crash and bored

So, was in a car accident yesterday. Yes, I'm fine and not hurt, driver is fine, too.
Accidents happen, such is life. However, it was a fascinating insight into the machine of Japanese bureaucracy.
First order of business: close the highway, all lanes. For two hours.
I counted: 10 patrol cars, 2 fire trucks, 3 ambulances, at least 40 cops, plus 4 highway vehicles with big blinky signs and a number of old-school wicker brooms to help clean up the debris.
We spent a couple of hours standing around on the highway explaining to 7 different cops at least 7 times what happened. They had big tape measures, different colors of chaulk, digital and film cameras, flares, cones, reflective arrows, and blinky lights.
After a couple of hours on the highway, and having come to an agreement that the accident happened in our lane, with the other driver changing lanes in front of us, our tow truck arrived and we accompanied the car to the police station.
And then we sat on a bench.
For.
Three.
Hours.
20 cops. One laptop computer. A printer that appeared to only be capable of printing one. page. at. a. time.
Then signing lots of paperwork: we have your car. We're returning your car. We're NOT returning your car. This ackowledges that you ackowledge that we have your car, etc.
And then the cops apologized for keeping us so long, said they'd ask us to come back again, and when they call we can decide on a mutually agreeable time and date, then they called a cab for us.
And by 4pm we were back in the office. (The accident was about 8am.)

1 comment:

Fluffy said...

This is why I would never drive in Japan. Glad you're ok. Not happy that the police suck that much.