Today afternoon as i was leisurely driving back home, sticking to one lane of the road only; i reached a crossroad and was on the left side of a truck. When the traffic in front of us cleared, he started moving straight ahead and i therefore continued moving straight beside him. Then all of a sudden without warning, he made a sharp left turn and banged into my car. I stopped the vehicle and tried to get out, but there was not enough space for even my leg to move out. I then tried to move my car back but it wouldn't budge as his front wheel was stuck in. Best part is during this time, he had still not realized that he had hit anybody. He again started to turn left and his already stuck while in the car's front fender went in deeper; dragging my car with him towards the left. I'm in the car all the time banging his door through my window and yelling my guts out. It was only when all the traffic in front of me and by-standers ran in front of his vehicle and stopped him from moving any forward that he realized something was wrong. He finally backed his truck a bit and i moved the car and parked off the road; got off the car and found a huge scratch all the way from the middle of the car to the front bumper from the 1st time he struck me and the entire front fender and my door bent in really badly.
I ran to the guy, made him park and get off from the truck and he refuses to accept his mistake; keeps saying (literally translated, so pardon the language) "you drive into my ass and expect me to see you?" I yelled my guts out at the guy and asked him to call the truck owner. During this time, all by standers are giving the truck driver a good talking to about he he could drive so carelessly. The owner arrives and calmly tries to understand the entire situation. I have by now calmed down a bit and am explaining the entire situation to him. He looks at my car, looks at where everything happened and very calmly tells me , "You should be happy nothing happened to you and you didn't get hurt. Why don't you just let it go?"
At this, i got very put off. I asked the guy if he would be so calm if he was in the car and the truck had damaged his car. He again very calmly replies saying he would have gotten off abused the driver, hit him and gone on ahead. I told him, since i had done neither of what he had said he ought to pay me the denting charges for the vehicle; he blankly refused the same. He then again tries to tell me, "Accidents happen on the road all the time, you have to let this go." I tried talking to the guy for half an hour trying to explain to him that he was being unreasonable and acting cool only because he was not the one who was affected due to the accident. He refused to budge keeping up the same line of speech and refuses to pay me damages. I finally told him, fine lets go to the police and sort this out. At this point 2 of his henchmen start pushing me around and tell me there is no way they will pay up or go to the police. And that if i wanted to do anything, i could take down their details and do anything i wanted. But (quoting them), "You would be wasting both your time and our time if you try going that route."
I was tired of arguing, exhausted from the entire episode, shaken up from how close he came to ramming into my door and feeling very angry about the damage done to my car and to top it all the callous attitude of the owner. It was almost as if because i didn't act like a local guy and raise a noise and bang the driver and owner around and demand paying damages, they wrote me off and told me to take a walk; its as if acting gentlemanly makes people take me for granted. I finally just took the guys number and noted the truck number and left. Went to the garage and left the car; will cost me a minimum bill of Rs. 6000/- to get things fixed.
I've spent the afternoon since then reminiscing what happened, feeling the following:
> Let down and angry because i've been taken for granted because i chose not to lose my cool and create a scene.
> Distraught because of how coolly i've been told to let go of the incident and forget about it.
> Angry because i have to pay up such a hefty bill and not get compensated even though there is no fault of mine.
> Wondering what course of action to take with this entire episode.
> Whether even if i decide to file a complaint tomorrow, if it would be worth the time and effort for the money; not to mention the endlessly irritating cops and insurance people to deal with.
So my question, to which i would like your sincere replies - What should i do about this? Should i pursue it? Should i let it be and forget about it? Or should release it to God and know He will give the people concerned what is due? Do keep in mind the time and effort it will take to pursue the issue while you respond. But on the other hand should i keep quiet and take this injustice lying down? Waiting for your replies...
I ran to the guy, made him park and get off from the truck and he refuses to accept his mistake; keeps saying (literally translated, so pardon the language) "you drive into my ass and expect me to see you?" I yelled my guts out at the guy and asked him to call the truck owner. During this time, all by standers are giving the truck driver a good talking to about he he could drive so carelessly. The owner arrives and calmly tries to understand the entire situation. I have by now calmed down a bit and am explaining the entire situation to him. He looks at my car, looks at where everything happened and very calmly tells me , "You should be happy nothing happened to you and you didn't get hurt. Why don't you just let it go?"
At this, i got very put off. I asked the guy if he would be so calm if he was in the car and the truck had damaged his car. He again very calmly replies saying he would have gotten off abused the driver, hit him and gone on ahead. I told him, since i had done neither of what he had said he ought to pay me the denting charges for the vehicle; he blankly refused the same. He then again tries to tell me, "Accidents happen on the road all the time, you have to let this go." I tried talking to the guy for half an hour trying to explain to him that he was being unreasonable and acting cool only because he was not the one who was affected due to the accident. He refused to budge keeping up the same line of speech and refuses to pay me damages. I finally told him, fine lets go to the police and sort this out. At this point 2 of his henchmen start pushing me around and tell me there is no way they will pay up or go to the police. And that if i wanted to do anything, i could take down their details and do anything i wanted. But (quoting them), "You would be wasting both your time and our time if you try going that route."
I was tired of arguing, exhausted from the entire episode, shaken up from how close he came to ramming into my door and feeling very angry about the damage done to my car and to top it all the callous attitude of the owner. It was almost as if because i didn't act like a local guy and raise a noise and bang the driver and owner around and demand paying damages, they wrote me off and told me to take a walk; its as if acting gentlemanly makes people take me for granted. I finally just took the guys number and noted the truck number and left. Went to the garage and left the car; will cost me a minimum bill of Rs. 6000/- to get things fixed.
I've spent the afternoon since then reminiscing what happened, feeling the following:
> Let down and angry because i've been taken for granted because i chose not to lose my cool and create a scene.
> Distraught because of how coolly i've been told to let go of the incident and forget about it.
> Angry because i have to pay up such a hefty bill and not get compensated even though there is no fault of mine.
> Wondering what course of action to take with this entire episode.
> Whether even if i decide to file a complaint tomorrow, if it would be worth the time and effort for the money; not to mention the endlessly irritating cops and insurance people to deal with.
So my question, to which i would like your sincere replies - What should i do about this? Should i pursue it? Should i let it be and forget about it? Or should release it to God and know He will give the people concerned what is due? Do keep in mind the time and effort it will take to pursue the issue while you respond. But on the other hand should i keep quiet and take this injustice lying down? Waiting for your replies...