Well, it happened. After having friends who have been victims of such events, I was also finally bit by the bug. It's funny because for the last couple of weeks, since being back in the country, I have had, on several occasions, ominous thoughts that perhaps maybe I would find myself in this situation soon. I have lived in this city for over a year now and I have dodged the bullet a few times, but only now can I say that I have fallen to this foe... I was in a traffic accident. Nothing too major, but enough to shake me up and cause some severe trepidation in Sara's heart which confirms just how much she hates this death trap known as my motor scooter.
I don't really remember the details. Not because I concussed or anything, only because everything happened so fast and my mind can't really unscramble each minute detail that occurred in the 2.7 seconds it took to find myself on the Asian pavement with several onlookers in shock at the foreigner who just went down. I was driving on a beautiful Saturday morning, enjoying the cooler weather (we've been seeing 90+ degree days with humidity to match) as I approached a stop light intersection. With the green light in my favor, I continued to drive through only to see that the larger SUV in front of me was slowing down. Maybe he was turning, but I wasn't sure. So, I decided to get in the left lane of the 2 lane road and go around him. As I approached his rear bumper, I saw what was causing him to slow. Out of nowhere an orange little hatchback was pulling out in front of the SUV from 2 lanes over to turn left, and coincidentally, turn right in front of me. I didn't even have time to honk my horn, the staple of all things driving in Asia. So, I squeezed both hand brakes, and if you've ever driven any kind of 2 wheeled transportation machine, you know that applying too much pressure on the brakes, can do a couple of different things. One, too much braking pressure on the front tire alone can cause you to "endo," end over, where you fly over the handle bars or the front of your bike. I've also done this on my pedal bike in front of 2 curious and shocked onlookers. Second, applying too much pressure on the back tire alone will cause your back tire to slide out from underneath you. My front tire brake was a touch week, so in this case, on this dreadful day, scenario #1 gladly welcomed me to the pavement. I'm not sure how my injuries were not worse. I don't know exactly how fast I was going. Nor do I know how far I slid. But my right arm took the brunt of my fall and road rash went from being a "boss" term to a reality that made me wince and whimper like a little girl when pulling of her Dora the Explorer band-aid.
The guy driving the girly orange car was super apologetic, which has been the opposite of my friends' experiences. He got out, asked if I was alright, helped me pick my scooter off the ground AND helped pick the pieces of my scooter off the ground. Somehow my left hand brake snapped off in the process and was wedged under the rear driver's side tire. Once I spotted it there, he generously got back in his car, started 'er up and reversed a couple inches to dislodge it and hand it back to me. I'm keeping it as a souvenir.
I drove home slowly in the bike lane, the whole time debating on whether or not I would tell Sara. When I did, she reacted a little more emotionally than I thought and rightfully so. Her words that really stuck with me are, "I'd rather have you get arrested and killed by the police than have you die on that death trap. Or, if you'd rather take risks, just smoke." Touché, Sara.
Please pray for safety and from this point on, decision making in handling our transportation issue. The scooter, though on the wild side, was a great option: convenient and environmentally friendly.
I don't really remember the details. Not because I concussed or anything, only because everything happened so fast and my mind can't really unscramble each minute detail that occurred in the 2.7 seconds it took to find myself on the Asian pavement with several onlookers in shock at the foreigner who just went down. I was driving on a beautiful Saturday morning, enjoying the cooler weather (we've been seeing 90+ degree days with humidity to match) as I approached a stop light intersection. With the green light in my favor, I continued to drive through only to see that the larger SUV in front of me was slowing down. Maybe he was turning, but I wasn't sure. So, I decided to get in the left lane of the 2 lane road and go around him. As I approached his rear bumper, I saw what was causing him to slow. Out of nowhere an orange little hatchback was pulling out in front of the SUV from 2 lanes over to turn left, and coincidentally, turn right in front of me. I didn't even have time to honk my horn, the staple of all things driving in Asia. So, I squeezed both hand brakes, and if you've ever driven any kind of 2 wheeled transportation machine, you know that applying too much pressure on the brakes, can do a couple of different things. One, too much braking pressure on the front tire alone can cause you to "endo," end over, where you fly over the handle bars or the front of your bike. I've also done this on my pedal bike in front of 2 curious and shocked onlookers. Second, applying too much pressure on the back tire alone will cause your back tire to slide out from underneath you. My front tire brake was a touch week, so in this case, on this dreadful day, scenario #1 gladly welcomed me to the pavement. I'm not sure how my injuries were not worse. I don't know exactly how fast I was going. Nor do I know how far I slid. But my right arm took the brunt of my fall and road rash went from being a "boss" term to a reality that made me wince and whimper like a little girl when pulling of her Dora the Explorer band-aid.
The guy driving the girly orange car was super apologetic, which has been the opposite of my friends' experiences. He got out, asked if I was alright, helped me pick my scooter off the ground AND helped pick the pieces of my scooter off the ground. Somehow my left hand brake snapped off in the process and was wedged under the rear driver's side tire. Once I spotted it there, he generously got back in his car, started 'er up and reversed a couple inches to dislodge it and hand it back to me. I'm keeping it as a souvenir.
I drove home slowly in the bike lane, the whole time debating on whether or not I would tell Sara. When I did, she reacted a little more emotionally than I thought and rightfully so. Her words that really stuck with me are, "I'd rather have you get arrested and killed by the police than have you die on that death trap. Or, if you'd rather take risks, just smoke." Touché, Sara.
Please pray for safety and from this point on, decision making in handling our transportation issue. The scooter, though on the wild side, was a great option: convenient and environmentally friendly.
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