Ironically it came minutes after I'd been talking to a family friend, over from Switzerland, about the standard of driving in Thailand.
As it happened, the incident was the perfect example for my Swiss friend, who, as a former expatriate in Singapore, was interested to learn "how it all works with accident insurance" in Thailand.
My answer?
It doesn't.
The lady who drive into the back of me (the red/burgundy car) whilst I waited for at a red light was pretty shell-shocked, even more so on seeing a couple of foreigner step out of the vehicle.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you" she kept repeating in Thai.
The damage to my car was minimal, she bore the brunt of the spare tyre into her bonnet, but we took her number and some photos just to be sure.
After a chat with her, The Missus quickly found that, like all too many motorists in Thailand, the lady had neither insurance nor a license to drive - a combination with severe consequences back in Blighty, but pretty standard here.
The woman was so shocked by it all that she nearly reversed into the central reservation when my Swiss friend and began pushing her non-starting motor to a safer place. I did feel sorry for her but that feeling was nothing compared to the relief that our car was not damaged.
Lesson learnt, never tempt fate discussing car accidents whilst driving a car.
Particularly in Thailand.
I got off pretty lightly.
4 comments:
Glad to hear you didn't really suffer any damage. I could only guess the nightmare of being in a serious accident in Thailand.
Seems like your karma might need adjustment...until then I wouldn't speak of accidents and whatever you do don't relate any stories to your friend about Thai wives cutting off their husbands appendages while they sleep.
You both seem to have behaved sensibly about it. It's easy to get worked up in those circumstances. I have had 2 little bumps in Big C car park in Ubon. Both of them my fault, running into the back of a brand new Isuzu as I was looking for a parking space and scraping the side of another pickup as I reversed into a space. My rear wheel arches stick out further than they should. First one was an insurance job which took us all a long time on a Saturday afternoon. The 2nd, they 'let me off' with 1,000 baht, which I think was pretty good seeing how long the scrape was and how I really gouged into the door.
Talen has given you some excellent advice there.
Hey Talen,
Funny you mention the karma as soon after we took a holy bath to restore all things spiritual. My missus decided it was time to act after she was bitten by a dog then a scorpion and I was in this accident.
As for appendages, think I'm safe on that front - unless my missus decides she just wants the one child.
Lawrence, seems like you go off lightly indeed, am surprised as I here stories of Thais really going for it when farangs are involved in accidents.
Funny how these accidents are always in a Big C or Lotus.
funny how you hit what must be the only Green Bay Packer badged SUV in Bangkok.
Post a Comment