Involved in accident where it's not my fault: How to handle situation?

The Creta driver stepped out thinking that I couldn’t brake on time. Showed him the condition of the Ertiga and he too said some “nice words” to the Ertiga driver.

BHPian Omkar recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Most of us who spend a lot of time on the road, are aware of the fact that things can be extremely unpredictable. Even if you are a cautious driver and drive defensively, you cannot control how others drive. Getting to the point of this thread, I was recently involved in an accident and wanted to know how BHPians would’ve handled the same situation.

The Accident

On the recent Holi weekend, I was driving to Alibaug from Mumbai in my Swift. Since I couldn’t get the M2M ferry booking on time, I had to take the road and I was more than happy to drive. Had lunch at Monza Café in Kharghar and proceeded towards the destination. Crossed Kalamboli and got onto the Mumbai Goa Highway (NH66). About half an hour after crossing Karnala Bird Sanctuary, there was a Hyundai Creta ahead of me and I was maintaining a safe distance. The average speed was ~40-50 km/h and we both moved to the right lane of the 2-lane road to overtake a slow-moving Alto.

A few meters after crossing the Alto, the Creta started to slow down because a Dzire had stopped abruptly in the right lane. There was no signal, just that there was no divider on that part of the road, so the Dzire had stopped to take a U-Turn. The Creta obviously couldn’t move immediately to the left lane as the Alto was approaching from the left lane. I also stayed behind the Creta as I could see that there was more oncoming traffic on the left lane behind the Alto. The Creta came to a halt gradually and so did I.

After coming to a halt, I turned to my friend in the passenger seat, and we were talking about something. It must’ve been a good 7-8 seconds after coming to a halt when BAM! My Swift got rear-ended by an Ertiga. The impact was strong and it almost felt like I was going to fly out of my seat. I don’t remember much, but my right foot was on the brake pedal since I knew that the Creta would soon move. I was a good meter and a half or two behind the Creta, but the impact sent my car into the rear end of the Hyundai.

Inside the cabin, me and my friend were talking and facing each other at the time of impact. We both were jolted forward and then both our heads hit the headrests on whiplash. The seatbelts did their job perfectly as I faintly remember coming very close to the steering wheel. After making sure that my passenger was okay, and there were no injuries, I stepped out of the car.

Some very “nice words” came out of my mouth for the Ertiga driver. Looked like he was a hired driver by a family as the car was full of people and the luggage rack was full as well. The driver said that his brakes didn’t work at all, which I didn’t believe. Most likely he was distracted and couldn’t brake on time as the impact was heavy.

Meanwhile, the Creta driver stepped out thinking that I couldn’t brake on time. Showed him the condition of the Ertiga and he too said some “nice words” to the Ertiga driver. I checked the damage to the rear of the Creta, and there was a minor scratch on the tailgate. Checked the frontal damage of the Swift, the bonnet had been dented, the bumper had a scratch and the number plate had fallen off. Checked the rear damage, the rear bumper had torn, and the tailgate had a dent. The Ertiga’s radiator was punctured and was leaking coolant. At this point, the Ertiga driver was apologizing, and I decided to let him go. Told him to not drive the car for long and to get the radiator fixed or he’ll blow up the engine. Clicked some pictures of the cars and the damage for insurance purposes and decided to carry on with the trip.

Different views came in from different people:

• Should’ve taken Rs. 1,000-2,000 from the driver to cover claim charges.
• Should’ve taken his car’s papers and made the owner of the car pay for the damages in full (no insurance).
• Should’ve taken the driver to the police and made him pay so he doesn’t make the same mistake again.

I still stand by my decision of letting it go for the following reasons:

• No mechanical damage - the car was working perfectly fine.
• Having worked for and with car insurance companies, I knew that the claim process would be straightforward.
• Didn’t want to be on the road creating a scene and ruining the mood of the weekend.

What would you have done in such a situation?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Do nothing, drive home and let the garage/insurance take care of it. It's exactly why I pay insurance premiums every year.

A couple more points:

• It's a myth that the other party has to pay you. At best, it is his / her insurance company that will pay you and that too, after a court order (meaning = a long legal case). I still don't know anyone who has claimed 3rd party damages from the opposite party's insurance.
• We share roads with all kinds of creeps & thugs. You never know who is hiding a knife under his seat. Last year, I was on the Lonavla road in a super expensive car and an idiot rear-ended me. I smiled, gave him a friendly thumbs up and drove away. It's not my style to get out of the car to discuss who is at fault, argue or fight. Got more important things in life to take care of.

Here's what BHPian ninjatalli had to say on the matter:

This depends on the situation and the damage. I had been in a similar situation on the JVLR highway where some random car stopped on the rightmost lane to do a U-turn. This was during evening hours with all vehicles doing 40+ kph, driving bumper to bumper. It resulted in a line of 4 or 5 vehicles hitting each other, my vehicle being #3 IIRC. Not much damage to my car, apart from a broken number plate and iirc a headlight cracked.

I just shrugged and moved on, and the other two cars behind and in front of me did the same, with only the last two continuing to argue.

In your case, I think you did the right thing. The Ertiga could potentially argue (for argument's sake) that stopping on a highway is wrong etc etc.

Here's what BHPian Samba had to say on the matter:

Once a drunk driver rear-ended my Figo back in 2016. The repair cost was coming to Rs 25,000.

I asked that guy to pay me for the insurance claim charge, and the NCB which I lost due to him. Took 4k from him, and claimed the rest from the insurance.

Though letting go the other party who is at fault, and claiming the insurance is the most peaceful way.

Here's what BHPian ex-innova-guy had to say on the matter:

I am glad your friend and you are safe Omkar.

I would not have taken compensation from the party. Last year, when I was involved in an accident that totalled my car, there was no option but to claim insurance, as an ordinary citizen would hardly be able to get money to repair the totalled car from the other party.

A couple of months ago, my dad rear-ended an Innova, which stopped suddenly after a toll. Three burly agitated men got out, and my dad just handed his business card, and the issue was resolved then and there. Sometimes it’s that simple to handle such situations.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.