Motor Accident & MACT

 

Motor Accident, Compensation, Insurance & MACT

Accident can happen with or caused by any resident, spouse, children or relative though I do not wish it to happen to anyone. Irrespective of whether one is the person that caused the accident or one was a victim certain actions need to be taken by the individual in order to safeguard his rights and avoid criminal case later on.

1. Take the victim to the hospital or ring up for ambulance for him to be taken and get him admitted/medical treatment. This will strengthen your case for any criminal action later on by anyone/police.

2. Report the incident to the police and file a FIR and get a copy of FIR for your use.

3. Intimate insurance company customer care with in 24 hrs and get the complaint or intimation number and keep it safe.

4. Remember FIR is a must if there is a third party injury or claim otherwise it is not.

5. The police as well as accused will try to pressure if you are a victim for a compromise for oblivious reasons

6. Make a compromise if the compensation is reasonable & respectable whether you are the accused or a victim.

7. If compromised is reached then make an agreement signed by both parties and two witnesses, mentioning the amount and that there will be no further claim by any party. Get it notarized if possible. This will come in handy if you put any claim to the insurance company for damages to the car.

8. If no compromise and one is a victim then file a case in Motor vehicle accident claim tribunal (MACT) in the district where the accident took place. One can argue himself and no lawyer is required. The claim amount will depend upon the injuries, age and income and will be paid by insurance company of the car as per the guidelines and table given by the Supreme Court.

9. FIR can be withdrawn or cancelled any time before filing the case or during the pendency of case if respectable & reasonable compromise is reached.

Take care, be safe and know your right and how to enforce them legally and be human.

In Defence of Fuzzy Logic

The term fuzzy logic refers to things which are not clear or vague. It is n approach based on the degree of information rather than the usual response of yes or no or what is termed in Boolean logic as true or false (0 or 1).

For example let us assume that here is in apple in your refrigerator. Now this statement is either true if the apple is there or it is false if it is not there. Here the simple logic or true or false can be very easily applied and depicted as 0 or 1 as the case may be. If one take a bite from the apple and then the apple is put back in the fridge without your knowledge then how one can describe the presence of apple. Is the apple therein the refrigerator or not. In this case the Boolean logic o true or false fails as the apple is neither there in the refrigerator as an apple nor it can be said it is not there. At best we can describe it in terms of percentage that 80% of the apple is there but the Boolean logic does not hold good here. It is for a situation like this where there is no definite answer of true or false that the fuzzy logic comes handy. Instead of a true or false as designated by 0 or 1 we can describe in terms of a shade of truth starting from 1 where it is true to 0 where it is false on a continuous spectrum of truth/false.

This term fuzzy logic was introduced by Loefi Zadeh in 1965 when he proposed a fuzzy set theory. It is based on the observation that people in general make decisions based on imprecise and non numeric information. The fuzzy logic basically is means to represent this vagueness and imprecise information. If one had the precise and accurate information then the decision would have been easy as true or false. These fuzzy models have the capability of recognizing this imperfectness of the information by utilizing information that are vague and lack certainty. Of course one can argue that there is no certainty in y information and it can be always represented on probability scale which is just another way of representing ignorance about the subject. But where the fuzzy logic scores is that it is based on these imperfect information and the decision also changes in order to adjust according to the  knowledge available.

For example if one asks a group of people to identify a color shown to them which is not from VINGYOR  then one would get a variety of responses. The truth here appears as a result of reasoning from inexact or partial knowledge in which the answers can be mapped on a continuous spectrum from 0 to 1. But here the fuzzy logic scores since it uses degree of truth as a mathematical model of vagueness while probability can be termed as mathematical model of ignorance.

The fuzzy logic was initially used in intelligent traffic management systems and later on was used in air conditioners and washing machines and dish washers but now a days it is widely used in control theory and artificial intelligence. Normal traffic light show green for a programmed period of time say 30 or 40 seconds and then change over to red. This is pre programmed but can be changed only if the programe is changed. But the traffic density in the morning is more going towards the city center and less in other directions which are cross to it and in the evening more traffic is going out than coming in. Because of the fixed timings this leads to long traffic lines in some direction whereas there is hardly and in other directions. Fuzzy logic based traffic lights sense this density of the traffic at all times on a continuous basis and change the duration of the green light to match with the traffic density. Same way the air conditioner senses the heat, number of persons in the room and changes cooling automatically and the washing machine senses the amount of clothes in the tub as well as their dirtiness and adjust the water, detergent and timing of wash to give you a perfect clean without any intervention or adjustment from your side.

In order to achieve this fuzzy logic uses and maps a set of IF and THEN conditions and responses to achieve its aim. For example it might be programmed that:-

If A exists then do X (meaning if situation A exists then the response will be X).

If B then do Y.

If C then do Z.

And so on and so forth.

The more number of conditions the better will be the response and in a hypothetical case of infinite conditions and responses the curve will become continuous one but it is practically impossible to have a large number of this set of IF and THEN rules . Hence they are restricted to a  small number and as the conditions increase so is the responses and the complexity of the system and the resulting cost.

Fuzzy Logic and Me

When we are about to establish the first factory, we were faced with a dilemma as to whether to follow the practices that are followed by other companies or choose our own path. The selection was not easy but we were convinced that if we follow the path taken by others then we will get the same results and the same problems and issues that they are facing. So after a long deliberation we decided to follow a new set of rules and new direction. The results were that a company with only 5 lacs seed money grew in 12 years to be a 900 Cr company and the first to be a debt free company along with a excellent quality award and JVM achievement award for me for Asia Pacific region along with a growth rate of about 40-42% each year.

In order to achieve it the lateral thinking techniques as propounded by Edward De Bono were of immense help. This from setting up, buying machinery, selection of workers and managerial staff, training, labor laws. production targets and setting up a new work culture with empowerment to the workers . The techniques especially used were,generation of alternatives, challenging assumptions, innovation, design, suspended judgement, dominant ideas and crucial factors, analogies, random simulation, choice of entry point and attention areas and the six thinking hats.

Just as an example can one think of a company which had no Engineers, technicians, MBA in its employment and only employed people between 18 to 22 years of age with no experience and who should not have worked anywhere and still be successful. A company where the workers take the mangers interview for employment, no rules except one, no production targets. A company which rewards mistakes. A company where the utilization rate of machinery was 99.97% for 10 years with fully automatic line. Well these are some examples of using lateral thinking and not following the practices followed by other and being unreasonable as others called it.

" Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everyone else is doing one way there is a good chance you will find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction."

Sam Walton

lateral Thinking- Uses

When we are about to establish the first factory, we were faced with a dilemma as to whether to follow the practices that are followed by other companies or choose our own path. The selection was not easy but we were convinced that if we follow the path taken by others then we will get the same results and the same problems and issues that they are facing. So after a long deliberation we decided to follow a new set of rules and new direction. The results were that a company with only 5 lacs seed money grew in 12 years to be a 900 Cr company and the first to be a debt free company along with a excellent quality award and JVM achievement award for me for Asia Pacific region along with a growth rate of about 40-42% each year.

In order to achieve it the lateral thinking techniques as propounded by Edward De Bono were of immense help. This from setting up, buying machinery, selection of workers and managerial staff, training, labor laws. production targets and setting up a new work culture with empowerment to the workers . The techniques especially used were,generation of alternatives, challenging assumptions, innovation, design, suspended judgement, dominant ideas and crucial factors, analogies, random simulation, choice of entry point and attention areas and the six thinking hats.

Just as an example can one think of a company which had no Engineers, technicians, MBA in its employment and only employed people between 18 to 22 years of age with no experience and who should not have worked anywhere and still be successful. A company where the workers take the mangers interview for employment, no rules except one, no production targets. A company which rewards mistakes. A company where the utilization rate of machinery was 99.97% for 10 years with fully automatic line. Well these are some examples of using lateral thinking and not following the practices followed by other and being unreasonable as others called it.

" Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everyone else is doing one way there is a good chance you will find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction."

Sam Walton

Organ Donation

                                          Organ Donation


As per official medial data in India every 20 second a person suffers brain stroke and if medical help is not provided within 4 hrs then it may result in brain death and because of this delay every 2 minutes a person dies.



In India organ donation is governed by the Transplantation of Human Organ (THO) Act 1994. Organ can be donated and harvested only if a person is declared brain dead under THO Act 1994 by the board consisting of doctors as required under the act. After natural death only the eyes which can be harvest within two hours and liver within half an hour can be done or whole body can be given for medical research. One can donate his organs or whole body for research. For this one has to sign the donation form with any NGO, Govt organization or even with military hospital or civil hospital or on the website of National Organ & Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO).


Once one is declared brain dead by the doctors by following the laid down procedure under the Act by the medical board then only the process of harvesting the usable organs can be started. Even if one has donated the organs by signing the required donation forms or on the website of NOTTO during your lifetime your legal heirs will still be asked whether they wish the organ to be harvested as required under the Act. If they say yes and sign the forms then the doctors will declare you brain dead under the THO Act 1994, remove the life support systems and harvest the organs. If they do not agree then the life support and the bill will continue till you are declared dead as required under the Registration Of Birth and Death Act 1969 and no harvesting will be done. This  may take days and meanwhile the medical bill will keep on increasing at an alarming rate if admitted in a private hospital

You can also make a living will or what is called an advance declaration that under the specified conditions your life support system or medication can be removed and you be declared dead under the THO Act. This document is registered with Judicial Magistrate first Class (JMFC) and not with registrar but the procedure to execute it is long and cumbersome as medical board is required to certify and execute the will under orders of JMFC.In this case the legal heirs need to notify the JFMC about the testator being brain dead so that the process as enumerated in the Supreme Court Judgement is followed to declare him brain dead.


 So make sure even if you have donated organs that your legal heirs or close relative attending you when you have been declared brain dead know that you have donated the organs and will sign the required form for life support system to be removed and organs harvested or notify the JMFC as the case may be.

Cricket & Lateral Thinking

A couple of years ago I happened to meet my nephew who is born & brought up in New Zealand an has studied there only. He is a very good cricket player and at present is in England playing county cricket. While talking he mentioned that in his high school he had a course in lateral thinking, which was compulsory and he was exposed to most of the techniques of lateral thinking. He could describe a few and their methodology also. Later he added and explained as to how he has used a few techniques to enhance his playing skill as well used them to plan ahead of matches.

 

I was surprised to read also in a news item that the Australian cricket team during their golden years, when they were unbeaten for a couple of years, were exposed to and were trained to use one of the techniques of lateral thinking called 'Six Thinking Hats". It was a three month exposure to the techniques probably conducted by Edward De Bono himself. This was also admitted by the team coach and the captain after their retirement. Before each series and also before each match all the members of the team used to sit down for a session of 'Six Thinking Hats" keeping the other team in discussion. They would use this technique to analyze their weakness and strengths and also of the opponent and come out with strategies & tactics as how use them in order to win the match and the series. Not to mention that at that time the Australian team was unbeatable.

 

" Lateral Thinking is also concerned with breaking out of concept prison of old ideas.This leads to change in attitude and approach; to looking in a different way at things which have always been looked at in the same way. Liberation from old ideas and the stimulation of new ones are twin aspects of lateral thinking."

Edward De Bono

Creativity in Children

While in Panckula I had the pleasure of being invited to a school run by a senior officer's wife to talk to her about lateral or creative thinking. While talking, she expressed an opinion that children now a days are not very creative but spent more time on video games. I disagreed with her and asked her to give me some students for half an hour to show her something. About 20 students of age group 11 to 14 were given to me for half an hour. After talking to them I brought out the topic of my childhood memories of plucking mangoes from trees by using stone, stick, etc, Climbing did yield some result but also gave me bruises and cuts. The children agreed that some of them had done similar things and always wanted to pluck mangoes. I then asked them to suggest some instrument, technique by which the mangoes could be plucked without any injuries or damages and without using stones or sticks. Even the principal was surprised when the students produced ideas and rough sketches of about 11 such techniques/ ideas.This was as a result of just some freedom to think differently about solutions for a problem. I explained that the students had without knowing used a technique called ANOLOGIES in lateral thinking as proposed by Edward De Bono to devise or come out with these ideas. Imagine what will happen if they are formally introduced to these techniques. The suggestion could not be implemented due some reluctance by Management and the principal and myself leaving Panchkula. I have always advocated that children need to be give freedom to come out with new solutions to issues other than what is taught to allow them to develop the skill of creative thinking.

 

" The most effective way of changing ideas is not from outside by conflict, but from within by the insight arrangement of available information. Insight is the only effective way of changing ideas in a myth situation where information can not be evaluated objectively."

Edward De Bono