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-   -   Rear-ended a cop's Swift, but things weren’t as straightforward as they seemed – Need advice (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/292997-rear-ended-cops-swift-but-things-weren-t-straightforward-they-seemed-need-advice-2.html)

I don't see him calling you back again, so best to forget about the incident. The damage is small, and I don't think hell bother you more, after he now knows that you have a dashcam, etc. Its just not worth his time, or yours.

I would say you did the right thing.

Your priority in an event like this, where the other side is being unreasonable, is to protect yourself and your family and exit smoothly and safely. It's likely that an owner of an ancient Swift with no insurance and 2 non-functional taillights won't really care enough to follow up with you. If he does, settle it with a nominal amount.

The right thing to do when everyone is playing by the same rules is to pay up if they ask for it.

But they are clearly NOT playing by the same rules as you. Non road-legal car (on multiple fronts!) that directly caused the incident, aggressive behaviour, needless insults and escalation, and you're happy to claim insurance (which is the legally correct way) but he can't do it.

Note that I've gotten rear ended and side swiped like this and worse than this 10+ times, and I usually don't even get out to discuss it with the person who caused the incident, let alone ask for money. An apologetic wave of the hand from them, or a minor discussion about what happened, and we move on. One time 10 years ago, I got road rash stopping my scooter for an old man who decided to cross the 60km/hr 4-lane road, got scared when he realized I was closer than he'd expected, stalled and then fell off his bike. We didn't touch because I stopped using my feet in addition to the brakes, and that tore some skin off my toe. Even then I didn't ask for money, checked on him and his bike, and we moved on, it was an incident, stuff happens.

I'd have paid up if they were decent about it, but their behavior seems fishy to me. If he calls back, finish it off with a nominal amount via a digital route that can be traced. But I worry that if you reach out yourself, they won't let it go so easily.

First things first. What's done is done. Purely my personal opinion - whatever you did was well within the law and 100% legal. Accidents happen. The fact that it happened with a car that was not road legal is immaterial. The insurance company is supposed to pay. However, even for an insurance payout, the other party needs to have a valid driving license and a valid insurance. Hence as the company cannot pay up, there ends the matter. The question of you paying out doesn't arise.

Coming to the other part. Put yourself in his shoes. Knowing fully well that you have a functional dashcam, are aware of your rights (by the conversation that you two had on the phone) and the fact that he is clearly in the wrong here, any guy with half the common sense will back off. At best one or two calls of bluster. Suggestions asking you to meet him in his office etc are absurd. Do not pre-empt anything like this. You have no obligation to do so. You have given your response, wait for his next call. Good chances, it will never come. Regarding your worry of them having filmed your spouse, nothing can/ will come out of it without landing them in further soup even (especially) if he's a cop. All this reaction of the other couple is just that, bluster, don't get intimidated by it.

Yesterday, a driver tail-ended me for a similar damage on my 'scratchless' car at Delhi. Heck, besides giving him a hard stare and getting an apologetic wave/ acknowledgement in return, there's nothing else I did.

Don't let irrational fears cloud your judgement. These are minor things, will pass. Live and enjoy life.

My sympathies about this incident. Illegal car on the road, that too of a cop is definitely something to be cautious of.

Sadly, the rules for you and him will be different. Right to equality rarely holds true the moment a government functionary gets involved. And at this instance, being a victim will surely rattle some feathers.

I see this panning out 2 ways -

1. If the cop ends up taking this on his ego, you can expect some sort of retaliatory tactics and pressure to pay up for the damages (miniscule as they might be) and then some more. Please make sure to get an notary authorized letter from him on no more contact attempts (phone calls, messages, visits etc) / payments in case you decide to pay up (only digitally plz. Avoid cash at all costs). Else, you might end with a long term harassment and whatnot

2. Common sense prevails and the cop thinks that the damage is not worth his time and efforts. Moreover, his car is illegal to be driven on the road. Not that it matters given that you have already been threatened about knowledge of the law.

Maybe have a chat with some known lawyer on this. Whether radio silence is wise or should you proactively attempt to get it settled via 3rd party insurance.
The only sore point here would be your vehicle will then be left stranded at the police station for the time the case is under investigation. In normal circumstances, vehicles suffer. Not sure of what would happen in the scenario where egos flare up once again.

Fortunately, your wife was free to go after an assurance of payment over a phone call. I am not sure of how it works in Mumbai, but had this been Bangalore, immediate hefty payout would have been the only option. Probably along with some additional compensation for not charging any more cases :Frustrati

rl:


Yup, while he didn't send me a fully quote, because the discussion took another route, he told me he was going to replace the entire rear bumper, get his boot re-painted + replace the rear fog light.


He didn't give me an amount, because before he could, I cut him off and gave him a piece of my mind - but he did tell me the job includes the following:
1. Bumper replacement
2. Rear fog lamp replacement
3. Boot denting and painting

I'm assuming he would have asked for 15-20k at the most, but the damage was the few scratches you can see on the rear bumper, 100% nothing to the boot was as a result of the rear ending in question.

Thanks, man. Honestly, the moment my wife called me, my only priority was to ensure she could safely exit the situation. And thankfully, she did.

At the time, I had every intention of cooperating with the other party and settling things smoothly until I saw the issues with their car and way they behaved with her. Not only was their tone unnecessarily aggressive, but the questions they asked were completely out of line. They went so far as to question whether she was even married, just because her last name didn’t match mine on her license while she was giving them my details.

On top of that, they repeatedly asked her where she was headed, as if that had anything to do with the incident. That kind of intrusive behaviour, especially from people who claim to be part of the police—is not okay by any standard.

Appreciate your response and the time you took to share your perspective. That said, I do respectfully disagree with a few points you’ve raised.

Yes, in most situations, the vehicle that rear-ends another is at fault, but this wasn’t a typical case. The car ahead had no functional brake lights except a left one, illegal tints that made visibility worse. My wife was driving at a safe, reasonable speed, and had little warning that the car in front intends to stop. If you review the dashcam footage, it’s abundantly clear why it happened and it had nothing to do with inattention. She braked as soon as she physically could see the vehicle stopped. Could it have been prevented with more distance? Absolutely! Not denying that for a second; but functioning taillights and no tint would have helped.

As for the “changing tactics” bit, I don’t think it’s fair to call that dishonest. I gave them my number on speaker, told them I’d take care of the damage, and I meant it until I saw the footage and discovered the taillights weren’t working. At that point, what kind of example would I be setting if I rewarded unsafe and illegal road behaviour? The only reason I said what I did in that moment was to protect my wife, who was being filmed, interrogated, and intimidated by two people (one claiming to be from the police) for something she didn’t fully understand at the time. I don’t regret that for a second.

What I do regret is how they behaved: aggressive tone, dismissive attitude, and trying to corner a lone woman who was polite, cooperative, and fully willing to resolve things the right way. I’m not sharing the footage here, for obvious reasons, but suffice it to say it paints a very different picture than what one might assume reading this thread.

And finally, about finding a “middle ground”; in principle, I have no issue paying for damages when we’re wrong. But in this case, we’re not.
And I’m not about to reward poor maintenance, unlawful modifications, and expired documentation by handing over cash to someone who openly said “it’s my car, I’ll decide if it needs insurance.”

I know this is the internet and opinions will vary, but just wanted to clarify the full picture before judgments are passed.

I see fault from both the parties involved. But if a person from a law enforcement thinks that "It’s my car. I decide if it needs insurance. Don’t teach me the law.....", then he deserves to face the punishment.

In fact, the op is still open for remedies via legal route and this cop thinks he's above law.

Lol. This is a funny incident for me. I have also recently rear ended a Superb with my Jetta. The Superb owner didn't even get down from the car. His driver was driving. It happened because a Taxi decided to halt abruptly on the flyover ramp since a passenger wanted to get down. That joke is for another day.

I stopped my car, got down, went to the Superb guy and apologised. He, in turn, told me to not bother. He realised what the Taxi ahead of him did and he applied brakes at the last moment, leaving me no distance to stop.

I went ahead and caught hold of the Taxi guy, while my car and the Superb was parked in the middle lane of the flyover and halting evening traffic. Cops came to ask me what happened. Pointed out the Taxi guy's mistake, they gave him a stern warning with some expletives for endangering others. Everyone left. But kudos to the Superb guy for reacting calmly and not even getting down to check. My car had some front bumper scrapes but nothing major.

In your incident, even if your wife braked a second late, that did not cause anything major. Such incident happens in cities and dense traffic situation. The swift guy wanted to flex some ego seeing that your wife was alone. That swift has lesser scratches on the bumper than on the owner's ego.

Fret not. Tell your wife its part of driving and move on.

One more thing, if you do pay out, issue a cheque in the vehicle owners name. Ask for RC copy to write the cheque in owner's name and do check validity of the fitness

Unfortunate incident. It is very clear that this couple are freeloaders. The way you have explained their actions and questioning, it appears they have pulled this stunt many a times and have extorted money and to back it up they have a police board as well. Best deal is, if he has not comeback then just leave it there. Else, meet him in his office and take it forward, I am sure he would not want to drag this either as the damage to his car appears negligible!

If I were in your place, I would talk to a lawyer about what options the other driver has, just to know the worst case scenario. You do have proof that this wasn't a hit and run either.

Ideally, the other party should claim from your third party insurance. There's no law that requires you to pay from your own pocket. But he probably won't be able to because he's uninsured.

Given the circumstances and their demeanor of high handedness, your stand of telling him off is reasonable. I wouldn't pay a penny as long as I'm sure that the person doesn't have much by way of legal recourse.

The best advice on this thread so far!

Since the other driver has your wife's DL and photos, I suggest you consult a lawyer and file a police report just in case. You never know where the moron will post the info and if he is really a cop, he can drag her into unnecessary trouble.

I wholly disagree that OPs wife is at any fault.

Brake lights and the regulations around them exist for a reason.

If the Swift did not have working brake lights, it is not reasonable to assume that the person behind will be able to react in time.

If you disagree, I will be more than happy to disable the brake lights on my car and then extort people who will inevitably rear-end me. It'll be a great scam that, by your logic, I should be able to get away with.

Your claim that OP would have tried to avoid paying if the other car was in good condition and had the correct documentation is both insulting and infuriating. That is an accusation against someone character, which has absolutely no basis.

At the time, OP was not physically present, and made the the offer in good faith under the assumption that the other party had 0 fault. Upon reviewing the dashcam footage and noting the non-working brake lights, he understood that his wife was the one who was not at fault and that it was the Swift driver acting in bad faith.

Quite frankly, driving without insurance is a criminal offence. We do not have any moral obligation towards criminals.

OP and his wife have done nothing wrong, morally or ethically. Don't pay a single rupee OP.

Legally speaking, the Swift does not even have valid insurance, not to mention the illegally tinted windows. OP can pursue these points.

If OP has any moral obligations, it would be a moral obligation to society, to report the Swift driver, and have that vehicle impounded and taken off the road.

Pick your battles sir!

The damage looks like all it needs is a repaint, would cost 3-4k max. Just pay and be done with it. Be wary of the fact that the DL details have been noted. It is not worth the hassle. Another thing to disagree is the fact you went back on your promise and started to check if the other car had everything in order.

If you rear end you are at fault, a cautious driver would have observed the fact that the car in-front did not have working taillights and been more alert. From the dash-cam clips you posted, looks like there was time to note this and was a not a case of someone cutting into your lane and abruptly braking.

Please make the right decision and have a peaceful solution. :)

How does not having tint would have helped in this situation?