Team-BHP - Accidents in India

Quote:

Originally Posted by krishnakumar (Post 5675355)

Sorry, I don’t think recording a video makes any difference. We recorded the video with phone and we have a dashcam as well - we pointed it out and it only made them more agitated as if we are challenging them. It might work in false insurance/extortion claim attempts but in these road rage instances, it just doesn’t work.

If it has not done anything in your case, that doesn't mean that you discourage others from recording the incident.

I can share 10 instances where people have been arrested using the video footage.

No one died or was gravely injured while recording such incidents. Even if someone did, there are more instances of people getting gravely hurt or dying when they were not recording.

If I am in my car and 10 goons surround my car, I will start recording and try to take them for a spin. If I get time in between, I will even forward the video to someone I know.

Don't know what others will do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad (Post 5675861)

I can share 10 instances where people have been arrested using the video footage.

I agree with this.

I misquoted your comment, was referring to the earlier one where you said recording the video is the best way to avoid a road rage incident, quoting that correctly below which I believe may have been misworded:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad (Post 5675238)

The best way to avoid such road rage being discussed here is to take out the camera and start shooting.

To clarify my position again, one should always record the video in such instances. But it doesn’t help in avoiding road rage was my point and is likely to further aggravate. Regardless, the video will be the only proof one may have and hence recording has to be done. Not discouraging this at all.

I believe both of us agree on the same sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTX+ (Post 5674969)

Can't agree more. Going home can be disastrous and equally embarrassing.
Other thing one can do is to drive straight towards the nearest police chowki/station.

I am familiar with the area where the incident happened in Bangalore. One cannot drive even a 300m stretch anywhere around there without slowing down below 20 kmph, let alone driving to a highway or police station. They drove to the nearest location they felt safe; their gated community.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides (Post 5675942)

Is the lady supposed to be on the road?

Was the car supposed to be half outside the road. Imagine the situation. The government has kept a polling booth, you have gone to exercise your constitutional right. There is no parking nearby and it is a single lane road. You have parked on the side, and your partner is starting the bike and you are waiting to get onto it. Then you are smashed into by a car. If you don't expect a pedestrian on a road, then you are not fit to drive in India, period. Secondly, overtake from left, underage driving. Let us not dilute the mistakes by questioning if the women was to be there! This is India half the people will be on road!

Quote:

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides (Post 5675942)

Is the lady supposed to be on the road?

Does it justify the killing? I agree that she was not very attentive while on the road but as a responsible (which is devoid in this case) person handling a machine that has got the potential to kill someone, the driver should've been much more careful!

No argument can justify an act that led to the loss of life. It's that precious, at least to their family!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raghuwire (Post 5676040)

I was not condoning anything that the driver did. The lady is injured or maybe dead.
To quote the wisdom that Thad’s father instilled in him ( and from which I have learnt and changed my attitude)
“ He was Right, Dead Right, as he trudged along. But he's just as dead as if he'd been wrong"

In this case the lady wasn’t even “Dead right”

People talk a lot about defensive driving but we need defensive walking on our roads as well to protect us from stupid drivers.

When I was a kid in a small town it was amply clear that you should stay away from vehicles. That kept me safe. Indeed when I was in grade 8 going for the NCC parade on a bicycle a Maharashtra State Transport side swiped me while overtaking on a single lane road and got away with it. Thankfully due to the lateral force [the rear of the bus pushed me out as the front swept back into the rightful lane] I was thrown into a gutter on the side and not under the bus.

Last weekend I had a minor incident in my car, a 2013 Hyundai i10. My family & I were visiting a temple in rural Thanjavur. While coming back, it was very dark. The road was 2-way state highway, it was well laid for a SH. But the problem is that trucks are parked on the side which are into sand mining. They occupied the road from the shoulder space till 3/4ths of a lane. The rest 1.25 lane is what was available for traffic to pass on both sides.

Fate came in the form of an Eeco van which had 4 auxiliary LED headlights along with the two headlights available in the car. I assumed the vehicle to be a mini truck like the Eicher ones. Just as I was taking a look at the vehicle what it could be, my car's left wheels slid out of the road into the bushes on the roadside. Heard a loud thud from under the car because of the height difference between the tarmac and the ground. Immediately I was able to steer the car back into the road. Thankfully, no visible damage to the car except for some plants stuck in the front bumper. I was shaken for a few minutes but was able to continue the rest of the trip uneventfully.

Is there anything I should be worried about in my car's functioning?

Quote:

Originally Posted by StopUnderrides (Post 5675942)

Is the lady supposed to be on the road?

The thing is - Even if she's on the road, the onus is on the driver to not hit her at any cost !

It's not like she popped up in the middle or suddenly jumped into the lane , implying leniency to the driver. ( and even if she does, one has to brake and not bulldoze a pedestrian - this takes precedent over any other common sense/rule).

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie (Post 5669418)

...as they say familiarity breeds contempt. I got slightly distracted watching something through the driver-side window for a second....

Happy all is well at the end :thumbs up

I still, after all these years of driving, am still amazed how quickly things suddenly appear on the road in the brief fraction I might be looking at the rear mirrors or through the window. Still don't have an answer here