Argh - bike accident

[mahatma]

I was out on the fixed gear earlier for a little ride and had a harrowing experience. A gal pulled out of her driveway while for some reason looking the other way. She came literally inches away from running into me. I yanked the bar so hard I ended up counter steering which allowed me to avoid becoming a hood ornament but I unfortunately also locked up the rear wheel which sent me into a counter steering skid which culminated with me whacking the curb on the opposite side of the street maybe 6-7 feet over and once the rear tire hit the curb it caused me to high side over the waist high fence line that was there. It was near an apartment complex which probably explains the sidewalk fence line. I think I made a bit of a raucous because I drew a lot of attention. I'm fine. My jeans are a little worse for wear and I sort of feel like the entire right side of my body is bruised. The bike looks like it will take $70 to get back running. As luck had it I was near a bike shop and just dropped it off. The gal, while completely stunned never got out of her car. I got up off the ground, looked at her, put my hands on my hips and she pulled away. Nice.

[EmptiMind]

People are ridiculous. I got run off the road on my motorcycle last September, they actually made contact with my bike, and pushed me off the road. Didn't slow down. I kicked a tree at 40 MPH, had about a thousand dollars in medical bills, and there was $500 worth of damage to the bike.

Seriously, what the hell?

Glad to hear you're alright though.

[mahatma]

EmptiMind,

Yea, I don't get it either. Your circumstances were much more serious. In my case the worst that could have really happened was she could have broke my leg if she nailed me with her bumper but I really don't get why she didn't even bother to get out of her car. I mean she was either pulling out from home or a friend's house. Either way, she was in a perfectly comfortable place. Well, I might sort of get it because here in Tokyo if you injure or cause damage to something smaller than you it's your fault. Just that simple. Someone could jump out of a building and if they land on your car it's your fault because a human is smaller than a car. The bigger you are the more responsibility you incur. But, I'm a human being. Not that being human accounts for much here. If you drop over from a heart attack here in a train station people will step over you like a half dead cat. There are no Good Samaritan laws so no one to include professional medical staff are under any obligation to help you until you proactively provide a national health card. I've literally seen old women fall down just to be walked around. Anyway, I find it repulsive that someone would very probably be thinking that way. You know, I need to get out of here because if they are hurt it will be my fault and my insurance rates will go up.

But, for my part I promise you - if I run you off the road at 40 mph I'll turn off at the next exit, retrace and make sure someone has stopped to help you. Yuk yuk yuk

[EmptiMind]

Wow, I had no idea that people would do that over there. Is it just the big city or Japanese society? I can't imagine seeing someone collapse and not acting to see if they're alright, it just goes against my programming.

[mahatma]

EmptiMind,

It's societal. One of the most sickening examples I ever saw was a few years ago at Shiga Kogen. It was near the end of the season - late April. A snowboarder and skier collided at the bottom of an intermediate 28 degree slope. The skier died. Heli-Doc flew in, pronounced the man dead, got back in his helicopter and flew away. The man laid in the snow for another 30 minutes until a local ambulance got to the site to pick him up. I seen it with my own eyes. I didn't see the accident as I was actually at the top of that run when it happened but when my friend and I got to the bottom we seen 4 or 5 ski patrol hustling over to a group and we knew something major had happened. Because even a broken leg or something like that only gets 2 ski patrol. Of course that is a very sad story but what sickened me was that Heli-Doc just let the man rot in the snow. I always carry my health card and a credit card wherever I go because the national health card does not cover things like helicopter transport and the first thing you will be asked if you need such services is for a credit card number and they will verify your card will take the charge before releasing the helicopter. In a situation on a resort it's a little different in the sense that the doctor may be called in as an emergency service but you can be guaranteed they will not transport without proper authorization.

To be fair, the Japanese do not see that as an issue. They really don't. I mean, of course you will need to pay for something like a helicopter is the mentality. Just a different culture.

[EmptiMind]

Wow, that's absolutely insane. It's such a foreign idea to me that people can just ignore someone in need. I'll have to ask my friends in China if the same type of thing happens there, because both societies are very similar.

[mahatma]

EmptiMind,

Actually, for Japanese it's more along the lines of if it is uncomfortable then it doesn't exist. It's an amazing attribute they share. If for example you complain about the dozens and dozens of bums that populate in and around Shinjuku train station Japanese will claim they do not exist. I mean, of course there are a few odd looking characters here and there and everyone has seen some old stumble bum now and again but certainly there are no homeless people inside the station or the nearby parks. Those tarp and shanty towns do not exist. No one is eating garbage out of the trash cans or taking baths in the bathroom sinks. Nope. Never. You just must have been there at some super weird time and seen something utterly unheard of before. Show them the shanty towns and they'll just claim that's where old men hang out and drink. No one actually lives there. They all go home at night. I could give a few other choice examples but it would just be beating a dead horse. Oh, here is one that happened in the last 24 hours. A very popular professional wrestler (the television kind) died yesterday of a broken neck during a match. Apparently from a move called a "suplex". So, this morning at work I asked the guys in the back if they seen the news and said the poor guy that died was only 47 years old. I also talked to 2 of the Japanese at the retail counters. All of them said the same thing - they believe he died happy as he died doing what he loved - wrestling. The circumstances themselves were never discussed. No one wanted to talk about what happened. The guy is happy - period.

[EmptiMind]

Well, I can honestly say, if I were to die skiboarding, I would die happy. But really, the Japanese are so closed to the outside world, it's a little scary. I live right next to a Japanese college here, so I get to see their progression from the beginning of the year to the end. At first they're afraid to speak, and by the end some still are, but others have opened up a little.