.

Leave aside the court of law, isn't the ends of justice are met if police mediating and settling the matter. How police does it is a matter of discussion for another day, another thread.

If you ask me about my opinion, then NO, the ends of justice are not met this way and this is why the judiciary exists; to deliver justice the way it is supposed to be given, otherwise people like Salman Khan would have made the ends of justice meet a long time back with their wealth. As you have rightly pointed out that "HOW" and "WHY" are questions not to be discussed here, so I will not dwell upon it.

Although I didn't write it with some spice added to it, but if some people feel so, I agree. Nevertheless, equating it with a so called never ending soap opera is again not a very healthy idea. If a person stays unruffled while expressing his opinion in public, trust me, no heartburn will pass on.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by honeybee

While the thread title does say Pics, a narration of a live accident and its aftermath definitely belong here, as the point is not just post pics but to try to understand and learn.

Of course there will be, and should be, occasional debates over the matter or the opinions posted here.

i would like to add my 2 paisa :
in the very least, daily pics of wrecked vehicles (some of them ghastly), leaves enough sting in your mind , that, whenever you feel like really flooring it or engage in a dog-fight with some adrenaline junkie on the highway - some of the sting comes back and asks "really ? do you really want to do it ? remember what master oogway said - 'there are no accidents' "

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by VW2010

We believe the incident did happen.

Actually a lot of people did question the authenticity of his posts asking for proofs via photographs.

We also on the corner of our heart feel for the victim and the way the driver escaped unpunished. No wonder Salman is running free in this utterly irresponsible country to bring people to justice.

You can see the answer to this in the below quotes -

Originally Posted by cruising_rapid

We all got to know that the deceased was a poor peasant who didn't had a driving licence and the fabricated story told to police was that the rider collided with the animal and not his car. This fellow went merciless and devilish to an extent that he even refused to settle the hospital bills.

Originally Posted by cruising_rapid

There was no case filed from the victim's family and survivors. We got to know that few others from victim's side were neutral to this incident, they wanted the life insurance money, some cash compensation(convinced by police) and a job in return.

Police knew that there were eye-witnesses, but they didn't ask anyone for any kind of opinion, purposefully keeping all of us off the course, in fact they did their best to suppress the matter. No resistance, the willingness of the survivors to let go, sweet deal offered by the culprit coupled with the fact that the victim didn't had a driving license was the bingo combination for the police.

Originally Posted by cruising_rapid

Yes, he refused to settle the bills and then we all footed some amount in the same and finally settled it. But when the shackles of law came to nab him, he was ready to shell the cash. So, he paid not only to the police, but to the survivors as well.

Originally Posted by cruising_rapid

The co-driver of the Lancer was questioned by police, he spoke the truth, was given repeated shut-up calls, was advised to alter his statement and was told that he would keep coming to Baroda for next 10 years or so. Police didn't question any one of us after that.

Do we all really think that the law and order system in India is that good? Why are we behaving as if we have never heard of bribery!

And what can the witnesses do if there was no case filed?

[supremeBaleno]

I agree that too much is being read into this, than is warranted.

There was an accident. The guy helped get the injured to hospital. Kudos, cruising_rapid !!! You deserve respect for your good deed.

While many (on & off the forum) will wax eloquent about being good samaritans, when actually put to the test, most of us would just drive on.
Excuses would vary - was in a hurry, others were already helping etc etc.

And regarding his not following up the case and getting the guilty punished, apart from the fact that money plays a big role here, not to mention threats of physical harm and having to run around in courts, the other thing is how would we have dealt with it if the guilty person is known to us ?

Will we have him brought to justice if he is a close friend ? What if it is a relative ? Again what we say we will do is not important, what we will actually do in such a scenario is what matters.

[msdivy]

If that poor man who got killed is one of our relative, our son, our father or someone related to us, let’s say related to yourself. Will your reaction be the same?

This is the standard question asked on TV, movies, fiction and on Internet .

The fact is they are not my friends or relatives. Yes my behaviour, my actions would be different if they are friends or relatives. But if they are not friends or relatives, I would still offer general help to the victim. By general help, I mean what would be appropriate at that moment which will benefit the victim.

[damanshaheed]

Originally Posted by VW2010

Driving without a DL has a fine and a max of 3 month imprisonment based on the case. Its not death for sure.

Apologize if i am reading it wrong, but it almost appears that its ok to kill someone if they dont have a license. With or without license, driving rash and taking a life out is wrong.

And the person driving without a DL is breaking a law that states that you cannot drive without a DL.(Not every Law in the book).

Yes in fact it is wrong to kill anybody. I might have phrased it wrong. Gansan's post answers my question.

[Sam.k]

Happened to see a fatal accident first hand while on the way to Tirupathi from Hosur a month ago.

We were in two cars, a Logan driven by me and my cousins Vista following us. After taking a left from Krishnagiri on to Chennai highway we settled into a cruising speed of 100-110kmph. Some 20kms down the road and in front of a school was a right which I was about to take a bit slowly as I couldn't see the turn's exit ahead due to the greenery at the median. I noticed an old man in bicycle crossing the road from the left on to to the median after the turn a good 300 meters ahead. And the next second I see a white car at break neck speeds growing larger in my RVM. Before I could make out that its an A-Star,it had overtaken us from the right at a good 140-150 clicks. I could already sense whats going to happen and slowed considerably.

Occupants in my car were busy chatting when i uttered 'aduchan..aduchan..aduchan'(gonna hit...gonna hit). The old man was just exiting from the middle lane on to the right most lane when the A-Star hit him head on and i could see the man and cycle fly a good 20ft into the air and land behind the car. I was the immediate next car and with couple of women in my car, parked it some 100 meters ahead of the accident spot. I got out and could see a a couple of women get down from the A-Star and rush toward the victim. They tried to make some calls from the spot. By this time the atleast 3-4 vehicles had fled past without stopping. I called up 108 immediately and the ambulance was on its way. There was commotion inside the car as the women folk were freaking out and were against me assisting the victim considering we are going for my child's head tonsuring ceremony.

By this time the A-Star occupants were rushing out of the spot with the car's hood badly mangled and its radiator profusely leaking coolant. The car will all dark tints was struggling to make decent pace and was mostly driven in lower gears as it passed us. I noted down the number and once again called 108 to pass the car registration details to the police. By then the vista had arrived and my cousin stepped out to help the old man who had by then breathed his last. I didn't go near the spot as i have aversion to blood and gore. I was told that the old man had started oozing blood from his ears and nose and his body had multiple fractures. All this happened in a span of 3-5 minutes. The Paramedics arrived at the site and declared the victim dead. Locals had started gathering and we proceeded on our journey. At the toll gate before Vellore, we enquired if any banged up A-Star had passed by. The reply was that the driver surrendered at closest police station after the accident spot.

Thinking over the incident time and again, this is what i feel. The bicyclist never knew that was gonna be hit till the moment. He was taking his time crossing a 6 lane highway and that too diagonally. He could have been alive had he crossed the road quickly taking the shortest distance. The A-Star isn't meant for the speeds its was doing i guess. I don't think i saw the car braking at all. Infact i believe driver panicked just froze at the wheels and might be a classic case of target fixation. The saddest part was watching people pass by without even stopping... Just my thoughts

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by Sam.k

The saddest part was watching people pass by without even stopping... Just my thoughts

That's really sad, I agree. Shows that we have now accepted the fact that we lack humanity as a nation. However among that multiple cars which raced past, you and your relative stopped... and tried to help. That shows all is not lost, and there are still some good souls with their moral compass intact.

Regarding that old man crossing a 6 lane highway with a bicycle, was he crossing the highway adhoc or was there a proper marked crossing with opening in the median. If there was, then its purely the AStar's driver's fault for not watching for opening and side roads, if there was nothing and the old man was crossing as most villagers do, we know who was at fault here. Good of the driver to have surrendered at the nearest police station, IMO that is the right and the safe thing to do, especially in Indian countryside.

[Sam.k]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

....Regarding that old man crossing a 6 lane highway with a bicycle, was he crossing the highway adhoc or was there a proper marked crossing with opening in the median. ....

It was an adhoc crossing without any opening in the median.Yes you are right.Most of our folks forget that its an accident and not a planned incident,then beat the driver to pulp.

[aqualeo2040]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

Regarding that old man crossing a 6 lane highway with a bicycle, was he crossing the highway adhoc or was there a proper marked crossing with opening in the median.

Sad story indeed.
That stretch of road between Krishnagiri & Chennai is the one I fear the most. It is well laid with really nice tarmac,sweeping curves,and well demarcated lanes.
Everything that would coax you to drive slightly faster that one would normally do. And then we have the local population on their mopeds, bikes, cycles or even on foot, completely unaware of any traffic rules ever drafted.
Yes, there are subways at some places, but I guess its a moot point.
What would be nice if they could build barriers around the roads like they have done on sections of NH6 where slow moving vehicles cannot enter.
What is also the need of the hour is some quality education/awareness. Making these people aware of their rapidly changing surroundings and how they should adapt.

[FORTified]

Originally Posted by aqualeo2040

Sad story indeed.
That stretch of road would coax you to drive slightly faster that one would normally do. And then we have the local population on their mopeds, bikes, cycles or even on foot, completely unaware of any traffic rules ever drafted.

They drive carefree on wrong direction. BUT, follow one rule - THEY KEEP LEFT So, if you are on fast lane, you will be the closest to them.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by FORTified

They drive carefree on wrong direction. BUT, follow one rule - THEY KEEP LEFT So, if you are on fast lane, you will be the closest to them.

Yes, that is the worst part. If you must drive on the wrong side for some reason, drive on the right-most lane, i.e. at the shoulder of the road where, in case of emergency, you can veer off road into the field. Also, you are least likely to come face to face with speeding vehicles. And drive at 5-10 kph with hazard lights flashing. But I see morons all the time who drive in the fast lane of wrong side, and come face to face with an oncoming fast vehicle. Since both vehicles travel in opposite direction, their speeds add up and within a fraction of a second, they are into each other. This is no rocket science but you will still see many pulling off this antic on our highways.

[sudev]

Last two posters.....errrrr??? Both are stating opposites.

Right most lane? That is the fastest lane in Indian roads. Recipe for disaster.

Left most lane? Opposing heavy vehicle traffic.

Only, and only if you must, off the road on the shoulder. If there is no shoulder go ahead and take a U turn but not drive on road in opposite direction.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by Sam.k

Happened to see a fatal accident first hand while on the way to Tirupathi from Hosur a month ago. ....

You my friend are an angel, although hate to say it, not many like you exist in this country. Kudos for stopping and Kudos for driving safely.

You know, I am a young guy, driving a car which gives an sudden enthusiastic and super fun turbo kick, handles likes its on rails, gearshifts are awesome and so is the steering feel when you change lanes, every recipe to entice me to have fun on any open stretch I find, there are these spouts of utter temptation where in I feel like smashing the throttle to kingdom come, my leg reaches the throttle, smashes it down and the very next second, its off because my dreams of working in an automotive company, getting married to a crazy chick, making sure my parents are enjoying their life at their best and with content, getting out of India forever and travelling the world flash by and suddenly enjoying the turbo kick or corner craving the fast left hander at Bandra Reclamation seems too minuscule a fun to have for the price it will take away from me if something goes wrong.