A traffic accident is always scary, no matter the circumstances.
First, I’m okay. Second, it happened with Uber in Jakarta, not in the USA. But, I was involved in a minor Uber accident while driving from the airport to the Grand Hyatt hotel.
Don’t ask me why, for it really was just an inadvertent sliding error on my app, but I ordered Uber Pool instead of Uber X. Uber is so cheap in Jakarta that it absolutely does not pay to use Uber Pool…but that is not the issue here.
We took off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK) and quickly ran into gridlock on Highway 1 into central Jakarta. We sat. And sat. And sat some more.
Finally, we made a turn on Highway 2 and then onto Jalan Mohammad Husni Thamrin, the street the Hyatt is located on. Traffic was still stacked.
All of a sudden a car on the left clipped us. The lady in the front seat screamed, the guy sitting next to me almost choked on his cigarette (yes, another complaint about the ride…) and I was seated at the zone of impact.
Let’s be clear — the car did not plow into us. But there was contact and we head that terrible sound that occurs when two cars collide. Oddly, the driver did not stop. Instead, he kept on going. Maybe this sort of thing is commonplace? We reached my hotel 15 minutes later.
The driver did not apologize, he just grabbed my bag from the trunk and handed it to me, quickly taking off. I wish I had taken a picture of the car.
Next Step: Contact Uber
I altered Uber via the app that I was involved in an accident and will provide an update on what the response is.
“Oddly, the driver did not stop. Instead, he kept on going. Maybe this sort of thing is commonplace?”
Unfortunately, yes, in that part of the world. Happens in India all the time. The alternative is waiting around, possibly being surrounded by a mob of people, and then getting shaken down for a payoff by either the police or the “victim” . Yes, I speak from experience, though at least I wasn’t driving. Scariest thing I’ve ever been through, and made me want to pack up and ditch my expat assignment on the spot!
Next time, please get a premium taxi. Silver Bird and the likes. Cheap, comfort, most driver speak english. Other than that, maybe arrange a pick up from your hotel. And don’t land friday afternoon/night. Traffic is hell