How I Dealt With an Accident on the Hills

Driving on the mountains is something that I already dreaded all my life, but I could do the task quite fairly. I would drive comfortably and confidently even though I would feel a little nervous in my heart. I knew that I need to be confident at all times to drive a car on the roads since Indian roads are not a place where you can take your safety for granted.

Last year, I went to Manali with my family and I was the only driver in the car. Since the route was too long, I had decided to hire a driver once we had to go beyond Manali. Although no one would like to indulge in an accident in any part of the world, things get a little tricky when you are in India. You have to have a boulder of proofs with you for many purposes. Let me explain how I dealt with a  situation that happened on the curvy roads of a quaint little town in Himachal Pradesh.

Cause of the accident

Never in my life, I would put the life of my family at risk. That is why; I refrain from drunken driving, especially on the mountains. We were in the middle of plains and mountains where the roads were moderately curvy and not-too-wide. We were having lunch at a restaurant after a long stretch of driving. As we got back to the car, another vehicle from the highway lost control at a high speed and came banging into our car!

Before we could even make sense of what had happened, we were in a smashed car in the middle of the road. Dozens of people had hovered over the car when I opened my eyes. Thankfully, my body was not immobile after the impact. I kicked the door and opened it to come out and breathe. Then, I opened the door of the passenger side to bring my wife out, and took her to the same restaurant where we had our meal.

Gathering proofs

Someone from the crowd said that I should click photos of the accidental car, and the registration plate should be clearly visible in them. It made sense as the insurance companies harass their customers a lot when it comes to reimbursing the claim. I gathered my valuables from the car and clicked a few pictures of the damaged car. I got to know that the car that had hit mine was being driven by a drunk driver, probably in his twenties. We managed to get his ID proof and photograph as the crowd was cooperative enough to get hold of the culprit.

The police asked me to call the insurance company to notify them of the accident. We, then hired a Self-Drive Car Rental in Chandigarh to reach back to Delhi, and I returned the car the next day in Chandigarh itself when I had to pick my car from the police station.