Accident Aftermath
This time the crunch was different. This time, the initial BLAM crunch was followed by a heart-sickening series of crunches. I was on the phone dialing 777 even before I got to the window.
They have lovely women working for emergency services now, women who can stay calm and switch languages easily. Just hearing her voice calms me down as I report the accident, tell them to send an ambulance. The upside down car door is flipping open, and people are running to help the victim out. It’s a woman, and she is beautiful. She is also bleeding, and once they get her out, she is very still, too still.
The traffic police call me back and I tell them where the accident is, but thank God the woman is still on the phone and when he doesn’t understand, she fills in efficiently and accurately.
It takes them 21 minutes to arrive. The traffic police send one car, and on a busy street, they all gather around the woman and stare. The MOI also send a car. Not one of these police set up any kind of traffic control, cars on both sides of the road are stopping, people come running, just to look.
The ambulances take 22 minutes. When they leave, there are no sirens. I don’t think she survived. The medics appeared knowledgeable and efficient.
It’s the aftermath that bothers me now. On the ground, they left all the medical waste.
The last thing the medic did as he got into the ambulance was to throw his bloodied gloves on the ground:
And then . . .the traffic cops left! There are two wrecks on one of the busiest thoroughfares in town, and no protection from the next speeding car! The wrecks are in the fast lane!
Don’t get me wrong. You know how I feel – police, ambulance medics, firemen – they are all heroes in my book. They risk their lives every day for the common good. The save lives, and they take pride in what they do.
They need a little training in accident management. When there is an accident, there needs to be a priority on getting there fast, and controlling the crowd, and routing traffic by efficiently. The medics need to pick up their waste.
There needs to be after-accident care, ensuring that someone stays until the wreckage is removed.
I had a house guest once who sat in my window and said “Oh my God. Oh my God! Oh! Oh! Oh!”
There are three separate u-turns we can see. Each one is another accident just waiting to happen. When the turn lanes back up, sometimes some people start honking, putting pressure on the lead person to make an unsafe turn. Please – resist the pressure. Take your time. Wait for a safe, truly safe interval.
Please, my friends, do one thing for me. Please, buckle your seat belts. And please, buckle up your children, put them in car-seats made to protect them, teach them from an early age to buckle-up, help it become so automatic they don’t even think about it.
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That was the day I saw a truck tire (yes a whole tire) fly off from the other side of the highway and crash right into the SUV in front of me. The SUV did several somersaults across the highway and into the desert. I stopped, did my best at 1st aid for the old man who was so still. While others got his wife out of the SUV which was laying on its side.
Then ANOTHER crunch, and there goes my car! So much for traffic control eh? Good thing I was out there saving a life .
Oh god!! I hope she’ll be ok!
That is really sad!
I think they should place a 777 center in your place; you do a much better work than they do!
Was this the 7 car pile up on the 4th ring road?
Hay That is really Scaryy!
Oh my God, Я, I remember that story! Honestly, by the grace of God, you had gotten out to help.
One thing I noticed was while there were a lot of Lookie-Lous, there were also a few people who seemed to know what they were doing. I just wish people knew to put out flares, warning triangles, and to direct traffic around the accident. I was terrified that more accidents would happen. And then they just left the wrecks! Scavengers all over – who knows what might be in the glove compartments or in the trunks? But worst, they are just an invitation to more accidents. Fortunately, three hours later, the wreckers came and got them off the road.
Chika – I don’t think this one had a good outcome. I thought she was OK at the beginning, but I don’t think she lived.
True Faith – The 777 centers are much better. I just don’t understand why it takes the ambulance so long, or the police? The police station isn’t that far away!
Stallion – No, that must have been another one.
Blue Dress – I don’t cry often, but I cried this morning. It was scary and sad.
They should give you mileage for the times you call 777, did you call 911 this much ?
This is precisely why I am so afraid to drive here. I still haven’t started yet! And I drove when I lived in Boston and NY. Kuwait just scares the buhjeezuz out of me! But then I think: would I really trust some ‘driver’ more than I trust my own abilities…? So tragic, indeed.
Subhan Allah. My prayers go out for the woman’s family. I think if you live in Kuwait for a year, you’ll see a lot of accidents. And it’s so sad. Education can change so much, but it has to begin somewhere..and I don’t see that safe driving, defensive driving, protective measures etc are taught here much. And if they are, they’re not overly enforced. It’s common in my neighborhood to see very young boys driving..but that’s in our neighborhood, not on the major roads so perhaps that’s not a good example.
As for carseats here….I don’t see that happening quickly…not only are infant carseats not readily sold in stores (not in the souks – remember that many families do NOT shop in the malls in Kuwait) but if they are law, it’s not enforced.
Incidently, I was told that it’s technically illegal for women to drive while wearing niqaab in Kuwait. That shocked me – if police were to enforce that, you’d see a dramatic drop in the number of women driving in Kuwait. On the flip side, that might help with the traffic. On the other hand, maybe not – men like my husband would have to drive me around. The stress of that would add to the traffic problems lol…I shouldn’t find this amusing I suppose, but the ridiculousness of the situation sometimes just makes me grin…because I know it won’t change in the near future. And I try to see the good in the way things ARE done here, because there is so much good too.
Purg – I’ve never had to call 911. After the first time, here, I realized it was the one thing I CAN do. Many many people stop, so they don’t need me at the accident scene. Every second counts in an emergency situation, so I figure my best role is to make the call and get them on their way.
I need to memorize where I live in Arabic, though, as sometimes the lower level police don’t understand me.
Carly – I was scared, too, at the beginning, even though I have driven in many ME countries. Here, the difference is that they drive so FAST, and they weave in and out, and there is a lot of traffic on the road.
The secret is to start on Friday morning, just driving around, getting your bearings. Find your way to the nearest Co-op, and to the nearest big shopping center. During the week, you can drive from 9 – 11:30 in the morning; traffic is not too bad then. Good luck, sweetie!
Good morning, Huda, and yes, my prayers were also with this woman and her family. I think there are a few things that need some work – getting emergency people to the scene quickly, for one. The use of warning triangles, flares, and traffic control. Limiting the number of “Helpers” at the scene, before emergency people begin arriving. And definitely picking up any accident related waste, especially medical waste. Danger!
“There are three separate u-turns”
Oh dear
3baid – LLLLOOOOOLLLLLLLL!