Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

bbc.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 225 posts

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#61

Post by shripadk »

ck2 wrote: post #34

This is a crazy thought but the government or charities could award a random lottery to good-Samaritans? Then suddenly everyone will want to help. The only problem is this will also cause fake incidents for fraud purposes. Or people who purposely cause accidents to "help". But if they can solve that issue, might work?

Government/charities need not award us any lottery. All the Government needs to do is bring a law that protects the good-samaritans (remove all the unnecessary legal hassles and allow us to be anonymous). Heck I would even be willing to pay the hospital's initial deposit only if I don't have to be entangled in all sorts of legal issues.

Currently if you report an accident or get the injured person to a hospital you'll be treated as a witness and have to attend all court proceedings. The law should differentiate between a samaritan and a witness (unless the samaritan also wishes to be treated as a witness).

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#62

Post by dominotw »

Xcelerate wrote: post #58

> Oftentimes if you assist someone the police will assume you're helping that person out of guilt. That doesn't make the bystanders apathy any more tolerable. I'd like to think I would help someone in need even if I went to jail for it (you never know what you'd actually do unless you're in the situation, but still...)

>I'd like to think I would help someone in need even if I went to jail for it

You have no idea how bad indian courts and jails are. You would not want to go to jail in India. It would be miracle if you get to see a judge in India between absentee judges, strikes, power cuts ect. Absolutely noone will give a shit about you being incarcerated unfairly.

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#64

Post by tunap »

jccalhoun wrote: post #56
known wrote: post #51

Here is the real reason http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325502/Map-shows-wo...

how does racism explain why people in India won't help other Indians? I know Indian has a wide diversity of languages and religions but even at the very least I would expect people from the same group to help but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

India's Caste System is very rigid, apparently. I asked an Indian friend in college to explain it to me before the interwebz. After the rage she showered upon me for asking I never followed up. Perhaps I will now...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#65

Post by shripadk »

known wrote: post #51

Here is the real reason http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325502/Map-shows-wo...

Huh? What rubbish! It has nothing to do with race. In India we do have a caste system but even with that you won't be able to look at an injured person and get to know his/her caste.

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#66

Post by tunap »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #14
po wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worse than that, the incentives are such that it's better to kill than maim: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2... (although this is apparently in question: http://www.snopes.com/chinese-drivers-kill-pedestrians/ ) This is one of those subjects where people like to put moral consequences on the bystanders when it's the rules and larger structures of the society that matter. Driving in I…

My brother and sister-in-law were being driven to the airport to come home (to Cupertino) by his Father-in-law, at 2 in the morning. He drove at high speed, ignoring traffic lights and signs. They were alarmed; he was unconcerned. "Nobody is about this time in the night; we're perfectly safe!" So there's some kind of mass insanity going on in India for sure.

My father does that, and worse, here in the States. I worry about his welfare and will no longer ride in a car if he's driving.

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#67

Post by shripadk »

tunap wrote: post #64
jccalhoun wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

how does racism explain why people in India won't help other Indians? I know Indian has a wide diversity of languages and religions but even at the very least I would expect people from the same group to help but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

India's Caste System is very rigid, apparently. I asked an Indian friend in college to explain it to me before the interwebz. After the rage she showered upon me for asking I never followed up. Perhaps I will now... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_India

Caste system is not the same as Racism. However, it has nothing to do with accidents. When you see a person involved in an accident in India you won't be able to make out his/her caste by looking at them (unlike race where the racial features are apparent).

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#69

Post by moyok »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #14
po wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worse than that, the incentives are such that it's better to kill than maim: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2... (although this is apparently in question: http://www.snopes.com/chinese-drivers-kill-pedestrians/ ) This is one of those subjects where people like to put moral consequences on the bystanders when it's the rules and larger structures of the society that matter. Driving in I…

My brother and sister-in-law were being driven to the airport to come home (to Cupertino) by his Father-in-law, at 2 in the morning. He drove at high speed, ignoring traffic lights and signs. They were alarmed; he was unconcerned. "Nobody is about this time in the night; we're perfectly safe!" So there's some kind of mass insanity going on in India for sure.

This used to happen to me every time I had to go to the airport in the night, and would book some local taxi to do that. The drivers just never cared about the traffic signals in the night.

The prevalent attitude seems to be that traffic rules are more like guidelines and can be broken if it seems "okay" to do so. Driving on the wrong side of the road is for example quite common, and most people do it to avoid making a long U-turn. Someone who I knew was driving a car and had a head on collision with a scooter travelling the wrong way on a highway, and the scooter had three passengers on board it (it's called "tripling" and is also pretty common). Sometimes you get to see cars reversing on highways with fast moving traffic, because they missed a turn and wanted to go back.

Things could probably get better in the future though. In New Delhi, for example - according to a new law, if you are caught in a traffic violation (such as ignoring a traffic signal), you lose your license along with the right to drive for three months. I saw somebody's status on Facebook that this happened to them, so it's not just an empty threat too.

Re: If no-one helps you after a car crash in India, this is why

#70

Post by tunap »

ansible wrote: post #47
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to hit your hot button! That was meant kindly. But I see your point. And thanks for fleshing out the argument - certainly there is something desperately wrong with the Indian road situation.

Frankly, it is not just India, but, well, most of the hemisphere. Traffic is nuts, and drivers are nuts across most of the area (China, India, SE Asia, Russia), except for maybe Japan. Its not a race thing, but maybe it is a culture thing. We certainly have our share of asshole drivers in the USA, but it doesn't at all compare to what I've seen elsewhere, in terms of quantity / quality.

In Mexico cities(Mazatlan & Pueto Penasco) a red light only means 'avoid collision with cross traffic' with no obligation to stop or slow if you don't have to.
Post reply on HN