PHUKET: A rescue vehicle belonging to Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket was out of operation for several hours today (July 14) and will have to be left in a repair shop for a full day or more after a minor accident and a prolonged dispute with a foreign motorcyclist in Rawai.
The Rawai accident was reported by Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket at around 10am today (July 14), but this time, one of the parties involved was Vincent Modell, a long-term Phuket expat and one of a handful of foreign rescue volunteers on the island.
According to the report posted on Facebook at 10:49 am, a rescue vehicle in a green and yellow livery slowed down at Soi Houpru to let another vehicle turn when it was rear-ended by a red Yamaha Grand Filano scooter driven by a foreign man allegedly from Eastern Europe or Russia.
The motorcycle rider initially denied responsibility for the accident and blamed the rescue vehicle for causing the incident by braking too hard. However, he later agreed to compensate for the damage.
It took four hours to settle the dispute, including both parties going to the Chalong Police Station and negotiating in the presence of police officers.
“The damage on the car denotes the bike was already on the ground before collision. [It is] all lower body damage, this indicates the driver braked hard at the last minute,” explained Rescue Team Volunteers Phuket on their official Facebook page.
Both vehicles had only minimal damage and remained drivable. None of the individuals involved sustained any serious injuries.
The main loss was the loss of time, as the dispute took four hours to settle, explained Vincent Modell, the driver of the rescue vehicle involved in the accident.
“Both the rider and his wife who arrived later were of the opinion that the accident was a result of me braking hard, which was not the case. I couldn’t say why he hit my car, but I can assume he was traveling too closely. The bike dropped before hitting the car,” Mr Modell told The Phuket News.
“For four hours of time that I should have been on duty, I had to deal with people who were not sorry about the collision, only sorry that they had to pay,” he added.
The case was settled without being officially recorded by Chalong Police, although an agreement was reached at the Chalong Police Station.
Speaking to The Phuket News, Mr Modell said he was unable to provide any information about the other party, as neither the Filano rider nor the woman introduced themselves to the rescue worker.
Mr Modell concluded his story with a humble request to people to respect rescue workers’ time, as the very nature of first-responders’ work assumes that time is crucial.
