The Accident
So not only was this my first car accident in Jamaica, it was my first accident in my whole life! After it happened I was so disoriented I couldn’t find my way out of Montego Bay.
I was driving back to Ocho Rios after visiting a friend in Negril over the weekend and the accident happened as I was passing through Montego Bay. I can’t even remember exactly where it happened because I was pretty shaken up but I’m pretty sure it was near the theater in Fairview. I was just driving along minding my own business when the car in front of me pulled over into the shoulder like he was going to stop, so I just continued driving. Suddenly the guy who pulled over appeared to have changed his mind at the last minute and swerved back into my lane without looking.
I actually saw the whole thing coming and I swerved to avoid him but there was oncoming traffic so I could only move over so far…then SMASH. I was beside myself and a million thoughts ran through my head, some of which included; “Are they going to stop or take off?†“I wonder if they’re insured.†“Exactly WHO is going to step out of that car and confront me?â€
I checked my rear view mirror and they did pull over and stop so I got out of my car and walked back toward them, shaking. It was raining and windy outside; not the perfect weather to be standing outside exchanging insurance information. I took every little piece of information they had, not knowing what I needed to do about this in Jamaica. I had no idea if the process was the same as back home. He took my information as well, we shook hands and one of the ladies from the other car apologized that we had to meet under these circumstances.
The Police Report
Once I was back on the road I called my friend in St Elizabeth who is a police officer, just to confirm what Iwas supposed to do at that point. He advised me that I could wait until I get back to Ocho Rios and go file an accident report at the police station. So that’s exactly what I did and believe me, that was a process in itself!
I got into the station and it seemed they were willing to push everyone aside to help me but I said no, those other people were here first! So I sat on the bench in line and waited my turn. Finally a really young officer was ready to take my report. He pulled out a notebook and a pen and started transcribing all the info by hand. I just stood there wondering “don’t they have computers here?â€Â He seriously hand-wrote all the insurance information from both parties, all the contact info, car makes and models, into a notebook that looked like my diary. I wondered how they will ever cross reference or find this later when they need to.
The funny part is the point when they needed my license and identification. Before I came to the police station I had taken a shower at the house where I was staying and for some reason my habit is to hide my wallet when there’s cash in it and other people are around. So I went about my business showering and getting dressed, then headed to the station…..but forgot my wallet. How stupid did I look standing in a police station to report an accident and had no driver’s license and no identification to show! He just looked at me like “why the hell are you even driving?â€Â I explained to him that I hid my wallet and forgot to pick it up and he laughed at me as if he was wondering why I stay somewhere that I have to hide my wallet.
Anyway, after all was said and done I filed the report and they gave me a paper receipt with a reference number on it.
My Thoughts About The Whole Incident
The part that stands out the most for me is the archaic methods they use to take police reports. I actually feel bad for the police here and think they deserve the technology to do their jobs better! My entire report took about 30 minutes for the officer to HAND WRITE in a notebook. And the next morning when I went back with my license the second officer of course had no access to the first report because it was in the other guy’s notebook. I didn’t notice a single computer in the entire police station and I think Jamaica could do much better by providing an up-to-date work environment.
Another thought I had is that I’m pretty lucky it was an insured driver who hit me because plenty of cars here are not insured. At least my butt was covered because it wasn’t my fault so the other guy has to pay for it.
***UPDATE***
The aftermath of this accident wasn’t as friendly as I made it sound in this blog post, I just didn’t write about it because I like to keep things light on Jamaica My Way. I have since changed my mind about publishing the outcome because people should know about safety in Jamaica and how to handle things should ugly situations arise. Read about the aftermath of this accident RIGHT HERE.
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