To better understand how this happened:
- Imagine a four lane road
- The cab was in the left most lane and almost stationary, as if it was deciding whether to turn into Raheja Mindspace.(The driver said that his customers wanted to know where Raheja Mindspace was and he was pointing it out to them when he hit my car.)
- Because the left most lane was occupied by the cab, I was on the second lane from the left and turning left (with indicator et al).
- I had almost completed turning when my car got hit by the cab and my left rear bumper was damaged (dislocated and badly scratched).
He said he didn't have the money and after he saw that I was very serious about calling the Police (I called and spoke to the Police in front of him and a mobile police party was on its way to help), he started getting agitated and started saying that it was my fault. He also took up an aggresive stance. I explained to him the concept of lane driving, rule position when a car hits another from behind, etc but he wasnt ready to listen. So I said let's wait for the police to come so that they can explain these rules to him. He then sat in the car and motioned as if he was going to take the car to the side, but drove away. Luckily, the security personnel from Raheja had noted the number down and I then called the Cab company and lodged a complaint. I'm waiting to see what the cab company does and will update this blog later.
The bigger picture here is that such drivers cause harm to others who aren't at fault. What if instead of my car, there was a two wheeler with a kid on it? What if he had hit a pedestrian? He wasn't looking on the road, so he would have hit anyone who was in front at that time. For that, I am thankful that it was me and not someone else who could've gotten seriously injured. I want to make sure that this driver learns his lesson. I have half a mind to name the cab company here, but I will give them a chance to sort this out first.
Few pointers for others:
- Always note down the errant car's number.
- Call the police if the driver is refusing to pay for damages or if he is threatening you.
- Make sure there are witnesses who can corroborate your version.
- Don't let the driver off easily.
6 comments:
Hi Sameer,
Sorry to hear about that. Hope this gets sorted out easily.
Best Wishes,
Jayaram
PS- Maybe once this gets resolved and all is fine, you can post some info on
- experience in dealing with the cab owning/hiring company
- how you contacted the police
- what details did they need
- procedure, like do you have to file an FIR etc
Ofcourse, I hope it doesn't come to this and gets resolved with the cab-company itself.
Hey Jayarama
Yes, I hope that my experience proves useful to others. I'm yet to receive a call from the cab company, though!
-Sameer
hmmm...did you file a complaint with police or cab company?
Most of the times ....it is again a irritating story with the way police talks, behaves and finally manipulates to close it off.
Sorry to hear about the accident. I agree with you that the cab driver needs to be pulled up.
Take Care
Kanthi
Sorry to read what ever has happened. I have read the post carefully and here are my thoughts -
1. You were in the middle lane, and the cab was on the left side (lane). So, if you have to take left turn then you need to be behind the cab and not overtake the cab and take the turn.
2. You have to watch through the rear-view mirror, if the lane is free to take the turn. You did not mention that if the cab had the indicators on. You can't assume that the cab will surely take left turn if the indicators are not on.
3. Even if you consider the mistake of the cab driver, then the owner of the cab driver is also at fault. Both should share the responsibility as the driver was on-duty on the cab.
4. The left-most lane is for slow moving vehicles and for vehicles which have to take left turn.
Lastly, I think you were at more fault than the cab driver and please do not harass those guys with unnecessary calls.
I really agree that the cab drivers are risky drivers and they really do mind other vehicles or people on the road. But, if we consider this particular case then I think that it is more of your mistake than the driver.
@Sowjanya
Thanks! Here are my responses to each point:
1. You were in the middle lane, and the cab was on the left side (lane). So, if you have to take left turn then you need to be behind the cab and not overtake the cab and take the turn.
Sameer: It was a four laned road and I was on the second lane from left since the left most lane was blocked by this cab. The cab had stopped/was crawling so there's not question of me going behind a car that is almost stationary. The cab driver admitted that he was looking towards the left hand side (towards the passenger side).
2. You have to watch through the rear-view mirror, if the lane is free to take the turn. You did not mention that if the cab had the indicators on. You can't assume that the cab will surely take left turn if the indicators are not on.
Sameer: Please read my response to point 1 above. Additionaly, the cab has hit my car in the rear, not on the side and neither have I bumped into him. The car that bangs into another from behind is at fault. Please read the following : http://wiki.answers.com/Q/If_you_are_hit_by_a_car_from_behind_who_is_responsible_in_California
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find something from an Indian context, but this holds good here too.
3. Even if you consider the mistake of the cab driver, then the owner of the cab driver is also at fault. Both should share the responsibility as the driver was on-duty on the cab.
Sameer: The owner and driver are both aware that I am following up with each other. What they do between themselves is not for me to dictate.
4. The left-most lane is for slow moving vehicles and for vehicles which have to take left turn.
Sameer: If the vehicle was slow moving, then it would have hit my car on the left side or rather I would have bumped into it when turning left. I clearly saw the vehicle behind me in the rear view mirror.
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