Had an accident

[slabo]

I got all the paperwork ready to get back 10k from insurance. Police report is irrelevant.

[CantDecide]

By the way, your photography is spectacular!

Thanks. I'm pretty critical of my own photos, so its good to hear someone else likes them! :)

Sigh.

No sighs allowed! Look in the bright side: at least you get to get out into the country and see it... me, I'm stuck with city-scapes (and lately, just, couch-scapes)

[euphonius]

No sighs allowed! Look in the bright side: at least you get to get out into the country and see it... me, I'm stuck with city-scapes (and lately, just, couch-scapes)

Dear Josh,

Surely there's no license required to ride pillion or in the sidecar. Get yourself out to Jimbo's; I'm sure you'll find plenty of empty buckets available for weekend excursions out into the Beijing hinterlands...

(Edit: Oh, yes, that was you inquiring about public transit routes to Jimbo's. Any luck?)

cheers!

[CantDecide]

Dear Josh,

Surely there's no license required to ride pillion or in the sidecar. Get yourself out to Jimbo's; I'm sure you'll find plenty of empty buckets available for weekend excursions out into the Beijing hinterlands...

(Edit: Oh, yes, that was you inquiring about public transit routes to Jimbo's. Any luck?)

cheers!

Yeah, I started working on "wo de taitai" for that, but every time I bring up a trip to Shunyi, she's like "why would you want to go _there_?!".

I think the subway goes out to Shunyi now, but I don't know if it is within striking distance of the Iron Horse, I haven't looked yet. I guess now is as good a time as any!

edit: It looks like the new line 15 gets pretty close, the China International Exhibition Center stop is pretty close. Depending on where the exit is the Iron Horse its probably a 15-25 minute walk from there. I'll see if I can arrange a trip soon!

[Lao Jia Hou]

I haven't done it, but this is what I've heard ...

1) Explained by Jim ... take Line 15 to the Exhibition Centre, then hop a taxi straight out Tian Bei Lu. His shop is just past the Airport Expressway North overpass (you will go underneath it), on your left. It is about 6 or 7 kms out from the Exhibition Centre.

2) Explained by Jim's wife (runs the Iron Horse) ... take Line 15 to the stop just immediately after the Exhibition Centre, then there is a bus that goes to Jim's shop/Iron Horse. She told me the number, but I forgot, sorry.

Unfortunately, that's the best I can do. Probably better to call Jim ... 13901320922 ... and ask him.

Or, you can hop on the back of my bike and I'll run you out. Or, after I pick up my modified JH600B (sidecar) on Sunday, you can ride in the sidecar!

Cheers
Richard

[Jimbosidecar]

Yikes! I had an uncannily (if that's even a word) similar motorcycle/pedestrian accident last May. A couple walked right in front of me (on a bike) just as I passed through an intersection (my light was green). They were both wearing head phones plugged into an I-Pod type device. What was worse, however, is I was riding a bike that did not belong to me (my bike had starter problems that evening) and wasn't registered, plated, or insured. The cops in my case saved my -ss. Thankfully, she was not seriously hurt, and I ended up with a broke shoulder (also not serious). The girl's father first demanded I pay her a monthly fee for the rest of her life. Then he reduced it down to 80K. Then 30K, then 8K
But the cop was having none of that. The accident report showed fault as 50/50 and the cop suggested to the girl's father that she pay half my medical expenses (over 200K).
I got the bike back, my driver's license back, and at 10 months later, not heard another word from the girl or her father. Whew! So it doesn't always go against the laowai.
Regds,
Jim
www.bmwsidecar.com

[CantDecide]

Or, you can hop on the back of my bike and I'll run you out. Or, after I pick up my modified JH600B (sidecar) on Sunday, you can ride in the sidecar!

Awesome! I'd love a sidecar ride if your up for it!

[lightend]

Yikes! I had an uncannily (if that's even a word) similar motorcycle/pedestrian accident last May. A couple walked right in front of me (on a bike) just as I passed through an intersection (my light was green). They were both wearing head phones plugged into an I-Pod type device. What was worse, however, is I was riding a bike that did not belong to me (my bike had starter problems that evening) and wasn't registered, plated, or insured. The cops in my case saved my -ss. Thankfully, she was not seriously hurt, and I ended up with a broke shoulder (also not serious). The girl's father first demanded I pay her a monthly fee for the rest of her life. Then he reduced it down to 80K. Then 30K, then 8K
But the cop was having none of that. The accident report showed fault as 50/50 and the cop suggested to the girl's father that she pay half my medical expenses (over 200K).
I got the bike back, my driver's license back, and at 10 months later, not heard another word from the girl or her father. Whew! So it doesn't always go against the laowai.
Regds,
Jim
www.bmwsidecar.com

that is quality, thank god for the nice cops who see some sense. I have on numerous times pulled my wife by the arm out of the road (as she was either looking the wrong way, or looking at the path she wanted to take) half a second later a bike, or bus or taxi flys past.. the chinese seem to have no road safety sense.
the last time was just 2 days ago, she looked, then walked and looking the other way got dragged back by me (as she was holding my daughter so i wasnt best pleased) when i ask her why she didnt look both ways her reply was " i cant look in both directions"
i preceded to show her that her head can swivel and you can look in both directions.
how she has managed to make it to the age of 22 i dont know.
the city i live in at the moment is a small crappy city and load of students and other people have ebikes. there are bike lanes but these are normaly blocked by people walking up them, or cars parked in them or street venders unloading their crap, so all bikes use the roads, some of these riders (Well most) should never be given the keys to an ebike, they ignore their mirrors (which most the time are pointing up at their faces so they can look at them selves)
dont indicate, happily go the wrong way down roads, do a sudden stop in the middle of the road to turn left,
chat on their phones while driving at 10 kph in the fast lane,
violently swing to the right then just as violently go to the left making people in both lanes shit them selves,
seem to be practicing the slalom with invisible cones,
and generally drive like irresponsible, selfish morons who think they are the emperor or empresses of china.

i think you should have to take a basic common sense test before you are aloud to drive a ebike.
as you can tell, i have had a bad day today..

[soberpete]

I feel the same way as Lightend does about the things he has stated above.
Some may say that this kind of perception is narrow-minded or arrogant, and I understand that. It some ways it is.
It's all too easy for someone in Lightend's, or my shoes to criticize (what I would call) the foolish things that some of these people do on the road but still, it's not my country. I will, however, state that it would do the Chinese people a hell of a lot of good to learn some things about the road that will save their own life and the lives of many others around them... the latter including us Laowai (plural equivalent).

[corporal_clegg]

I'm starting to understand how things work a bit with accidents (I think) from reading on the forum and talking to Chinese friends.

First a side-story you may or may not have heard of. All you teachers (and others) out there will know what I'm talking about when I say Chinese are by nature snitches, no offense intended but in my experience it's true. It has been reasoned that this began back under the rule of the qing emperors during which communities were collectively punished for the wrongdoings of one (wo)man. So they evolved to create a society wherin people are afraid to do anything because their neighbours will give them up in a heartbeat to save themselves the punishment. In Ireland on the other hand we have lived with English rule and the consequent subversion (or counter-revolution, "terrosism," whatever floats your boat) for around 800 years, this had the opposite effect on us. Back in primary school if you snitched (ratted) you got punished, we quickly learned that it was up to the person themselves to come forward and do the honorable thing and, in school at least, they usually did. If they chose not to for personal reasons (very close to being expelled, harsh parents etc.) they could count on their classmates to stand by them. I guess the Qing Emperor's were more efficient than the English at rooting out wrongdoers.

The reason I first shared this is that I think that the Chinese customs for compensation could have similar roots. Here's my perception: The person who was hurt more by the accident (physically or monetarily) is the victim, right and wrong doesn't really matter. The only protection I can think of then is to do the Chinese thing in the case of an accident. If a car cuts me up again and I come off on the road you better damn well bet that I'm going to be the one rolling around on the floor crying for an ambulance and x-rays and compensation. Will see who's trying to run away from the scene then. There was a scuffle in my neighbourhoods school the other day and the mother of one of the children took him to the hospital for x-rays, we laughed at first and mocked her molly-coddling but in all likely-hood she was building her own case for her sons victimhood in case the other boys mother would start getting all Chinese on her ass.

Might be bullshit but it's only ten fen.

p.s. Slabo you have the worst luck ever, man I don't know how you get by. You must have a damn healthy outlook on life to keep doing anything on that bike of yours.