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This article was first published on the 4th of January 2020 by Patrick Carpen.
Last updated: January 4, 2020 at 13:21 pm
Not at actual photo of the accident as I did not have my camera with me at the time.
On the evening of January 3rd, 2020, in the city of Boa Vista, Brazil, on a warm, tranquil night with beautiful stars above and soft music playing, I was sitting by the bar sipping a beer and enjoying the beautiful atmosphere…when something happened to disturb the general peace of the neighborhood.
At that moment, a car was coming from the street at the junction, and the driver was waiting for traffic to ease so he could cross. He waited a few moments, but the consistent line of passing vehicles showed little signs of ending. There was a lull in the traffic when he decided to make a go for it.
But did he not see that black scooter with two beautiful women approaching the junction just a few meters away? Or was his judgement faulty? Did he perhaps “assume” that they would stop to let him pass? They tried. The woman driving the motorcycle made a desperate clamp on the brake in an effort to prevent a collision. But she was just about one meter away. At that moment, my eyes caught the scene in front of me. I froze in horror fearing what would happen next. I instinctively clamped my hands on my ears and tried to scream, but no sound left my mouth.
Just then, the impact. The motorcycle rammed the side of the car and the two women were flung forward with the impact. They landed on the road as the car moved to the other side of the street. I feared the worse while praying for the best.
A crowd quickly gathered and one man started dialing the emergency number. Others put a barricade on the road to alert approaching vehicles of the situation.
A few moments later, I was relieved to see the first woman get up and limp to the corner of the road. I was happy she was able to walk. Perhaps she was not badly injured. But the other woman lay writhing on the ground, twisting and turning as though she was experiencing pain or discomfort.
I walked closer to the crowd. It was understood that we had to wait for the ambulance to arrive before moving the woman as there was no medical professional at the scene. The woman kept twisting and turning on the road as though she was badly hurt, but thankfully, her face seemed composed. She was not crying or screaming. And moreover, she was dialing some numbers on her phone. Perhaps she was trying to make contact with a relative.
About ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived. The medical professional came out to attend to the fallen victim. They helped her to her feet. I was happy to see that she was able to walk. Perhaps she was not badly injured. They put her in the back of the ambulance.
A man picked the mangled bike from the road and pushed it to the corner. The front wheel had folded into the shape of an S. The seat had fallen out and the bike was generally destroyed.
On the roadways, motorcyclists are especially vulnerable. Bikes are the leading cause of road deaths and it is easy to see why.
If you are a motorcyclist, you need to exercise extreme caution. Assume that everyone is stupid and can break the rules. Be prepared to stop in any situation. Assume that that dog walking across the road could turn back. Look for vehicles edging too close to you and pull over to the corner. Keep glancing in the rear view mirror while maintaining the vision in front. And most of all, pray before you ride.
