Bangalore Drivers Plead Cases in ‘Court of Instant Traffic Justice’

Reuters Traffic flowing through a busy street in Bangalore, Karnataka, in this 2007 photo.

When a motorcycle rider rammed his car from behind in peak Bangalore traffic some weeks ago, Nagaraju Mariankiah, a 37-year-old cab driver, responded as he usually did when he got into an accident. He immediately stopped the car on the busy street and got out to inspect the damage.

Then, as cars and buses piled up behind, he and the other driver stood their ground and proceeded to exercise their lungs about who caused the accident. Luckily, a slew of impatient drivers and their incessant honking prompted a quick resolution.

“It could have dragged foran hour, but it was the morning rush so he ‘settled’ after haggling for only 10 minutes,” recounted Mr. Mariankiah. “He paid me 3,500 rupees ($65) for the 5,000-rupee damage he caused.”

In Bangalore, where hundreds of such minor accidents occur daily, only a tiny fraction of cases gets reported to the police. The others are reconciled by what some refer to as the Court of Instant Traffic Justice, where a customary crowd gathers out of nowhere and arguments could turn ugly, even devolve into fisticuffs.

If an accident involves two vehicles of unequal size or value, the onlookers invariably side with the driver of the smaller or less sumptuous vehicle, the seeming underdog. The party whom the crowd perceives to be at fault has to settle with the aggrieved by paying for the damage in cash.

While this street drama plays out, neither party moves an inch, or is even allowed to. The fear is that evidence could be lost, hindering the parties from assig! ning fault and arriving at the cash compensation figure, Mr.Mariankiah explained.

Mahi Reddy, an entrepreneur based in Annapolis, Md., who grew up in Bangalore and is a frequent visitor to the city, said he had witnessed many such episodes.

“Often, a few in the audience jump in the fray as self-appointed arbiters, passing judgment in the court of quick public opinion,” Mr. Reddy said.

He said the scenario contrasted sharply with a “fender-bender” situation in the United States, where the two drivers pull over to the side, get out of their cars, call the police to report the accident and then exchange their phone numbers, insurance and driving license information.

Calling the police is often the last resort in cases concerning minor road accidents in Bangalore and in other Indian cities.

“Spot settlement is quick and relatively painless,” said Mr. Mariankiah, who said that he would rather do that than pay bribes to register a police complaint and then pursue the casein India’s clogged legal system, which could take years. The police are summoned only in cases involving grievous injury, death or serious damage to the vehicle that requires an insurance claim.

Many times, Mr. Mariankiah and the other driver have exchanged signatures and vehicle numbers on plain sheets of paper to seal the “compromise” and ensure that neither party later pursues the case with a police complaint.

Such incidents are a frequent and major irritant on the roads, said Karan Kamal, founder of Alumnize.com, a career networking portal for college alumni based in Bangalore.

“As the drivers slug it out, traffic piles up and nothing moves,” said Mr. Kamal, who was a protagonist in one such situation some months ago. The driver of the mini-truck that dented his car was a laborer who had no insurance and could not afford to pay for the damage.

It is often difficult to determine if the fault is entirely on one side. On Indian roads, drivers need a sixth sense to n! avigate t! he unpredictable, chaotic traffic where the adherence to simple rules like lane discipline or overtaking another car is lacking.

To streamline the paperwork in traffic accident cases, there ought to be a mechanism to regulate and decentralize vehicle registrations and licenses, Mr. Kamal said. “We are solving global challenges with our software skills; surely we can figure this one out,” he said.

Bangalore, India’s most traffic-dense city, has 4.5 million registered vehicles, which comes out to one vehicle for every other resident. However, not even two dozen traffic accident cases are registered daily, said M.A. Saleem, Bangalore’s additional commissioner of police for traffic, because most of the cases are not reported as the citizens feared the police and the courts.

“An accident is registered only where there is serious injury, or serious damage is caused and the party is unable to pay,” Mr. Saleem said.

Drivers’ “uncivilized behavior” in handling traffic accidets hindered the smooth flow of traffic on already-congested city roads, Mr. Saleem said, and those obstructing traffic could be booked for creating public nuisance.

But the police rarely did so, he admitted, revealing why offenders remain undeterred. The fine for being charged for such conduct is 100 rupees, or less than $2.

Saritha Rai sometimes feels she is the only person living in Bangalore who was actually raised here. There’s never a dull moment in her mercurial metropolis. Reach her on Twitter @SarithaRai.