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.