A car accident...in rural Tanzania

[Benji91]

Ever been stuck in the middle of nowhere in a country where very few speak the same language as you?

At the end of 2015 I ended up in Africa, I'd always wanted to go pretty well anywhere on that continent and found an affordable way of getting there. It was at the end of a long trip that took me through America and England.

I'd been on the road, more or less solo, for the better part of three months and decided to find a nice place to stay in Mjimwema, just south of Dar es Salaam, before heading to South Africa to finish my trip off. After a painfully long flight from Amsterdam (with stops in Geneva and Nairobi) I got in to Dar close to midnight.

A mate of mine who used to live in Tanzania organised a ride for me from the airport to the little village I was staying in. I was picked up by a lovely guy called "Mr Joseph" in his little Daihatsu SUV, we had a good chat and exchanged football (soccer) banter after I noticed a Liverpool sticker on his window. He gave me the option of driving straight through the middle of the city (which, at any time of day, can turn an hour drive into a 3 or four hour drive due to hectic traffic and whatnot) or go rural which was a guaranteed hour and a half drive. I opt for the latter - less travel time after a crazy long flight and I'd get to see more of the country. That was my mistake.

This was roughly the route we went:

The start of the drive was great, we where talking about anything and everything, laughing and just having a good old time. About half way in we came to a two-lane, downhill stretch which was fairly isolated...that's when things turned to shit. A bus was coming up hill at fair speed, when it was 20-30 metres away from us it suddenly swerved into our lane and hit us pretty much head on (drivers side took full force). Fuck.

I got out of the car, Joseph wasn't in the best shape. The 50 or so people in the bus piled out...as did the driver, who was blind fucking drunk. Everyone was fairly relaxed and friendly, there was one kid holding a machete behind his back which was off putting but nothing came of it. No one really seemed to know what to do and I'd already exhausted the little Swahili I learnt, Joseph's car was totaled and the bus driver could barely stand up he was so drunk. It's all a bit hazy for a period, I'd hit my head pretty hard, but a couple of passer-bys loaded Joseph into their car and that's the last they saw of him. I checked my phone, I knew this would be in vain, to see if I had an reception but of course I didn't. A truck driver who spoke basic English pulled up and had a chat to me and the guys from the bus I was sitting with and offered me a ride to the closest police station - for the first time in my life I willing went to see the cops!

It would have been about 2am when I arrived at the police station...the cops, like the bus driver, were blind drunk. Fuck. They were trying to convince me and my massive travel pack (again, this was the end of a 3 month trip) to hitch a ride on the back of their mate's moped...moped guy was also drunk. I spent another hour or so outside the police station - half asleep, confused, covered in form mine and Joseph's blood not really knowing where I was. Again, fuck!

I have a contingency plan for a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. My one friend in Africa (the one that hooked up the ride) was up in Kenya.

Eventually I got chatting to a sober guy who offered me a ride in the back of his van. At this point I just thought "fuck it", Tanzania is a super friendly place and is untouched by a lot of the conflict/militia activity that plagues a lot of Africa...the guy seemed decent and concerned for me, I went with my gut and got in.

FINALLY, at fuck knows what hour, I made it to Mjimwema where I had a little hut on the beach and slept all of that drama off.

Don't know why I'm sharing this, guess it is a travel story?
Things can be completely fucked up but still turn out alright.
I made it out with a bit of whiplash and a story, Joseph took a bit longer to pull through but I was told he'd made a full recovery.

It was an adventure, I spent most of my days there just sitting by the beach, playing soccer with locals and hanging out with Dotto (lovely lady in the photo).

Hope that all made sense, I'm too sleepy to read back through it.

Given the opportunity, I'd go to Tanzania again in a heartbeat.

 

[wizehop]

Great story man, but I cant get over the map and how 40.2 is faster than 19.4. That being said although I haven't been to Tanzania I've been to many places like it. So I can imagine what driving thought the city must be like.

 

[Billy Cougar White]

Drunk bus drivers and cops, never a dull story

 

[Tony Pro]

Great write-up. Sounds like a real shitshow of a country with everyone staggering around drunk. Glad to hear the driver made it. You should try to contact him.

I've had a good taste of driving in Africa and Asia. Where I'm from, we have words to describe different levels of bad driving...in my experience, 90% of African drivers surpass the 'asshole' and 'shithead' qualifications, and jump right up there to 'motherfucker' status.

Saying that, the only wreck I've been in was on the Milford Highway in NZ with a Chinese family driving a rented camper van. They barely spoke English, and when we passed a sign which said "Danger: Black ice" I saw the driver squint at it; clearly he didn't know what black ice was.

15 seconds later we hit black ice, spun 180 degrees, did a couple barrel rolls, and slammed into the trees. We walked away all cut up with glass, but the 3-year-old kid in the back seat had been whaled in the head by a flying object. Seeing a Wile E Coyote lump appear on his head gave me the fright of my life, and I sprinted half a mile to a ranger office, gesturing at other cars to slow the fuck down.

In the end I was glad I was there because when the cops showed up they acted really shitty and tried to force the driver, who could barely understand them, to admit he had been speeding. I told them he hadn't, and I later got an email saying thanks to my testimony they weren't held liable for the damage to the rented vehicle.

The kid was fine but they airlifted him out just to be safe.

 

[Benji91]

@Tony Pro, have been in contact with the driver since...he was so apologetic for something that was totally out of his hands. I promised I'd find him and buy him a beer if I ever make it back to Dar.

Fuck that sounds intense, black ice scares the hell out of me. Glad everyone survived it. I'm too used to the sub-tropics where I am! When I was in the UK a mate was driving us around Yorkshire and hit black ice, he knew exactly how to handle it...I had no clue what had happened and was scared shitless!

Cops are arseholes the world over, out here they usually treat tourists alright though. The first time I was in a car accident was when I was 19. A four car pile up which was the end of my first car - and '89 Honda Accord I loved more than I should have. First pig on scene came up to me (dazed and bloody) and a woman in one of the other cars (crying her eyes out) and said "How the fuck do you people do this?". Took all my restraint not to take a swing at the bastard.
Glad you were able to help them out with your testimony! Too many people wouldn't help out or give the time to do it.

 

[GOD HAND 45]

Ever been stuck in the middle of nowhere in a country where very few speak the same language as you?

At the end of 2015 I ended up in Africa, I'd always wanted to go pretty well anywhere on that continent and found an affordable way of getting there. It was at the end of a long trip that took me through America and England.

I'd been on the road, more or less solo, for the better part of three months and decided to find a nice place to stay in Mjimwema, just south of Dar es Salaam, before heading to South Africa to finish my trip off. After a painfully long flight from Amsterdam (with stops in Geneva and Nairobi) I got in to Dar close to midnight.

A mate of mine who used to live in Tanzania organised a ride for me from the airport to the little village I was staying in. I was picked up by a lovely guy called "Mr Joseph" in his little Daihatsu SUV, we had a good chat and exchanged football (soccer) banter after I noticed a Liverpool sticker on his window. He gave me the option of driving straight through the middle of the city (which, at any time of day, can turn an hour drive into a 3 or four hour drive due to hectic traffic and whatnot) or go rural which was a guaranteed hour and a half drive. I opt for the latter - less travel time after a crazy long flight and I'd get to see more of the country. That was my mistake.

This was roughly the route we went:
View attachment 35838

The start of the drive was great, we where talking about anything and everything, laughing and just having a good old time. About half way in we came to a two-lane, downhill stretch which was fairly isolated...that's when things turned to shit. A bus was coming up hill at fair speed, when it was 20-30 metres away from us it suddenly swerved into our lane and hit us pretty much head on (drivers side took full force). Fuck.

I got out of the car, Joseph wasn't in the best shape. The 50 or so people in the bus piled out...as did the driver, who was blind fucking drunk. Everyone was fairly relaxed and friendly, there was one kid holding a machete behind his back which was off putting but nothing came of it. No one really seemed to know what to do and I'd already exhausted the little Swahili I learnt, Joseph's car was totaled and the bus driver could barely stand up he was so drunk. It's all a bit hazy for a period, I'd hit my head pretty hard, but a couple of passer-bys loaded Joseph into their car and that's the last they saw of him. I checked my phone, I knew this would be in vain, to see if I had an reception but of course I didn't. A truck driver who spoke basic English pulled up and had a chat to me and the guys from the bus I was sitting with and offered me a ride to the closest police station - for the first time in my life I willing went to see the cops!

It would have been about 2am when I arrived at the police station...the cops, like the bus driver, were blind drunk. Fuck. They were trying to convince me and my massive travel pack (again, this was the end of a 3 month trip) to hitch a ride on the back of their mate's moped...moped guy was also drunk. I spent another hour or so outside the police station - half asleep, confused, covered in form mine and Joseph's blood not really knowing where I was. Again, fuck!

I have a contingency plan for a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them. My one friend in Africa (the one that hooked up the ride) was up in Kenya.

Eventually I got chatting to a sober guy who offered me a ride in the back of his van. At this point I just thought "fuck it", Tanzania is a super friendly place and is untouched by a lot of the conflict/militia activity that plagues a lot of Africa...the guy seemed decent and concerned for me, I went with my gut and got in.

FINALLY, at fuck knows what hour, I made it to Mjimwema where I had a little hut on the beach and slept all of that drama off.

Don't know why I'm sharing this, guess it is a travel story?
Things can be completely fucked up but still turn out alright.
I made it out with a bit of whiplash and a story, Joseph took a bit longer to pull through but I was told he'd made a full recovery.

View attachment 35841

It was an adventure, I spent most of my days there just sitting by the beach, playing soccer with locals and hanging out with Dotto (lovely lady in the photo).

View attachment 35842

Hope that all made sense, I'm too sleepy to read back through it.

Given the opportunity, I'd go to Tanzania again in a heartbeat.

Make sure you download Google translate and with the local language. It can save your ass.