A friendly reminder
Recently, our newspaper has received multiple calls from readers who hope to share their experiences as a warning: when facing incidents, always think twice, don’t seek convenience, and don’t give opportunistic criminals a chance.
Our report (by reporter Li Huanyu): In recent days, Ms. Feng, who lives in Shijingshan, has been quite distressed. It turns out that she and her family were victims of a scam while driving out of town for a holiday, which almost ruined their long vacation. “I want to remind drivers traveling out of town through the media: when you encounter a traffic accident, don’t be bothered by the hassle—never settle privately, always follow the legal procedure to avoid giving opportunistic criminals a chance,” she said.
Ms. Feng told reporters that on the early morning of September 30, she, her parents, and her son drove to Yingkou, Shandong, with her son at the wheel. On the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, they missed an exit and mistakenly entered the outer ring road west of Tianjin. When Ms. Feng and her party arrived at the intersection of Tianjin’s Outer Ring Road West and Chenyong Road, a gray Corolla sedan came toward them. But what was strange was that the car seemed to be deliberately heading toward their Honda Accord. When the Accord stopped, the Corolla also stopped; when the Accord started moving, the Corolla followed closely and turned left, seemingly trying to hit the Accord.
“The speed wasn’t fast, only about 10 mph, but we still bumped into each other,” Ms. Feng said. When everyone got out to check, they found minor dents on the front bumper of the other car, with some surface scratches. Her family’s car, however, showed no obvious damage. Ms. Feng said she wanted to handle the situation using Beijing’s quick accident resolution method, but the Corolla driver refused to cooperate and wouldn’t disclose the exact address of the incident location. As more and more bystanders gathered, Ms. Feng had to ask locals where she was. “While making the call, a nearby villager even quietly told me it might be best to call 110.” Since Ms. Feng’s group had already called 122, the police did not dispatch again for 110.
“When the traffic police arrived, they asked if I wanted to settle privately,” Ms. Feng said. Suspecting it might be a scam, she declined. The police then instructed both parties to drive to the police station compound to handle the matter. Later, Ms. Feng contacted her insurance company, and after the agent arrived, the damaged vehicles were assessed, with the damage valued at 700 yuan. “But the other party insisted on settling privately and demanded 5,000 yuan from us.” Hearing such an exorbitant demand, Ms. Feng naturally refused, and the standoff continued until after 2 p.m.
“The traffic police said they needed to review the surveillance footage from the intersection to determine liability. As long as the other party didn’t run a red light, the responsibility would fall entirely on our straight-moving vehicle. But the surveillance footage couldn’t be retrieved at the time. The police said they would have to impound our vehicle, and it would take at least seven days to determine liability,” Ms. Feng said. With her elderly parents, who are over 80 years old, in the car, she couldn’t endure the hassle and ultimately had to compromise. After some haggling, the compensation amount was set at 4,000 yuan.