Page 17 - IT'S A RUM LIFE BOOK FOUR Volume 1 "Northcote 1984 to 1998"

Here I must mention that the situation in France has always been very different to that in
the UK, if one sees an accident!

In the UK today, most folk feel obliged to look the other way just in case any assistance
they give, may result in some “ambulance chaser” solicitor being persuaded that you might
have done something not quite correct in the situation.......no, “thank you“ for your
help....just greedy folk trying to “earn” and gain from the innocent help of passers by.

In France if you witness an accident and DO NOT stop to assist, you can be prosecuted
for not assisting!

This accident happened just three cars or so ahead of us, the first we saw was a car
bonnet lifting into the air.
As we got nearer, a few seconds later we were confronted with two vehicles in the middle
of the road. The fact that we had seen the car bonnet made us aware that something was
wrong and prepared us.

Cross ways on to the road was a small estate car which had pulled out of a side road on
the left and was turning to his left, to proceed down the main road towards Soissons.

He hadn't made it.

It was pretty obvious that he had not really seen the car coming towards him from the left.
That car had hit him fair and square on the left front wing of the estate car, demounting the
bonnet!

Now the two were locked together and blocking half the road.

Being prepared for something, we stopped. Ruth went forward to assist the passengers, I
went to the rear of our car were we had our obligatory Continental warning triangle.
I ran back down the road 25 yards or so in the direction we had come from and placed the
triangle in the middle of the right hand carriageway.

When I arrived back at the two cars, the driver of the estate car had got out and was
wandering about unsure of himself.
The driver of the second car was by chance a local doctor and had already placed his
warning triangle in the direction he had come from. Ruth and the Doctor then persuaded
the other driver who was elderly, to sit quietly on the road leaning against his front wheel.

Ruth made the doctor aware of her qualifications and between them they began to see
what was needed.

By this time I had stopped the first car to pass and asked for them to call the Pompiers.
This they did from the next village. (Remember this is late 1984 and mobile phones had
yet to come)!