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

bbc.co.uk

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

#131

Post by sonink »

po wrote: post #7
jasode wrote: post #5

China also has similar culture of punishing good samaritans: http://www.businessinsider.com/two-year-old-hit-by-car-in-ch...

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…

Driving in India is only insane to westerners. I have been driving in India for a decade and I dont find it hard at all. Driving in the US though is one of the most stressfull things for me.

Part of the stress in US is because of the different side driving, but also a lot because I have to keep in mind a TON of rules - lane markers, speed limits, lane changing etc.- and everyone moves in super high speed so any mistake can be fatal.

In India, on the other hand I just need to take care of the signals and otherwise wherever my car can fit, I am good to go. If my car rubs a bit against another car or a small bump here and there - no big deal. Driving in the night though is stressful in India also and I avoid it.

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

#132

Post by ensignavenger »

thaeli wrote: post #72
Xenon54 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When first visiting the US many years ago I was warned always to carry with me proof of insurance, for otherwise a hospital might not treat me until I could provide some proof that I could pay. I wonder if that was true, whether it's still true, and what the situation really was or is.

In the US, a hospital is required to give you emergency treatment first, and figure out how you're going to pay later. If you don't have insurance coverage, that can mean ruinous bills, but no, they don't check before treating you in an emergency situation. For non-emergency stuff, yes, you need to pay or present insurance info up front.

Of course, your definition of emergency might not match the hospitals.

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

#133

Post by varchar »

My family has lived in South India for many decades. India's infrastructure and emergency response in not very good although it has improved over the years. One thing I have observed is - it is the bystanders, the common man who rushe to the aid of victims in case of disasters - accidents, train derailment, floods, earthquakes. I could give you dozens of examples gathered from newspapers and from first hand experiences of kith and kin. People just jump in and start helping in such situations. People help each other especially when the emergency response is not reliable or immediately available. If your car slid into a ditch in rural Minnesota, passing cars will come to your aid. Where as in New York City, people may just drive by knowing that you will get a tow truck. This is the issue with reports like this - they pick one or two such statistically rare case and write a report it, opening the door wide to generalization especially on a globally popular news site. For every such incident, I'm sure there are tens of thousands incidents where people help, which never get reported.

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

#134

Post by baking »

up_and_up wrote: post #109
hackeratti wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is Hindu fatalism? Hearing the term for the first time.

Karma. If something happens to you, it is your actions in the past either in this life or a previous life which are the original cause. Hence you are just receiving back the same as you have given. The problem with ignoring someone in trouble is those people are actually missing the chance to create good karma by helping those in need.

Also, reincarnation played a part in the American understanding. They were moving on to a new life and you wouldn't want to interfere.

I'm not saying that this was a sophisticated understanding. These were random American service men send to support the airlift to Burma. All I'm saying is that this was a common phenomena in the early 1940's in at least part of India and it's unlikely that it was the result of the British-Indian judicial system of the time.

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

#135

Post by philjohn »

zyxley wrote: post #118
sly010 wrote: post #33

I can't find it now, but there is a video of a dozen pedestrians lifting a double decker in London. It's all started by a single person, but others quickly joined. I wonder where is "helping others" on the Maslow piramid? Edit: Found: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32993891

That's a good example of both crowd generosity and crowd stupidity: everybody joined in on trying to lift the bus instead of just making the bus driver reverse off the guy who was trapped.

If you read the article, the bus driver was completely flustered and shut down.

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

#136

Post by abraham_s »

1) This is highly dependent on the place. In rural areas or smaller towns, there is high probability that someone will take you to the hospital.

2) There is no equivalent of 911 in India. You can call the police but they usually don't have ambulances. Most cases you will have to take the injured in a private vehicle to the hospital.

3) Harassment by police is a real thing in many places. They will suspect you of being involved in the accident. At least in my state (Kerala) there has been conscious effort to resolve this and seems to be working.

4) There is government hospitals who will treat you, no questions asked. But these are not present everywhere, and many don't have adequate resources (Operation theaters, Intensive Care Units etc) in many of these. So there is a chance that you will have to travel to bigger hospital to get appropriate care.

Anecdote. Few years back , I was driving to my home when police flagged me down and asked me to take a lady injured (she was pillion-riding on a two wheeler) to the hospital. Took then to fairly large government hospital (which is also a medical college). The attending doctor asked me whether I was involved in the accident and the told me I can leave. I informed the relatives of the injured (got numbers from her companion) and left.

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

#137

Post by ocean3 »

FussyZeus wrote: post #123
zyxley wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coordinated control of traffic lights isn't cheap. Some quick googling says $250K to $500K per signal[1] when done from scratch. [1]: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/Traffic/signals.htm

I stand corrected then. Still seems like it would be a worthwhile investment given their insane traffic death rates.

Traffic lights are not an issue. Its present in most towns as well. Most of the time if you break a traffic light you would not be penalized. Usually there won't be an policeman nearby. Even they are present they do not implement the law.

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

#138

Post by crimsonalucard »

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?

how come america or europe doesn't need a lottery.

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

#139

Post by [deleted] »

varchar wrote: post #133

My family has lived in South India for many decades. India's infrastructure and emergency response in not very good although it has improved over the years. One thing I have observed is - it is the bystanders, the common man who rushe to the aid of victims in case of disasters - accidents, train derailment, floods, earthquakes. I could give you dozens of examples gathered from newspapers and from first hand experienc…

[deleted]

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

#140

Post by tmalsburg2 »

When I visited India a couple of years ago, we also observed this indifference towards victims of accidents. Someone noticed that we were puzzled by this a told us that this is due to Indian culture. First, if someone is seriously hurt or killed that's this person's (perhaps deserved) fate. Second, helping others may not be as much a moral imperative as it is in Christian cultures. I don't know whether this is correct and even if it's correct it would of course not negate the reasons discussed in the article. It may rather be an additional factor. Would be interesting to hear an Indian person's view on that.
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