[svel]

Originally Posted by heavy_foot

My collegue did not know kannada so he spoke in tamil ( the biggest crime he commited that day ).

Adding more salt to the wound the cops demand 5000 to close the matter. Their reasoning.." why cant you pay 5000 when you guys earn 50000 per month in a IT company "

The most hated language in Bangalore is Tamil. So better to stick with Kannada, English, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam in that order (as per your language skills). I am not saying that locals are safe in such situations. But outsiders are more vulnerable than locals. Because of digital divide, these elements don't like IT guys for obvious reasons. That is the prime reason why such incidents are happening more near IT belts like ORR (Silkboard to KR Pura) and Hosur Road, BTM etc. Many times these are induced so that there will be monetary benefit at the end for these elements (as happened in this case). As advised by many in this thread, the best course of action in these situations is get out of that place as quickly as possible. Don't try to advise the wrong doer. It will only hurt his pride and make the situation worse.

[chetan]

can you tell me the exact spot amitoj was it on the road next to the lake and guys what ever happens dont get into a fight in btm and surrounding layouts especially near the madiwala and the area opp to the water tank........form what i herd is that i don't know if its true or not the reason those guys came after you is that either they want rob you give a complaint about hit and run or remove all the tires on your car and may be more... theres a garage on that road and i believe these goons steal parts like tires and stuff and sell it to them or may be the garage guys are behind this .

[pjbiju]

Glad you are safe.

Road rage happens. The reasons could be as varying as that the driver is a moron, or that the vehicle is owned by rowdie/politician or that the guy has had a tough day at home/work etc.

No person in a decent frame of mind will put another person in peril with his/her reckless driving. But it can happen because of so many reasons, especially with a cocktail of poor driving skills and arrogance.

No point in confronting these people even if you think you outnumber them. They could be carrying a gun. They could be drunk. They may have local support for whatever they do.

We need to learn to just laugh it off and drive on. No point in raising our blood pressure.

As discussed in another thread, carrying a weapon may turn the tables on you if you are overpowered. The best bet still could be some pepper spray which could distract others enough for you to escape. In cities try to familiarize yourself with the locations of Police Stations so that you can drive to one of them if needed. Our cities are becoming less and less humane.

[lohithrao]

Just remembered... few years back, i was on my way home from koramangala via ORR, just after the Ayappa swami temple(the road which runs parallel to the lake) found this guy riding in the middle of the road(Tvs Victor i guess) when honked that moron dint give me way instead started to ride zig zag....i managed to overtake him and asked what was his problem(in kannada) that dude instead of apologizing started to abuse me....and told that its his area and not to act smart and what not...sensing that it was not a great idea to continue to talk to this moron i just took off...lucky i was on my bull and he on his victor... he tried to catch up but failed to!

For few days i was kind a shaken ...

What i have noticed is if you drive a good looking car or bike you end up attracting all kind of attentions....ultimately your sensibility is what which would save you!

[nemo]

@amitoj, Good that you are safe. If it's possible try avoiding the route for few days for all you know these thugs may live somewhere around and could recognize your car and try to create further problems.

Road rages in Bangalore are becoming a common sight these days. I recall an incident that happened last week at agra junction in the morning. I was behind an 800 and we were driving towards silk board. We were stopped by a sumo that came from the side --perpendicularly -- wanting to take a right turn. He was waiting for the traffic infront of him to clear to take that turn thereby blocking several vehicles. Our man in the 800 got impatient and kept telling the sumo guy to move slightly in front and give him way. The cabiee ignored the request couple of times but he slowly got irritated and came of the sumo and got into argument and eventually started hitting the 800 driver, as this was happening his sumo started moving down and was about to hit the vehicle behind him - he failed to engage the hand brake it seems - the idiot ran and managed to stop the vehicle but it annoyed him even more. He came back and this time to the surprise he was unzipping his fly and was trying to do something that's best not explained . To the 800 guys luck he managed to find some way and he sped away.

The point how could people dare to do something like this in the middle of the road driving a company cab -- this was a HP cab with the employees inside. I noted down the numbers and tried calling the "how am i driving" helpline to report it but expectedly nobody answered the number.

[speedmiester]

I drive daily to office from jayanagar to sarjapur road. I face a lot of these maniacs everyday. But till today ( TOUCH WOOD) none of these maniacs had tried to mess around with me, even when i honk and showed a finger or fist at them. Part of this might be due to the sticker of team-bhp and another forum which is predominantly visible on my cars rear door.
First thing that is necessary to face this maniacs is to talk in local language this will clearly put them on back foot.

[kARTIK IYER]

This is just unexpected . We all have minor abuses or hand actions done while driving or when coming across some junk/ hunk who feels he rules .

I always feel that sometimes we come across the weird kinds . Happy that you are safe.

Just a incident to better forget .

Regards.. Kat

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by nemo

... The point how could people dare to do something like this in the middle of the road driving a company cab -- this was a HP cab with the employees inside. I noted down the numbers and tried calling the "how am i driving" helpline to report it but expectedly nobody answered the number.

Maybe someone from here, from HP, might be able to take up the matter internally. What was the cab number / registration number? And also date and time?

[snaronikar]

Originally Posted by nemo

The point how could people dare to do something like this in the middle of the road driving a company cab -- this was a HP cab with the employees inside. I noted down the numbers and tried calling the "how am i driving" helpline to report it but expectedly nobody answered the number.

The cab or maxi cab drivers nowadays will erase out one digit of phone/mobile number given on the back side of any co. vehicle. I have seen this in many factory vehicles. The idea here is if they do any mistake or create any problem while driving, they do not want to be complained about the same. Eg: In my previous co where I worked, if anybody reports that the driver is not driving properly or misbehaved with somebody, he would have been removed from the service at that moment itself. This is the fear all the drivers of co. vehicles should have. Then only these things can be controlled.

[nemo]

@speedmiester, i think you are better off controlling your emotions and ignoring the fools. You never know how these guys will react.

[Gangsta]

To over come such incidence, I always have a slagger in my car because you never know what can happen with you on the road.

[MC Mayank]

Good you avoided further confrontation. Its a good point that some ppl have made about the elections being around the corner.
When you are alone in the car, its a complete no brainer. Even if you have a few guys with you, it might be a good idea to avoid escalation.
I have heard of a couple of incidents in the past few months when petty things like first come first serve in Empire have escalated into serious fights with injuries to a common guy like you or me.
With rowdies, language is not a stop. With the guys making an entry into the rowdy world, picking up small fights is the best way to prove themselves.
But if it does get a little serious, then do try and remember the car make and registeration. Cops are pretty ruthless if the situation involves the use of a weapon. They would trace down the car and the owner within a day or two. But then again, I guess common folks like us would have to have some sort of political backing before pursuing matters further.

[Ketan]

I guess I cant beleive all this what I'm reading!!! I guess I'm behaving aggresively while driving - most of the time getting into arguments with auto and bikewalas if they try to sqeez-thru.

I remember a recent instance on highways (right after you get down the ooty ghats on masinagudi road) where a Baleno guy was stopped right in the middle of the road, he did not want to get off the road a bit so both of us can pass (I guess you know that masinagudi road,, narrow and with sharp edges that would surely scratch your car bottom) - I stopped as well - went on for 2-3 minutes, I requested him to take his car off and he simply denied,, I reversed the car few meters, asked him to pass, he came forward few meters and stopped again - not getting off the road a bit so both of us can pass. I have my wife, mom, kid and dad in the car... They were some 3 guys in the car I could see.. That was the time i really felt bad that I cannot do something about it,, I was ready to get down a bit but this guy was not - he wanted me to go off the road so this Maharaja can go aram se....
I dont know what came to my mind and I simple took my car completely off the road and passed quietly from there (I normally get into arguments but did not do here) I thought I should have told him that it would have been fun on this highway if I was not with my family / ladies / kid in the car......but I did not.. That really felt bad..

So, I agree. trying to avoid these situations when you know for sure that you cant do anything is a good idea for now.. but, can we start helping one another if we come across such situations to get rid of this system? I feel its required.. if you feel you can do something about it - you can get some support from people around - please retaliate... otherwise, you would see only Rowdies around after soemtime...

[DriverR]

About a year back, me and my sis were driving on Koramangala 100 feet road. It was heavy traffic. An auto in front suddenly braked and I nudged it a bit. It was a light nudge as speeds was very slow due to traffic. The auto driver immediately glared out of the auto. I raised my hands to indicate it was my fault and I apologise. He continued to glare and started shouting in Kanada (I'm blank when it comes to Kanada). For me, I don't get bothered by these things. In anycase I had the windows up and music playing. The traffic started moving. I could see that he wanted to get into fight. I literally ignored him and drove on. He started following me. At first I got bugged, but as my sis was there I just continued. As the road cleared he began driving more rashly in a bid to overtake me. I was in my Indica, and knew that even if he ram me, his auto will come out for the worse. He too must have realised it, as he gave up chasing us. The sad part is that there was a passenger (lady) in the auto and still he drove with no regards for her safety.

[benbsb29]

OMG !! Amitoj, good to know that you are safe.
Incidents such as these are becomign really common on the streets of Bangalore now. I would blame it on the inefficiency of the cops, as in most cases even they are hand in hand with such morons, and all they care about is who pays them more.

For the glitz that this city tries to portray, there is a severe rot underneath, which needs to be addressed.