[alamodein]

Addressed the Road Rage Incident with the help of Bengaluru City Police.

'What's up with these people? Why so much rage? Why there is no fear of the law at all?' The kinds of thoughts that keep spinning when I read about these ever-increasing Road Rage incidents in Bengaluru.

While I was reading about the @toroid incident and was commending his calmness and presence of mind, I also subconsciously continued to prepare myself to react calmly to such situations, so to avoid any escalations.

Never thought, I would be caught in a near about road rage scene this sooner.

On August 13th around 4 PM, while returning from my office, I took a right from the Jail Road Signal and then the first left onto Hosa Road. While driving in my lane, a biker without a helmet, overtook an auto in the opposite lane, hit my car’s right mirror. I ignored it as these things are quite common in my city's wild traffic, but this biker chased me for 100-150 meters and blocked my car. With my limited understanding of Kannada, I guess he seemed to be questioning my driving. To avoid disrupting traffic, I moved the car to the side. The following clip shows it all.

https://youtu.be/vtqX8U8YTic

I usually proactively apologize when it’s my mistake, but this time it wasn’t. Apologizing would have only encouraged him to bully others on the road.

I turned off the car and got out to talk to him, (I should have left the Car in ACC, as it stopped DashCam recording further).
He was like 'I am local here (Nanu local)' and was on call with his friend/acquaintance. I pointed toward the DashCam and warned him everything was recorded. He was in his adamance and heroism. Some onlookers also gathered.

I called 112, provided his and his bike’s details, and immediately received calls from the Electronic City Traffic Police and ASI Ramesh from Parappana Agrahara Police Station. I shared my location with ASI Ramesh and received the complaint number and Hoysala Vehicle dispatch details via SMS.


Realizing his behavior might get him in trouble, the guy sensed his “heroism (or Rowdiness)” was backfiring. I got back in my car to wait for the police. He approached my window, repeatedly asking for my mobile number, which I refused, insisting we wait for the police. Sensing trouble, he fled the scene.

I called ASI Ramesh to inform him that the biker had fled and that I would visit the police station the next day with the DashCam recordings to file a complaint. ASI Ramesh asked me to wait, and he arrived within 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I moved my car to a wider road 100 meters ahead. He and PC Venkatesh reviewed the DashCam footage, validated the bike’s Reg. number, and found the owner’s contact details. The bike belonged to a nearby restaurant owner, and the rider was a worker there. Initially, the owner denied but when the police gave him some peace of mind, he sent his 19-year-old son to the scene.

I called my wife to inform her I’d be late due to the situation and that there was nothing to worry about. However, as a lawyer, she wanted to monitor the proceedings with the police and arrived at the spot in 20 minutes, accompanied by our friend/neighbor.

The owner’s son arrived almost 40 mins later and apologized, but initially claimed the rider was unreachable. When we mentioned filing a formal complaint that would result in the vehicle being impounded, he quickly called the culprit rider.
Interestingly, the culprit's bravado disappeared, and after the Police gave him some 'Prasadam' in their style, he was apologizing profusely, holding his ears, touching everyone’s feet, and promising it wouldn’t happen again.
Apologetic Rider


We discovered the rider's name is Chandru, a 22-year-old who recently moved to Bengaluru from Gulbarga to work at a restaurant. Despite being new to the city, he was already acting like a goon, trying to bully others without fear of the law. (I guess, the influence of today's action movies on uneducated jobless youth in Tier-2/3 cities?).
This made me wonder how I would explore and appreciate a new city, learn about its culture and people, and feel grateful to God for the opportunity. I guess that highlights the importance of education in shaping one’s behavior and outlook.

I must also mention that both police officers were patient and very helpful. We expressed our heartfelt thanks to them before leaving the place.


Before I conclude, I would also reiterate what has been discussed several times in our esteemed forum...

1. DashCam is a must in today's times. In such a situation, always keep your car running or in ACC mode to ensure continuous recording. (I made the mistake of turning off my car.)

2. If you’re threatened or bullied, remain calm. If it’s your fault, apologize. If the situation doesn’t defuse, drive to the nearest police station.

3. If you can’t drive to the police station or are blocked, keep your windows rolled up and doors locked. Call 112 (in Bengaluru), explain the situation calmly, and share your location. Avoid interacting with the other party. Calling the police may itself discourage them from further escalation.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, alamodein! Moving your post out to a new thread so as to update others. A new thread means 100X the views & 100X the visibility in search engines, including Google. Will add to homepage today .

@ BHPians, if you should spot any good post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

[NPV]

Kudos to your calm thinking and doing the right thing, 112 is a boon when in distress!
Also, agree 100% that dashcam is a must now. Drive safe, stay safe!

[Axe77]

Brilliantly done. Calm, composed, no aggravating reaction from OP that caused him to retaliate so and duly escalated to the cops instead of getting into a personal scuffle.

I hope more such bullies get a rap from the authorities like this chap did. Much needed it would seem in most cities including Bangalore.

I can’t wait to install dash cams on my primary vehicles. Its a must have now I feel.

[arunphilip]

Well done no keeping your cool, and handling the situation professionally.

Originally Posted by alamodein

Apologetic Rider

I'm sure it's a coincidence, but it almost looks like this chap was the inspiration for the salon hoarding behind him.

Originally Posted by alamodein

I must also mention that both police officers were patient and very helpful. We expressed our heartfelt thanks to them before leaving the place.

I appreciate you sharing your experience with us. Quite often, we wouldn't think of reaching out to the police thinking "Will they even bother for such an indicent?" or "Can they come on time?". Your positive experience gives a resounding "Yes" to both questions, and will encourage others (at least those in Bangalore) to not have an apathetic attitude about the traffic police.

I likewise hope that the rider's negative experience will cool the jets of at least a few other wannabe goons.

[xenon0025]

Kudos to you for keeping your cool and calling the cops. Such incidents will only reduce when there is pro-active action from the police.

[hemant.kamat]

A quick question: is there any way/dashcam that also captures the external audio? This would be of immense help while filing an FIR - would serve as irrefutable evidence of any verbal threats or abuses.

[Col Mehta]

I must say your handling of the situation was really commendable, well done! And thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Look at that "harmless", "angelic" fellow when being caught. These morons need to be taught some tough lessons. Unfortunately, road rage incidents are becoming increasingly common, indicating a growing trend of everyone being angry and filled with apathy towards others.

[DicKy]

Kudos for doing the right thing, being calm and calling the cop right then.

Incidents like this makes law abiding citizens have faith in the system, while the movie influenced heroes get a dash of reality.

Originally Posted by arunphilip

I'm sure it's a coincidence, but it almost looks like this chap was the inspiration for the salon hoarding behind him.

True. I just burst out when I saw his face under Apologetic Rider and the salon ad behind him.

[audioholic]

These days 112 is very responsive. The cops are usually helpful when we have enough evidence to prove that we arent at fault. Also during this most of the heroic acts will come down to an apologetic tone. Better than trying to calm the situation yourself or escalate it further.

[anjan_c2007]

The proactive role of the Bangalore police needs commendation. They have taught a life's lesson to the delinquent youth, who naturally will narrate the incident to his peers and so also the hotel owner will spread the message that the arms of law are long enough. Word of mouth matters and could deter at least a dozen goons. For us the arms of law are long enough, if used well and pragmatically like you have done.

As a follow up, I would request you to find time to meet the area's Dy Commissioner and later the Commissioner, narrate the case details and recommend that the seniors honour the two brave police officials for their remarkable and timely action.

[vinu_h]

BTP is doing a great job. I've seen them in person unplugging drains on the road this week. Good bunch of buys.

Front dash cam became a MUST A long time ago and I believe that a rear dash cam has become one too.

[krishnakumar]

I have been a victim of similar road rage and wanted to highlight that cops have been helpful to us as well (even as outsiders).

Two guys on a bike overtaking a series of vehicle from the opposite side on the narrowest of all possible roads in Pattandur Agrahara. They banged the windows because I was not giving them space and being in my rightful lane. Don't want to go into details. Things escalated and we called the cops. The support gang that these goons called disappeared the moment Hoysala vehicle arrived.

We were asked to go to the Whitefield traffic police station and I asked the Hoysala vehicle to escort us since we did not want another incident of these guys ganging up on us. The cops kindly accepted this request even though I was not really expecting them to do so.

They escorted us from Vydehi hospital all the way to Kadugodi metro station where the traffic police station is located. The situation got diffused, the bravado disappeared and the chaps honestly just wanted to get home. They shifted their narrative to take them to a hospital because apparently my car's front tyre ran over the rider's foot (not possible physically because when they were abusing us, they were in front of the bonnet).

When we went to the hospital, the junior doctor there was a Malayalee and I spoke to him in Malayalam to explain the situation. He told me that on a daily basis, there are at least 2-3 cases of such cases happening. We had to pay for the X-ray, which revealed literally nothing as expected, but the guy was acting so well worthy of an Oscar saying it is paining. Mind you, by then it was 5 hours from when the "incident" happened - between that time he was happily jumping around gathering up people - no pain on his foot.

Expense incurred was a few thousands as we had to prove that we bought him the medicines and prescription as demanded by him.

Long story short, when such an incident happens, call the cops. Even if the cops aren't helpful, call them and make them accountable in the first place. That is how we correct these behaviours. Us not calling cops is the biggest reason that emboldens people like these guys.