Kerala Cabbie Confronts Cop For 'Wrong Side' Overtaking: Video Goes Viral
Instances of the policemen breaking law and/or not enforcing law aren't rare. A recent video from Kerala, however, shows something even more serious. It shows a policeman confronting a cab driver after scraping a Renault Triber ( looks like a department vehicle) against the taxi car. He tries to make false allegations on the cabbie and potentially sue him for no fault of his.
Kerala Cabbie Confronts Cop [Video]
The video seems to have been captured by the cabbie after the incident, mostly in an attempt to keep it as a piece of evidence. It starts by showing the cop click a picture of the cabbie. In the exchange that follows, we hear the cab driver explain what happened and how the cop is at fault here. Initially, the cop tries to advocate that he is clean and the cabbie is completely responsible for the incident. His tone is aggressive and assertive.
The cab driver, however, explains in detail how the policeman was driving his Renault Triber arrogantly (and possibly speeding through the city). He seems to have tried to overtake the cab- a Maruti Ertiga Tour CNG, aggressively through the left. The Indian law prohibits overtaking a vehicle through the left.
It ended up rubbing its right rear wheel arch and portions of the bumper against the left side of the Ertiga's front bumper. The Maruti ended up having visible scratches whereas the Triber looks clean as it scraped the plastic cladding and not the paint.
The cab driver points out the cop's mistake, saying that he broke the rules by attempting a left-side overtake. The cop, however, denies it outright. Then the cabbie shows him the damages to both vehicles, their nature and where they occurred, to prove his claim. The cop is now left speechless.
As the conversation between the cop and the cabbie continues, we get to know that the Triber was being driven roughly through the city. This incident appears to have happened somewhere in Kochi. The cabbie asks the cop to accept his mistake at least. 'I know that you aren't going to give me the repair costs. But at least stop trying to justify your mistake' says the cabbie on video. At some point, we see the cop go speechless and calm down.
The cab driver, as evident from his voice, is extremely disheartened by the accident. He says that it hasn't even been a month since the Ertiga was delivered. We all know how much it hurts to have a scratch on our brand-new car!
For cabs, these dents and damages could be extra bitter, for multiple reasons. Nobody would want to hail a cab which has dents and scratches all over. Thus drivers always make it a point to make their rides look clean and 'new'. Drivers or ride-hailing companies usually fix scratches and dents proactively.
In the case of vehicles owned by ride-hailing companies or tour agencies, the repair cost is often levied from the driver who was driving the car at the time of the incident- irrespective of whether it was him or an oncoming driver who actually caused the damage. This could mean the driver losing a sizeable share of his daily wage.
Thus, in this case, the cab driver would have had a similar crisis to deal with as well, while the cop could walk away, as the Triber seems to be a department vehicle. A quick check on its number plate shows the vehicle to be owned by the State Police Chief.
Internet Reacts
The video has been amassing a lot of comments on Instagram, and unsurprisingly, none of them are in favour of the cop. People congratulate the cabbie for confronting the cop so well, and with valid points. Many relate to his pain 'of having scratches on the brand new car' as well.