I was recently involved in an accident and have to shoulder the blame for it. I am not going to go into the traffic details here, what I want to comment on is the process subsequent to that accident because it has some lessons that should be shared.
- My passport was confiscated – this was two days before my vacation travel was to start and I had to cancel my flights
- If I hadn't been able to get my wife to deliver my passport from home to the police station, I would have remained at the police station!
- It was difficult finding a timeline of when and how things would progress
The accident was at an intersection and was considered moderate~serious. As such the serious accidents’ unit arrived and took over from the Red and White patrol units. Then, as my car was drivable they told me to drive to the police station. I didn’t know where it was so had to follow a patrol car. At the police station they impounded the car for a mandatory 15 days. There was a long period at the police station while they wrangled with the computer trying to write the report. It took at least four people in succession to get it done. It was determined that the case would require a court appearance and therefore I needed to give them my passport. I offered a passport copy which I always carry, but it needed to be my original. I asked if my Second passport (I have two) would be okay, but again no, it had to be the one with my visa in it as it was designed to stop me from leaving the country. And leaving is precisely what I wanted to do, to go on vacation with my family. But the system is set to stop people from escaping justice so the vacation was immediately in jeopardy.
I called my wife and she delivered my passport. At that point they printed me a receipt for the passport, and explained to me that if I wished to leave the country on vacation I could substitute someone else’s passport. This is passport bail. However, since I was intending to be away for a month and all my friends were currently away anyway it was not really a realistic proposition. Also there was no indication on when the case would be held. To add to the issue, Ramadan hours were about to start in a couple of days’ time which could alter the time taken. And it was unclear whether I would be required to be present in court. That is determined by the court.
I do not know exactly what would have happened if I hadn’t had my wife available to retrieve my passport. If you live alone, you might have to get someone to come and get a key from you and go and get it. I would like to find out if they would accompany someone to go and retrieve it… I would advise keeping your passport in an accessible place in your home so that you could give someone directions to retrieve it for you in an emergency.
I was free to go about 4 hours after the incident. By that time I had received a txt message to say that my car was impounded. They returned my car registration and my driver’s license to me so that I was free to drive. The next day I got a local HR staff member to enquire if there were any alternatives to the passport deposit but that was negative. I was also unable to find out a timeline for when the court case might happen. I was forced to cancel my flights, and we opted for my family to proceed on holiday without me. Next I received a txt informing me that I had accumulated 8 Black Points from the accident, and urging me to drive safely.
After the week end I took my documents down to the insurance office only to find that the Arabic documents were not the ones needed and had to go back to the police to get a proper printout of the report. While there, I asked again about the timeline, and they pointed me to an adjacent building which housed the traffic court and told me to enquire there. I got lost in that building a couple of times, and queued up in the wrong department twice but eventually found the registrar of the court who told me that the case was set for 3 weeks later. Then he helpfully mentioned that if that was not convenient that he could try to change it. I requested an earlier date and he got it changed to the beginning of the following week. However, he warned there could be a follow up appearance required. With the appropriate documents now I went back to the insurance office and gave them copies. Now they still need the final outcome from the court but they are able to open the file. Once the car is released from the pound they can get it delivered to the agency for repairs. tbc...
Notes
- Keep your passport available, know where it is and how someone can retrieve it.
- Have air tickets you can change
- Look at cancellation provisions in travel insurance, particularly for events occurring prior to travel
- If you have a court case pending, go to the court to discuss the details with them pro-actively.
