My Motor Vehicle Accident

[russellmania]

Ok...I was in Cebu City a few weeks ago and I was approaching one of those "count down" signal lights. Its green counting down to one and then yellow light 3,2,1, then red.  My dumb azz tried to beat the light and when it got down to yellow 2 and motorcycling rider was jumping the gun on his signal and pulled out BEFORE his signal turned green. He hit my truck on my back passenger side door. I pull over and he is sitting up right in the street and people are trying to tell him to stay down and they are directing traffic. A traffic enforcers shows up and ask for my ID. I gave him my U.S. Drivers licensed and then he asked for my passport. It was in my safe in my condo sir. He explained foreigners should always keep it on them. We go to the police station to fill out some paperwork and then head to the hospital to take care of the guys hospital bill. He wasn't hurt bad and nothing broken so it came to about P4000. A few days later we heard from the guy about how much to repair his scooter. He sent a screenshot of the estimate for repairs and it was P5000. Moral of the story...Slow down and stop being in a hurry!

[Lee]

Slowing down when driving in this country is always good advice. 

I would add a couple of more ideas about driving here.

I often weigh the pros and cons of driving anywhere locally. All local driving has risks of course but I try minimize them when I can.

For example, do you really need to go to a particular store to buy an item? Probably not.

Is there a store that is closer or has less traffic hassles that you could go to instead to buy this item ? Probably.

Could someone on a trike or pedicab go after the items that you want to buy? Usually.

Just something to consider. When I do drive, I try to go as early as possible to avoid the heat, crowds, and traffic.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Lee
added info

[BrettGC]

Insurance and dash cams are your friend as well.  

A few years ago a friend of mine was in Angeles driving and one of those accidents happened.  He was fully insured so exchanged normal details as well as the details of the insurer and told the other driver to contact them to sort it out, he kept his cam running the entire time and made sure the "victim" was aware of that fact.  He then went to the local PNP station and made a report himself, he also offered his footage of the accident "if it helped" as well as the other driver's details, which the desk SGT (or whatever they are here) accepted.  He never heard from anyone again about the issue and as far as he knows neither did the insurance company.  No damage to his car so he was indifferent to it all. 

Worst case scenario he was up for the deductible only, but his premiums would've risen.  

Fun but little known fact is that you can actually wire reversing cameras up to record as well, and yes, they do so when not reversing if configured correctly.  

Many new cars in the higher end models have 360 cams built in.  Food for thought. 

[Old55]

Great suggestions Brett. 

[OnMyWay]

50 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

Many new cars in the higher end models have 360 cams built in.  Food for thought. 

I have been shopping for a new Android head unit and found that many are 360 cam capable.  For the sides, they attach small cams underneath the side mirrors.  Using the 4 cams, the computer forms a birdseye view of the car.  The demos I've seen look good.

[BrettGC]

45 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I have been shopping for a new Android head unit and found that many are 360 cam capable.  For the sides, they attach small cams underneath the side mirrors.  Using the 4 cams, the computer forms a birdseye view of the car.  The demos I've seen look good.

Nice to know, I'm sort of hunting for a unit now.  

[OnMyWay]

34 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

Nice to know, I'm sort of hunting for a unit now.  

I will start a topic with some links.

[Dave Hounddriver]

11 hours ago, russellmania said:

He explained foreigners should always keep it on them. We go to the police station to fill out some paperwork and then head to the hospital to take care of the guys hospital bill.

Did they press the point about seeing your passport?  Or did they not bother so long as you paid the bills?

[RBM]

4 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

Did they press the point about seeing your passport?  Or did they not bother so long as you paid the bills?

My understanding is, if a tourist a photo copy is sufficient.

[BrettGC]

39 minutes ago, RBM said:

My understanding is, if a tourist a photo copy is sufficient.

You'd think ACR would be sufficient but.... YMMV!