I was coming down Yangming Mountain on my bike and moving into the shoulder as the cars in front of me were slowing. Suddenly, a scooter tried to pass me to get to the shoulder first. This was the second time he had tried to do this; the first time was back a ways but I'd managed to close the gap before he get to it. This time he made it, by ramming me off the road and into a tree (I have no idea how he would have proceeded as my friends were in front of me in the shoulder and the cars very tight on the road). Anyway, I was going fast, around 50 km when this happened, and am lucky that I had my helmet on. At the exact moment that I was bouncing off the tree and landing in a bush, my friend Eric was going head over heals as a car in front had cut into the shoulder and forced him into the curb.
I was dusting myself off when my wife called and asked me what I was up to. She said to call the cops immediately. When the cops arrived, the driver of the scooter had the gall to explain that I had rear-ended him, which didn't really account for me doing a header into a tree or the smashed-in front part of his scooter (which he showed to be photographed as evidence). I still won because I had blood and was the loudest, and the police officer judged that it was scooter driver who would pay my hospital bills. When the police officer asked me if I was "satisfied" I explained that I was not because the driver was lying. Then I asked if it was legal to lie to the police at accident/crime scenes, but was told: "Come on, this is Taiwan."
All told, I have torn tendons in my shoulder (so I can't lift up my arm), scrapes on my face and legs (see pictures) and cuts on my arms. I didn't need a tetanus shot because I just had one last year after I cut my finger off. Some nice kids at ER let me go in front of them because they said my accident was more serious. For me, this cancels out the asshole on the scooter. He had to write an apology which I signed with a recommendation that he learn to drive. Plus, he had to listen to his mom berate him on the phone for being dumb enough to stick around after hitting someone instead of high-tailing it out of there. Eric had a few bruises and a torn riding shirt. His last words were: "this was fun, looking forward to next time."
Back Home
13 comments:
Come on you had fun. Next Alishan right?
Sure, though I might have a bit of trouble. The doctor says it could be a couple of months before I can hoist my right arm up. For riding it should be okay, unless I need to pick up my bike.
A good excuse to get a lighter bike.
It is great fortunate that your body wasn't wounded very seriouly, what's better, you got no injury on the head, just because of wearing helmet. But I still think you need to see a doctor. About the accident who should be responsible for this time, I never forget one word said by a forensic expert Dr. Lee (Chinese American) "the scenes or evidence can talk/judge the truth ". Please don't trust what police officer said "Come on, this is Taiwan"
what? like the taiwanese are the only ones in the world who would lie to the police? i live in the u.s., dude. lots of americans lie to the police. senator craig lied to the police about not cruising guys in the mens room. and he's a SENATOR. so please don't make it seem like taiwan's the only country in the world who have a bunch of liars.
Er, did he imply that "taiwan's the only country in the world who have a bunch of liars"?
No, he clearly did not, Mr. Chip-On-Your-Shoulder!
I'm not saying Taiwan is the only country with a bunch of liars. I was trying to be fair, that's why I pointed out the nice guys at the hospital. I was just surprised that the police officer told me that it was okay to lie to the cops, that is all.
Mr. Chip on your shoulder? Are you kidding me? The guy could've killed me. I just missed planting my face into a tree at 50+ km/hr. Even now, I have a big infected hole in my shin. And I cannot lift my arm. I would guess that I am entitled to my "chip" and probably a bit more.
Correction: Eric H. said that he was (excepting a few scrapes) fine. But the next day, he couldn't move his arms. The doctor explained that he also had torn tendons in his shoulders.
The car that cut right in front of him to take away the shoulder slowed down to see if Eric would get up. When he did, the driver drove off. Since he didn't even get out of his car to offer assistance, give a phone number or a driver's license, I'm chalking it up to a hit and run.
Actually, this is pretty standard behavior. You hit someone and then just sit in your car and wait for them to pick themselves up. I don't really understand why if you cause an accident -- or even witness one -- you don't offer assistance.
Yikes. How are you doing now? And what's this about cutting your finger off?
I cut my finger (actually fingertip) off last year in an Indian restaurant. I was sitting, and I put my hands under the seat to pull the chair in. Unfortunately, the seat was a little loose. My finger was between the seat and chair leg, and I came down on it when I settled my weight.
After going to ER, we returned to the restaurant and asked if our dinner was ready yet. They were pretty surprised. Here's a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick_cowsill/161771832/
The finger picture was just nasty. I'm almost sorry I asked. It was quite funny that you went back to the restaurant after leaving the ER, though. Most people would have just gone home.
It was something to do, plus I was hungry and needed a laugh / cheering up. Boy, you should have seen them when I sat down and said: "Is my order ready?"
Plus, once you've committed to having a curry, it's hard to be satisfied with anything else.
Post a Comment