Hopefully you will never have to use the information supplied in this section but accidents and car deaths have been increasing every year in Egypt.
An Egyptian government report issued in May 2011 said that 18 people per day were killed in road accidents in 2009 alone.
Considering how people drive your chances of being involved in a “fender bender” are high no matter how safe and cautious you are in your driving habits. And most likely it will not be your fault.
First thing to remember; if you hit another car – it’s your fault. If another car hits you – it’s your fault.
May sound crazy but the other car will always try to pin the blame on you – you were going too fast, you stopped suddenly, you didn’t see him pull out of the side road, you didn’t stop in time – be aware the other car will always make you out the ‘bad guy”.
Secondly get ready for the crowd. Accidents – be they small or large – attract crowds. Anything for entertainment.
Now if you don’t speak Arabic, try and find someone in that crowd around you who does speak English and hopefully they will help out in translation. And be ready for yelling and screaming by the other party.
If the damage is small to the other car – usually an on the spot payment of a couple hundred pounds will suffice and you can walk away. If your damage is considerable and you are insured – you need a police report in order to claim insurance benefits. So do not move your car and get the police to the accident scene as soon as possible. And don’t worry about blocking traffic.
But one point to remember here – what is the deductible on your policy (in other words how much do you have to pay before the insurance company pays)? Reason for this is that normally body work and painting here is very inexpensive and in certain cases it’s not worth putting in a claim. For example – I can paint your entire car (with minor body work) for around LE 3500 (around $500).
If you work for a large multi national company, or an embassy, your first call is to the security department of that company / embassy to have someone come out and provide assistance. So have these numbers on your mobile phone. If you don’t have a security group you can contact – then contact the security department in your embassy. They are there supposedly to help out all citizens of that country in Egypt.
Now, they say a picture is worth 1000 words so check out the pictures with this article. These people were driving safely and not speeding on a major highway. A car coming the other way jumped the median and broadsided their car. It rolled twice and wound up as you see. BUT – the people all walked away. Seat belts and air bags!!
And to help you out in any situation – I am usually available to come to your aid and can arrange a tow truck if needed. I also do body work and painting if needed.
If you have been involved in an accident – please send your story to me so I can share with everyone.
I can be reached on 01001456439 and/or horsetorg@yahoo.com if you need any assistance.
Dave The Mechanic
Read more about Dave and his Service Centre here….