NRG is reporting a story that a fellow from Kfar HaRoeh, a religious moshav of the Hapoel Mizrachi movement, had been involved in a minor accident with an Egged bus while driving along the Coastal Road. The accident was so minor that the guy didnt even think the bus driver was aware anything had happened. During the incident, the driver bumped the bus that was driving alongside his car in the adjacent lane, and scraped the bus, causing some minor damage.
For 8 months the fellow walked around with this incident nagging at his conscience. He reviewed the incident in his mind many times, and was sure that he was at fault for the accident.
He finally decided that he had to come forward and compensate Egged for the damage he caused.
The fellow sent a letter to Egged explaining about the accident and the damage he had caused. He says that he evaluates the damage caused to be about 850 NIS worth, and asks that if the damage was greater than that, they should contact him and he will pay the additional amount. He attached a check for 850 NIS to the letter.
Egged management, at first, thought it was a joke and didn't believe the story. Only after they spoke to the fellow and understood he was serious did they register their shock, saying that they have never experienced a similar story where someone came forward on their own and said they caused damage and insisted on paying for it.
Regardless, they refused to take the money because they said no driver had reported any damage on the day and area he said the incident occurred, and therefore there is nothing to pay for, as no repairs were conducted because of the incident.
I wonder what I would do in a similar situation..probably just write it off saying they are a big corporation and they deserve it, and how many times they caused damage to private people (whether by bumping cars and avoiding payment of damages, or by their [at times poor] service) and never worried about paying for it or even did whatever they could to avoid paying (I happen to be aware of one such case that happened with relatives of mine). This guy has a strong conscience...
My husband and I once saw an Egged bus maneuvering to make the turn at Maor & Dolev and while doing the back-and-fill dented the side of a car.
ReplyDeleteI think we left a note on the car. And my husband said he recognized the Egged driver.
The driver never called. Just as well - his car was sticking way out from the curb. The legal distance is 18 inches (40 centimeters) - the driver must have been rushing to minyan because it was a big parking spot yet he left the back about 80 cm away.
I once saw in Jerusalem an Egged bus drive down a narrow street with cars parked on either side. The Egged driver hit and almost took off a car's mirror on the car's left side. I was on the bus, and the driver drove on, not stopping and leaving a note. I was in shock. The mirror was left hanging by a wire.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many cars are damaged by bus drivers each year.
They are a big corporation and they deserve it? Now what does that mean? Your next comment about how much damage they cause without owning up to it is perhaps a justification(*), but simply because they are a big corporation? That's no reason!
ReplyDelete(*) I say perhaps because really, what connection is there between damage they cause to another person's property, with you taking responsibility for damage you cause?
wanna- many people make such claims, and in their minds it is justified even if realistically one has nothing to do with the other, that big corporation is bad and evil. They do whatever they want against the little guy, make a lot of money off us, treat us how thy want, ignore us when we have problems, etc. and therefore in their minds justify not doing the right thing from their side either.
ReplyDeleteI am not saying it is right, but I described a common sentiment as a way of praising this fellow for following his conscience rather than taking a very common approach that would have written such a thing off as no big deal and they probably deserve it for other things they did and didnt pay for.