[ph03n!x]

Hello BHPians and forum-readers, I am going to share an experience that happened earlier this year which underlines how essential a dashcam is - I did not pen it down for a long while owing to the traumatic ordeal the incident itself was, the PTSD-ish reaction I had afterwards, as well as considering sensitivities of others involved.

And to respect the last part, I am going to keep this narrative exclusively on the thread topic - why a Dashcam is a MUST-HAVE. I will keep details to bare minimum, and only focus on -

• My vehicle and the dashcam
• The road and the Accident
• How the dashcam helped me

I will not add details about the other parties involved in this accident, or other accentuating factors that may have led to the collision. I will also not answer any questions or address speculations on this part, and I request you to not ask/ guess/ OSINT into these aspects too.

My vehicle and the dashcam

I drive a 2020 Thar - one from the first batch. And I have a 70mai rear view mirror dual channel dashcam, so that in addition to being what it is meant to be - a dashcam, it can also replace the rear view camera accessory that I was not too impressed with (initial batch, remember!). More so because I prefer the rear view while reversing to be on the rear view mirror! My ownership thread has a short write up on the 70mai camera too - it is a full HD camera that records both the front and the rear on a SD Card, and a 64 GB card can store about 6.5 hours of driving.

The Road

The route I get home to goes through a ~2.5 KM "forest" road. No, I am not in some suburb/ mountain terrain. This is in the outskirts of the city, and is more of a green patch, and is locally addressed as the forest route. This stretch comes right after a 4-lane road, which ends with a gutter-y exit into the forest road, where one will have to brake to ~15 to 20 KMPH if you want to avoid a nasty jolt.

After the gutter-y exit, there is half a KM dead straight road - narrow dual carriage way without median or separator. This straight is then followed by left turn, and a right turn after ~350 meter - this 350 meter stretch has red stick-like lane separators, which intends to ensure that traffic in both the directions stick to their lanes in the curves to avoid accidents (this part has seen some deadly, gruesome accidents before these separators came up). Like with most intentions on our roads, this stretch with lane separator too has a side-effect - if any slow moving vehicle, like a cycle or moped, is ahead of you in these turns, there is no way you can overtake them. So some brilliant people, when they see slow moving vehicle in the left (correct) lane, switch to the right (wrong) lane before entering the curve, especially in late hours when traffic is not expected/ headlights will show the presence of oncoming traffic.

This image will serve as a reference to the Road, and the accident sequence.

The Fateful Night

Like I have done many, many times over the year when coming back from work, I enter the forest road. I notice a real bright white headlight at end of the straight that is about 500 meter ahead of me. At that time, I assumed it to be a Tata Ace (or similar sized vehicle) that is exiting the curve from the wrong side - I also notice one or two faint yellowish headlights on the correct lane, which this vehicle must be "overtaking"

I did not know that the next few seconds will be disastrous...

Let's say this image is at timed as the start/ first second of my dashcam's video. I did not have any traffic behind or besides me, and this white headlight vehicle is half a KM ahead of me, which means he will complete the curve and move back into his lane (so I assumed). So I accelerate through the gears, but at the 5th second, I see this -

I flash on my high beam as I felt the vehicle is coming straight at me - my first sense that something is wrong. In hindsight, I should have just stopped my vehicle here. The recording however shows that I have started braking (brake lights show up in he rear cam) and have slowed down almost to a crawl - am guessing I was trying to figure our what the heck is happening/ coming at me. And two seconds later this is what hurls towards me -

I am now almost standstill, expecting, praying, desperate for this vehicle to move into its track. I did not know this then - but this was 1 second before impact. It was only half a second later that I realize this is a two-wheeler - and it is headed straight to me, right at the driver side of my Thar -

I am not going to post the impact, but at this point, our fates were sealed - there is no avoiding the impact. I am not posting the impact itself, but I felt the vehicle shake like its in an earthquake. Airbags - both of them, though I was alone in the Thar - opened, and the sound and smell of that, along with what just occurred in from of me, was completely disorienting.

It was about 8 seconds before I got out of my Thar to see what has happened to person who collided with me, call the ambulance and cops. Fortunately, I was fine - I had a whiplash from the seatbelt, and my right thumb hurt because my Thar had turned in the direction of the collision violently, like how you can expect the steering to turn sharply while offroading based on the terrain. And I must have held my thumb inside the steering at the moment of impact. This is what the dashcam captured after the Thar has come to a standstill -

Here is where the third part of my narrative comes in - how the dashcam helped me. Notice the position of my vehicle (relative to the road) in the image before the impact and the one after the impact?

How the dashcam helped me

Owing to the impact, my Thar had turned sharply towards the wrong side of the road, and by the time I parked and got out, it looked like I was in the wrong lane when the impact occurred.

The person who rode the bike was briefly alive and passed away before the ambulance or cops could arrive. There was no helmet, and the impact was an a very high speed. The bike was like a mass of metal in the middle of the road, and the person riding it was on the right ledge.

The light you see in the last image was that of a person who was coming behind the bike that collided with me. He also called up the cops and ambulance.

He suggested this - please move your jeep to the left (correct lane) side of the road, this looks like you were in the wrong side and hit the bike at high speed. I saw the whole incident, and can narrate this to the police, but it is better to move the vehicle to the left. I appreciated his offer to narrate the incident to the cops, but told him I have a camera that has recorded the whole incident, and I did not want to mess with the evidence.

The ambulance arrived first and took away the injured bike rider whom they pronounced dead, and the cops also arrived. I connected my phone to the 70mai dashcam, and downloaded the video that recorded the sequence of events, and showed it to them.

This is where the dashcam proved its worth.

Considering the accident victim's stature and to avoid any kind of mob justice, the beat cops moved my Thar away from the accident spot and took me to the police station. What followed was about 12 hours of being in he police station, talking to the police personnel responsible for the area, the police's central command, sharing the video and other details with them, etc.

About 4 hours after the accident a relative of the bike rider also arrived, and asked me what happened - normally/ politely. I showed him the video too, and told him I am trying to figure out what happened too. That is the only interaction I had with the family. Couple of hours after, a FIR was filed on me by the parents (bigger vehicle), and me and my vehicle were formally taken into custody. This is not an arrest, mind you, but a formality. After all that is done, I was told I can get back home but have to return the next day.

The next day, I was explained the procedure. The vehicle will be inspected by the transport dept., and once that is done, it will be released by the cops. The family may or may not pursue a case against me/ the vehicle to claim compensations as per law. The case will proceed accordingly, and if there is no claim, it will be closed.

All through this, the cops were very professional. A few close friends, including those who came to the spot, helped me greatly to keep it together. The vehicle was released in about 5 days from the date of the accident, I was told I can carry on with what I have to do. In case it is required, I may be called to be present - but that seemed unlikely at that point.

That is how this ended. Probably.

Aftermath

I lost the ability to sleep, and whenever I do sleep, I will wake up in a hour or 90 minutes drenched with sweat.

I was repeatedly analyzing the video, asking myself why I did not stop earlier, or move half a meter to the left into the curb. I drive a Thar, it definitely could have taken the curb and even the short drop beyond the curb.

I had almost 3 seconds to react from the time I flashed and switched on the high beams and started braking gradually. Instead of assuming the opposing vehicle to correct course, I could have made allowance even if it was a very-fast moving Tata Ace (like I had initially assumed).

After a lot of counseling from friends, well-wishers and cops, I reduced beating myself up for the accident. The cops also pointed out how lucky I was - they estimated that my average speed was about 43 KMPH, while the other vehicle was averaging 135 KMPH. My Thar's damages showed how bad the impact was, and had it been any other low slung vehicle, it could have resulted in the incursion of person riding the bike and/ or the bike into my vehicle, causing injury or death to me too.

The cops - every one of them I interacted with - appreciated that I had a dashcam. The area where the accident occurred did not have CCTV coverage, and without the evidence from my dashcam, the outcome could have been very different - years of persecution, prosecution, financial burden due to compensation negotiations, etc. all could have been on the table. With the dashcam as evidence, the procedural stuff took a week or so, and the trauma is still somewhere messing with my head, the cops and legal personnel all of them highlighted that the dashcam saved me. And most of them got the link for buying one for themselves, some of them also showed me that they have installed one in their cars too.

I will update my ownership thread on my vehicle, but is it back to shape.

I bought the dashcam as a reversing camera that can also come in handy during my highway runs. Never did I ever dream that there will be an incident so huge occurring less than 3 KM from where I live, and that the dashcam will be the one that saves me out of hell a lot of trouble.

So I request each one of you. Urge you. Do not drive without a dashcam. Some cars like the XUV7OO or the Hyundai Exter come with one from the factory. I hope others too follow this, and provide dashcams as a standard equipment. Until then, please forget sunfilms, ICE, seat covers and mats - get a dashcam as your first accessory when you buy a new car.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[arnieshwartz]

Wow. Just reading your post sent chills down my spine. You're right, the dash cam really did get you out of what could otherwise have escalated into a nightmare.

I've been toying with the idea of getting one for months, but I've decided to purchase a dual dash cam without further delay.

I sincerely hope you recover from the mental trauma of the incident. Nothing prepares us for any such eventuality.

[routefinder]

It's clear the dashcam played a crucial role in what was an obviously traumatic situation. I'm glad to hear it helped provide clarity for the authorities as well. Wishing you all the best with your recovery going forward. Stay safe out there.

[shankar.balan]

Appreciate the trouble taken to write this and relive the trauma. Indeed it is better all manufacturers start giving a factory fitted dashcam from now on.

[mk600]

Hello ph03n!x, I can only imagine the trauma that you went through, thanks for sharing the incident, very well written and well documented.

Post script, couple of thoughts:

From no airbags deployed complaints on other threads, to both airbags deployed here with single occupant, there seems to be room for improvements in India with airbag deployment.

Also, the front dashcam coupled with what I think the speed of vehicle auto-added to the video, saved many years of legal flight here. I also have front dashcam installed in my own vehicle, but after reading this incident, makes me wonder If I need to add a rear dashcam in addition to reversing camera that is already there in my vehicle.

[vamsi.vadrevu]

Dash cam is probably the most important after-market accessory for a car. Especially in India. After reading your ordeal, I feel like I should have 2 dashcams. What if one of them malfunctions at a crucial juncture!
I'd installed 70mai A500s in my car about a month after I purchased it. Already caught a small fender bender on it from a 2 wheeler that rammed into the rear of my car.

Indians always assume cars are the culprit. Dashcam is the only thing that will protect us from false accusations. It's better to switch on the vehicle speed, audio, GPS and date-timestamp on the video footages. And having dual dash cams is much better than a single front facing one.

I can't imagine how frightening that collision would have been. At 135kmph, the 2 wheeler would have been obliterated.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by arnieshwartz

...

I've been toying with the idea of getting one for months, but I've decided to purchase a dual dash cam without further delay.
...

Everyone I know who's known about the incident and saw the video for themselves a dashcam pronto.

This is my first vehicle with a dashcam, and I'm thankful that I got one!

Originally Posted by mk600

...

From no airbags deployed complaints on other threads, to both airbags deployed here with single occupant, there seems to be room for improvements in India with airbag deployment.

Also, the front dashcam coupled with what I think the speed of vehicle auto-added to the video, saved many years of legal flight here. I also have front dashcam installed in my own vehicle, but after reading this incident, makes me wonder If I need to add a rear dashcam in addition to reversing camera that is already there in my vehicle.

The vehicle has seat load sensor to beep the seat belt remainder on both seats, as well as a seat belt sensor that shows if the seat is buckled or not. Considering there was no one sitting there, and both these sensors would have validated that, it definitely was not necessary for the airbag in the co-driver side to deploy. But because it did, the dashboard had to be opened up as a part of the repair to replace the co-driver airbag!

My dashcam did not have GPS and hence no speed reading. The vehicle speeds were calculated based on distance measured vs. time (from the video). While the video shows that my vehicle is barely moving in the last 3 seconds, my average speed came out to be 40+ kmph while the speed limit for that road was 30 kmph (which is not marked anywhere though). So according to the cops, both the vehicles were overspeeding.

This observation led me to buy another dashcam with GPS and speed recording so that in case I'm in a situation similar to this (I really hope not!), I'll have the vehicle speed before the incident clearly recorded in the video itself.

Originally Posted by vamsi.vadrevu

...

Indians always assume cars are the culprit. Dashcam is the only thing that will protect us from false accusations. It's better to switch on the vehicle speed, audio, GPS and date-timestamp on the video footages. And having dual dash cams is much better than a single front facing one.

I can't imagine how frightening that collision would have been. At 135kmph, the 2 wheeler would have been obliterated.

Not just that Indians assume so, but there are court rulings that say when there is an accident between two vehicles, the case shall always be on the larger vehicle by virtue of having a larger insured value for 3rd party damages.

No doubt dual daahcams are better - I'd rather have a 360° dashcam too if that's possible/ within reach.

The bike was a lump of metal less than 1/3rd it's original height and length

[rajeevsulu]

That is horrible!! Agree to the dash cam need, brother, I would rather focus on your well being at present. These are horrible scars on your mind and i hope you have taken some counseling.
However strong we think we are, the human mind is fragile. Do take care.
Cheers

[Raghu M]

I can recall how horrific such incidents can be. I was myself in one such accident. I lost sleep for a month and the legal aftermath was just too heavy to carry. The worst part - I could not tell it to my family. I can understand what you are going through right now. I owe this forum a detailed write up on my accident but somehow feel very weak when I try to do so. The very fact that someone lost their life because of our vehicle is something that is hard to digest. Keep calm, trust the almighty and move on!

[SixPistons]

Reading this was traumatising. Recalling it and penning down your accident would’ve been even harder. Just so many things could’ve gone wrong here and I don’t know what would’ve happened had you not had the DashCam footage with you. Knowing that a life was lost with you as the other driver is scary enough. Please try to accept there is nothing to ride on your shoulders in this situation anytime the thought disturbs you. Do not beat yourself up, for you couldn’t have done anything here really. Driving the way he was, his fate was sealed

December of 2022, we almost got t-boned by a cab driver driving someone else’s cab and hit us while we were making a U-Turn. The other driver did not even have a valid license yet, neither was watching the road while driving at around 80kmph where his speed should’ve been under 40, a residential area in south Delhi.

While making the turn, he was at least 100mtrs away and as I made that turn, he closed in on us way too fast. That’s how I figured out later he had to have been between 70-80kmph. My dad was on the passenger seat and I was driving.

We were still fortunate that we had almost completed the turn and luckily he hit us in the left rear end, else god knows what would’ve happened that day. Luckily the people around us saw this guy driving rashly and helped us to make our case with the cops.

The flashback of it and the thought that if the car had lost power while turning or stalled by chance or picked up slightly lower as I made the U Turn and the T-Bone Crash that would’ve happened pops up in my head every now and then.

This is another lesson that we have to account for sources of error and rash driving from other drivers on our Roads, regardless of how careful we are. I have ordered the DDPAI Z50 Dual Channel on priority first thing after reading your post, something I had been putting off for a while now (shouldn’t have, I know) and I am going to get it functional on my car instantly and probably put something on my parents’ Baleno as well. I have driven close to 14k kms in the last 9 months itself and I cannot count how many times people have been stupid on our roads.

[jaysheth]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Hello BHPians and forum-readers, I am going to share an experience that happened earlier this year which underlines how essential a dashcam is - I did not pen it down for a long while owing to the traumatic ordeal the incident itself was, the PTSD-ish reaction I had afterwards, as well as considering sensitivities of others involved.

Thank you so much ph03n!x for gathering the courage to post this incident. Lot of respect for how you handled it and how you penned it down.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

He suggested this - please move your jeep to the left (correct lane) side of the road, this looks like you were in the wrong side and hit the bike at high speed. I saw the whole incident, and can narrate this to the police, but it is better to move the vehicle to the left. I appreciated his offer to narrate the incident to the cops, but told him I have a camera that has recorded the whole incident, and I did not want to mess with the evidence.

You were hundred percent correct in not wanting to tamper with the evidence. That was so candid of you to not do anything unlawful, even during those dreaded and scary moments!

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

This is where the dashcam proved its worth.

How I wish the whole world reads your post and goes ahead with a good dashcam. Thanks to the knowledge shared on Team-BHP, I have a 70mai Pro Plus+ A500S Dual Channel Car Dash Cam with Built-in GPS installed in my new car, aided by a NEXDIGITRON CPL Filter (both bought from Amazon). The results (including the video/image quality) are excellent. With each drive, the very feeling that 'you are covered', and that too from 'both front and rear' is so relaxing. If, goodness forbid, we make a mistake, we should own it up! If the other party does, prove your innocence! The camera will be a saviour in both cases, revealing the true events as they occurred!

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

All through this, the cops were very professional. A few close friends, including those who came to the spot, helped me greatly to keep it together. The vehicle was released in about 5 days from the date of the accident, I was told I can carry on with what I have to do.

It is very heartening to know the cops were professional and supportive throughout.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

Aftermath

I lost the ability to sleep, and whenever I do sleep, I will wake up in a hour or 90 minutes drenched with sweat.

I was repeatedly analyzing the video, asking myself why I did not stop earlier, or move half a meter to the left into the curb. I drive a Thar, it definitely could have taken the curb and even the short drop beyond the curb.

I had almost 3 seconds to react from the time I flashed and switched on the high beams and started braking gradually. Instead of assuming the opposing vehicle to correct course, I could have made allowance even if it was a very-fast moving Tata Ace (like I had initially assumed).

After a lot of counseling from friends, well-wishers and cops, I reduced beating myself up for the accident.

The above, my friend, is what saddens us (as readers). Why should you beat yourself up even a bit? You could not have been more prudent. Expecting the other vehicle to get in the correct lane is the most natural expectation. And if someone rides at around 135 kmph, without a helmet, you can be only deeply saddened for the person, but you must not feel guilty!

A friendly suggestion is to stop looking at that video altogether. Just save it at multiple places to safeguard yourself in the future, and after that please try forgetting about its existence. Thanks once again for posting this narrative and all the best for a speedy and full (mental) recovery.

[masterChief007]

I truly sympathize with what you had to deal with. Its a harrowing experience even if you were not responsible for someone's demise/injury. I wish you get over this trauma soon, but it may take time as with all such trauma's.

I too installed dashcam after 6 years of driving as recent incidents of mugging/false accidents are increasing day by day and mostly it's the cars that are target for such incidents.

This might be unpopular opinion but I really hate oncoming LED lights, maybe because I have to wear glasses, I get immense glare from the oncoming LED headlights, Halogens are quite better in that sense. Even in your case I am seeing that glare which caused so much issues in identifying whether its a two wheeler or car and the dimensions of the vehicle.

I wish you a speedy recovery from this trauma. My condolences to the deceased, but I daresay riding on wrong side without proper gears (at least helmet) is dancing with death.

[ex-innova-guy]

More power to you for penning down these thoughts and sharing it with us. I had gone through a similar situation this year and questioned myself what if I had left 5 mins early or late and several other questions. Luckily both of us have escaped unharmed and had to bear the brunt when the fault was never ours.

Here’s a suggestion by one of my friend who is currently studying MA in Clinical Psychology.

1. Write about the experience, however you will like to, not necessarily in one go, however you want, in the way you will like it to be. What you feel about it, all what if’s, everything and anything related to the same.

2. Make a list of what you feel could be done instead.

3. Make a list of what was not in your control.

4. Take a page draw a bigger circle, and inside that circle draw a lil smaller one.
In the bigger ones jot the things which were not or are not in your control and on the smaller which "are" in your control 'rn'.

These activities might help you understand and analyze situation better.

Journal however whenever you feel like, any disturbing thought journal it, it's a good habit in general but will really act as catharsis.

If you ever get disturbing dreams or visuals or thoughts, please try to focus on your breathing, or go for a walk, listen to music or do something which will help you relax.

All the best sir.

[EvilZombie]

I cannot begin to imagine what this would have done to you. Don't hesitate to seek help/therapy as such traumatic experiences tend to do a lot more damage if left un attended.

On the topic of Dashcam, I always thought of getting one but was worried it may mess up my car warranty.