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Q: Stupid compensation seekers! (and advice wanted)
A bit of a story (long)from today and then I need some advice please.
Headed off to work in my car as usual in Zhujiang Xincheng, Guangzhou, with a detour via MacDonalds (had forgot to make bread for breakfast!). So I come out of McD's, set off and stop at the lights at the big junction. So I know this junction, but normally come from the right side. Opposite I can see the usual plethora of street-food sellers doing their breakfast trade, blocking the inside land past the traffic lights. I'm in the inside land so I know I'm going to have to change to the middle as I go across the junction.
Lights turn green, I set off with enough acceleration to get in front of the guy to my left so I can cut in front of him. Make my maneuver, glance to my right to make sure nothing is coming from the right hand slip road and as I then look forward there's a guy on an electric bike (the fake one with the small gas engine) sat in the middle of my land, side on to me. Immediate thought is "where the fuck did he come from?" followed by the automatic slamming of the brakes while hitting the horn. Well he didn't even try to move...stayed there immobile as I hit him broadside. Luckily for him my brakes had some effect as I guess I'd slowed down to 5km/h by that time I hit him. Loudish bang, he fell over and the car stopped.
After putting on my hazards I got out to make sure he was okay. At this point he'd stood up and looked at me sheepishly...then looked down at his leg which was slightly grazed. At that point he decided to lie on the floor. Almost immediately another local guy came out from the food stalls, pointed at this guys graze and stated talking to me and mentioning money among things I couldn't understand. At that point I realised it was a scam as Chinese people don't normally get involved in accidents but stand and watch.
Now before I go any further I must explain that although I'd hit him he was actually stationary in the middle of 3 lanes, sideways onto the traffic, and riding a gas powered 2-wheeler which is actually illegal in this area of Guangzhou......
So I apologised that my Chinese was bad and I couldn't understand him (in my broken Putonghua) and got my phone out, telling them my wife was Chinese. Unfortunately she was still in bed! So I phoned one of my Engineering team to translate. While I'm explaining the situation to him this guy picks up his bike, points out the bent front wheel to me and then starts it. He moved to the side of the road so I got in my car to move it out of the way. Next minute I look round and he's driven off, much to my bemusement. As i got out of the car two of the street vendors were still looking at me, smiling, as I asked them if he driven off. They answered yes, at which point I got in my car and also drove away.
I'm still shook up as I'm driving away and then I fully realise that he'd done it on purpose, to try and scam some compensation out of the next poor driver who drove through the lights. The other guy was obviously his accomplice. I was quite prepared to wait for the police and let them sort it out but when he realised he wasn't going to get some quick cash he scarpered as the police would have confiscated his bike. A bit of a lucky escape for me as if I'd not hit the brakes so quick he would have been badly injured.
So back to the advice I need. Sometime ago there was a thread on here that mentioned in-car video recorders. I've been driving for >2 years now and had toyed with the idea of getting one before.
For those of you who drive in China.....what in-car video cameras/recorders would you recommend?
9 years 38 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
Near the main gz train station they have a huuuge car market with many many shops that sell dashboard cams. You can play around with different kinds.
Always call the cops first. You got lucky. Sorry it happened to you but im glad it worked out well.
Hotwater:
Too right I was lucky. My wife told me the same thing. Next time get my phone out and tell the other person "wo gao jing". I was phoning my wife to tll the guy I wanted the police involved as there was no way it was my fault.
Will mention this car parts market to my wife. She knows that area really well.
You were lucky because the scammer's only connection was probably the street vendor accomplice. So, he was counting on people getting so nervous about the 'victim's' possible connections, that they dish out cashy quickly. You kept your cool, and didn't panic like some locals would. The scammer was unlucky that it was a foreigner - he doesn't know how to scam us. Some of these people have police connections, however they won't usually jump in front of a car. Be careful around people who deliberately drive rude and recklessly. They have a mentality of: "My daddy's gonna batter you!"
I use a Garmen, purchased from Taobao. I put them in both of my cars. I was hit by an ebike while sitting stopped at a red light. The guy was hopping around like it was my fault. I simple showed him the video and he quickly picked his bike up and scurried away.
When something like this happens, and you're lucky enough to get it on video, I wonder if you could have them arrested for attempted extortion, or fraud or something.
You can chose either the auto parts district around the train/coach station in Yuexiu, or I believe Gangding (岗顶) had a mall entirely dedicated to cameras/security devices (the only mall on the cinema side, not the computer market/hospital side) where you might find what you're looking for. If it still exists...
I don't think you were so lucky, you just handled the situation well.
Zhujiang Xincheng, was there not long ago. This district has not even a decade of age, still half finished and already falling apart. 
This happened to me quite a few times around Zhujiang NT and Tianhe overall, also common in nearby Foshan, I never did and never will pay some quick cash to get out of troubles, as you said if the guy is a scammer he is not going to wait for the police to come, thus when it happen I immediately tell the other person that I am calling the police to solve the problem, usually they just drive off.
Hotwater:
That's exactly what my wife has told me to do. In fully legal (licence & insurance) so if involved in an accident I'd want the police involved. I did have a small accident a few months ago, at low speed, with another car. My fault! The other driver was ok & we just got the police & insurers involved. Very quickly resolved.
I think that tons of problems with China society come down to people's time being worthless.
You only have gutter oil here because picking through food trash is competitive with minimum wage employment.
You have all these scams cause assholes think they can make more money stepping in front of cars to sue the drivers than through an honest days work. Maybe they're right.
Maybe they should look at public hangings for dishonest paupers, or maybe a higher minimum wage. Dunno what would help.
RiriRiri:
Actually there is a minimum wage. And there are rules and laws forbidding most of whatever dangerous or stupid behavior you can see on the streets. And there are wonderful plannings already drawn to make things better overall.
Just no one to enforce/regulate/initiate/fund anything as long as work seems done on the surface. Which is why the showcase district of Guangzhou already looks like shit, also.
TBH I have seen this kind of scam happening in southern Europe too. Magreb immigrants used to be specialists of those, especially with European laws making car owners responsible by default for anything.
expatlife26:
Oh I know theres a minimum wage and most of the bummy shit you see is completely illegal. It's just that the minimum wage is low enough that people would rather pick through food trash to resell the oil. So as long as there isn't strict enforcement/public hangings people will keep doing it.
Definitely stepping in front of cars not a China-only problem, it's just a problem of a combination of no opportunity, no moral imperative to not do it, and no hangings to drive up the opportunity cost of being a detriment to society.
coineineagh:
@ expat: I disagree. Chinese don't end up doing disreputable, exploitative or otherwise undesirable acts due to market forces. It's part of the culture; a belief that others must suffer for them to get ahead. I'm sure there are more lucrative occupations out there than accident scams (will get you injured or killed) and gutter oil (will get you arrested). People sniff out profit by witnessing cruelty and injustice. Farmers often just assume animal herding is more profitable than crop raising because of the suffering. People in important positions prefer to betray trust rather than strive to build it up indefinitely. It's a starving farmer's mentality.
expatlife26:
@coin: I mentioned that i believe 3 things stop people from shittyness. Opportunity, moral imperative, fear of punishment.
Hell maybe it wouldn't change anybody deep down, but I bet that gutter oil guy would probably stop picking through oily waste if he could get a job paying more.
I bet the same is true for the people who step in front of cars and sue the drivers. If there was something better for these people to do I bet they'd do it.
But there isn't...and they don't feel any moral imperative, so until they bring out the gallows it's not going to change.
