Team-BHP - Accidents in India

Hi BHPians,

I have a query. I have a few minor damages on my rear bonet of my ford figo. Once a bike broke my tail lamp ( a small piece was broken) and there is a small dent on my dash board too plus 2-3 scratches due to other vehicles etc. Its just been 4 months since I bought my car. Do u think I can claim insurance for this? if so how much will the insurance pay me in terms of percentage of the repair cost??

Quote:

Originally Posted by goandude (Post 3072476)

Saw this on the way to Pune on NH4. the road was cordoned off by fire fighters. the tanker hit a tractor and the latter was split in two:eek:

Is this a recent accident, because the date stamp on the picture shows 16th Jan 2012 (or is it that you have forgotten to reset the date on your camera?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by aravind_ragu (Post 3072413)

Insurance will cover it, though it is unlikely they will cover a lot. Plastic parts have a 50% cover only for example. My suggestion is get it valued and see if how much insurance will pay makes sense because you have to factor in the no claims bonus as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by goandude (Post 3072584)

This was just after Dharwad towards belgaum

I remember seeing the split tractor and it was a scary sight!

I saw at least 5 or 6 truck accidents during my ride from Bangalore-Belgaum-Dandeli-Belgaum-Bangalore over 4 days.

IMO reasons are many, some major ones being

a. Tractors can come out of absolutely nowhere. They drive in the wrong way on the NH and that too on your fast lane. I don't understand why they can't drive on the shoulder at least, instead of the fast lane.

b. The numerous gaps in the divider, some "planned" and some made by the local hotel/shops or villagers.

c. Badly maintained trucks which are not fit to be on roads and are over loaded. I saw one truck somewhere near Haveri iirc, which had it's steering connecting rod cut and it went off the road right into a wall!

d. I think people are just very bad at judging the speed and breaking distance of an oncoming vehicle on a highway. I noticed on my Karizma that they safely assume I'm not doing more than 50kmph and take it easy while crossing the road!

:OT: Did you drive on the NH4 on 17th morning? Apparently it poured cats and dogs on 16th night in the Dharwad-Belgaum region and I had absolutely zero visibility on 17th morning due to fog! I had not expected this during this time of the year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Added_flavor (Post 3072614)

I remember seeing the split tractor and it was a scary sight!

I saw at least 5 or 6 truck accidents during my ride from Bangalore-Belgaum-Dandeli-Belgaum-Bangalore over 4 days.

:OT: Did you drive on the NH4 on 17th morning? Apparently it poured cats and dogs on 16th night in the Dharwad-Belgaum region and I had absolutely zero visibility on 17th morning due to fog! I had not expected this during this time of the year.

I saw two major accidents where we had to divert to the other side of the road the one above and another involving a long trailer near satara. Also saw 6 vehicles repairing punctures on this route.

Vehicles driving on the wrong side are common on NH4. And can be scary like you said, esp when coming on the fast lane.

I drove to Pune on 16th and it rained like crazy in the afternoon around Dharwad Belgaum area.

I have had a nasty accident on NH4 near Ranebennur some two years ago, whose consequences still haunts me, even though nothing major happened to car, and nothing happened to humans.

Looking at the behaviour of the locals after the accident, I realised that they do not see any difference between a national highway and a village road. For many decades, NH4 was just another village road. Most of them are not educated enough to understand the speeds at which new cars and buses can go. Also, since the road is built on the land that was previously owned by some locals, they still consider the road as their property.

Then the usual attitude of "I am a local here, you are an outsider, so I have priority".

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohanjf (Post 3072696)

Looking at the behaviour of the locals after the accident, I realised that they do not see any difference between a national highway and a village road. For many decades, NH4 was just another village road. Most of them are not educated enough to understand the speeds at which new cars and buses can go. Also, since the road is built on the land that was previously owned by some locals, they still consider the road as their property.
Then the usual attitude of "I am a local here, you are an outsider, so I have priority".

Absolutely correct Rohan. The same goes with NH5 in Odisha between Bhubaneswar > Berhampur. On my recent trip to hometown, I was shocked at every vehicle plying on the wrong side of the road, that too on the fast lane !

My brother had warned me to be highly alert and keep an eye on the fast lane. Also, one evening while coming back from my in-laws city, I saw the mangled remains of what seemed like a lady on the fast lane. My dad said that it seemed like a saree or something. No one was around and vehicles were speeding past.

There is development everywhere around in India. Roads are super tarred, cemented which increases the urge of motorists to floor the pedal. What we little know that there are unsuspecting and innocent villagers who are still yet to come to terms with the developments. Can't completely blame them, because they are still not used to the fast-life of cities.

I have been in some rural areas of Odisha and have seen the laid back attitude of people there. For them, its just another day without having the knowledge of the risks associated with life.

Does any one know of any car accident in the last 48 hours in or around Madurai, Tamil Nadu?
A young man (aged around 25 years) was killed and he was the sole occupant of the car that met with the accident. The deceased was a distant relative of mine and I think it's inappropriate to check with the bereaved about the details of the accident.

Some time back saw a very bad accident between VRL bus n two wheeler on Tumkur road (just after Nelmangala). Of course the two wheeler died on stop!! The site was very painful to see.

1. Two wheeler guy was not wearing helmet.
2. He was riding on right most lane.

Separately, saw few superbikers riding rashly, cutting people in all possible ways. Only helmet n no riding gear. Initially I thought one of the only had met with accident.