Don't Crash into Me!

Friday afternoon as I sat on the bus waiting to go to Supy’s I heard a crash. The buses waiting for the ferry pack themselves into a tiny parking lot and then as they fill up, they back out instead of driving forward to exit. I don’t know who thought this was a good idea, but the result is about 15 buses fighting to leave through one small gate as fast as possible. So I am actually surprised that I have not witnessed more accidents. However, Friday’s crash proved my first glimpse into insurance coverage Savaii style. We heard a crash and immediately the startled people waiting on the buses turned towards the back of the lot. At first we could not see anything, and then as the driver backed up further, it came into view: one of the wooden buses with a drop down wooden flank in the back had loaded a bike onto the wood jutting out behind the bus. Unaccustomed to this extra load, he had backed up and accidentally crashed the bike tire right through the window of a waiting taxi! The taxi driver looked pissed. He got out of the cab and walked over to the bus drivers’ plastic drop down window. He pounded on the window and the ashamed driver dropped it down. No sooner had the plastic hit the bus frame than, WHAM! The taxi driver popped him with a right hand blow to the face. Everyone just watched, amused at the afternoons entertainment. And I learned a lesson: do not damage someone’s’ car unless you are ready to take a beating.