How An Accident Was Handled in Trinidad and Tobago

Last night, at exactly midnight, my cousin called me and told me that he had been in an accident. I first asked him if everyone was OK - and he said yes. Then he told me that his brother was coming, and that I could hitch a ride. Given crime as it is here in Trinidad, I figured I would go along so we had a few people around. One never knows.

This is my account of what happened early this morning; my observations and opinions.

He had called his brother as well, and I hopped in the vehicle with his brother. We picked up another friend along the way, then headed to the Police Station on Harris Promenade here in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. The reason for this? Because a Police Report is required for insurance companies, and Police don't take reports outside of the Police Station.¹ Instead, they sometimes go to the scene of the accident and view the scene. It's the job of the Police to determine, for the insurance, who is right or wrong.

And so, we arrived at the Police Station around 12:20 a.m. We were told by the Officer/Constable in charge that the accident had already been called in, and that the parties should secure their vehicles and come to the station to make the report. He was the only one handling accidents on a Saturday night; he couldn't leave his post. Thus, we headed to the scene of the accident - a few minutes away in La Romain, Trinidad and Tobago. When we got there, I pulled out the camera and started snapping pictures.

Pulling up, it was easy to spot the two cars near the intersection, with my cousin's car closer and the other person's car way off in the grass. This is understandable in a way, since off of the road is grass which was slick from humidity - not to mention a large puddle of mud nearby. The road itself was dry, which is good for checking out the scene of an accident... the road typically tells a story, and part of my EMT(PHTLS) training included reading accidents so that you could tell for injuries. No banged in windshields. Good sign.

The other guy's car didn't look like it would make it past the insurance company. It couldn't start, and it was obvious that the passenger side wheel was not attached to the drivetrain properly. It seems likely that the car will be 'written off'.²

My cousin's car, however, could start and drive. But it did get some pretty good damage itself:

It's sort of apparent that my cousin's car had hit the passenger side (driver's left) of the other car, and it did so near the center of the bumper. No airbags were deployed in his car, which means that the transfer of inertia to his car was low, probably because of the angle. I got the story then - from a guy who was a witness, and who had been in front of the white 'B-12' car preceding the accident.

I was told that the B-12 was following the Toyota Hi-Lux pickup closely by the driver of the Hi-Lux, and that he had slowed down to let my cousing out and across the road so that my cousin could continue heading toward San Fernando - due East. The Hi-Lux and the B-12 were travelling due West. The road which my cousin was coming out of, near St. Benedict's College, is facing West North West at an incidental angle - so on seeing that the pickup was slowing down to let him pass (the pickup was turning into the road), he began across the road - traffic was clear to the West, and the pickup was coming from the East.

The B-12 was overtaking the pickup when this happened. So the pickup was preparing to turn and turning, my cousin was turning, and when he thought he was clear he apparently saw a B-12 hurtling at him too late. This explains the angles quite well, and makes sense. But one thing was missing. Tire marks.

The car is driving into the road my cousin came out of.

The vehicles had to be secured before either driver could get to the Police Station to make the report. And so, yours truly and a friend hung out and watched the cars. In the meantime, it was hoped that the wrecker that said it would be back from La Brea would be back, and we would call my cousin if the wrecker showed up to take the other driver's car to Point Fortin. They were gone for about an hour, and during that time we saw many curious people slow down and even stop to see the accident. A Police 999³ vehicle (Cherokee) stopped to make sure that everyone was alright, and we got out of the car and told them that the report was being made in the station. They were satisfied with that and left us alone.⁴.

My cousins and the other driver returned, and the police report on the accident had been done. All that had to be done was to get the cars to their homes - and that meant my cousin driving his car home, and the other driver having a wrecker tow his home. The wrecker had not yet come back. So we stayed with him, since that area is questionable. For the record, nobody had been drinking. That included all of us.

A drunk guy was on the other side of the road, walking by and putting his red motorcycle helmet on. He was meandering a bit, and seeing some excitement, headed over and decided to offer assistance. For the most part, we kept quiet and let him say his piece - and he was really nice with his offers, but his feet seemed to have a different mind. He had been drinking, and had wisely decided to leave his motorcycle (a FZR 1000) at the bar. He was walking to... Fyzabad. We're not talking about a short walk... we're talking about a daylight walk starting around 2:00 a.m. But we were tied up, he didn't want a ride and quite content to walk for about 6 hours, so he ambled off with his high octane boost. We stayed, and another police vehicle showed up. They inquired, and we told them that nobody was hurt, and that the police report had already been filed and that a wrecker was hopefully en route so we could go home and get some sleep. No such luck. They left.

Another fellow came along who lived nearby, and called a wrecker. For about $450 TT, he could get one. The other driver had been promised a price of $350TT by the very late wrecker. He called his father and said he would go with the new wrecker. But as the other wrecker was on the way, the then 3 hour late wrecker showed up and towed his vehicle. That sucked, but it wasn't out problem. He left, we left...

I rode with my cousin in the car on the way back, and though loud from the new exhaust leak and a few loose parts, it held together well.

This was an interesting accident, because it's apparent that the B-12 should probably not have been overtaking the pickup at the time. It's also interesting because in such an accident in Trinidad and Tobago, the driver who 'broke the major road' is judged wrong - period. But my cousin thought he had a clear entrance to the major road, and within his field of view that would seem apparent. It could be argued that he was actually ON the major road when it happened as well. With no tire marks and my cousin's vehicle moved, it's hard to say anything with certainty.

But with no police looking at the scene, all of that will be missed. So it's up to the insurance companies to fight it out... leaving both drivers in a bind while they do.

Maybe, someday, Police in Trinidad and Tobago will take reports on the scene. Fortunately, no humans were harmed in the accident or the writing of this story. What happens if they are? Well, that would be a different story altogether, I suppose.

¹ If you think that this idea is strange, you're not alone.
²'Written Off': where the car damage surpasses the value of the car and the insurance company says 'thank you very much'.
³ 999 is synonymous with Emergency, as 911 is in the United States
⁴ And I probably could have stripped the car of it's radio if I were a criminal, with them being none the wiser. But they probably noted how respectable we looked at 1 a.m...