What to do if you are in an accident in Shanghai

By: Erin Vidler Romanuk, LMSW, ACSW

Appeared in The Spirit AWCS magazine in December 2009

Erin Vidler Romanuk, LMSW, ACSW is a licensed clinical social worker from Michigan.  She is a member of the Shanghai International Mental Health Association (SIMHA).   SIMHA is a multidisciplinary professional association of therapists who provide mental health services to the international communities in Shanghai.  For more information about SIMHA please visit www.s-imha.org.

About two months ago, I was confronted with one of my worst fears while living in Shanghai.  I want to share my story with the members of the American Women’s Club Shanghai because I feel that my experience and information could benefit some of you in the future.

What started out as a typical Monday afternoon in Shanghai ended up being one of the worst days that I have ever experienced.  I had just finished having lunch with my husband when I decided I needed to check up on some projects that I had been working on at the Portman.  I live in Pudong, so my options for transportation were either a taxi or the subway.  Since it was a little on the warm side, I decided to hop in a taxi, like I had done a hundred times before.

I was sitting in the back of the taxi, minding my own business while we were cruising down the Yan’an Expressway.  The next thing I knew, I was being thrown forward into the back of the front passenger seat.

Since I moved to Shanghai about a year and a half ago, I have heard many people share their stories of taxi and motor bike accidents with me.  However, in most stories, all people involved walked away from the accident with no injuries.  I have also heard that in most accidents there is a great deal of yelling and negotiating.  My situation was vastly different.

For those of you who do not ride in taxis often, there are no seatbelts in the back seat and the back seat itself is not bolted or fastened down to the frame of the car.  The taxi that I was riding in hit the car in front of us. 

Once I assessed what had happened, I realized that I was bleeding from both my mouth and my nose.  I was scraped and bruised from my knee to my foot on my right leg, I had scraped my right arm, and I had numerous cuts to my face and left leg. 

Within a minute of the crash, I did the only thing I knew how to do – I called my husband.  Partly because he needed to know where I was and that I was hurt, but also because I knew I was going to need a translator.  Even though I had taken Chinese for 14 months, I knew that I needed somebody else to communicate with the taxi driver.  Thankfully, my husband was able to put a Chinese colleague on the phone to talk to the taxi driver.  However, I was still unclear about what was happening.  I knew that ambulances were almost unheard of in Shanghai and that I should be prepared to take another taxi to get medical attention.  My husband’s colleague was able to get some information from the taxi driver, so I knew the police had been called. 

The accident had blocked all lanes of traffic on the expressway.  I was still sitting in the back of the taxi trying my best not to have a panic attack.  Within 5 minutes, a police officer showed up on a motorcycle, which answered one of my questions.  I would not be getting a ride to the hospital with the police.  The police officer immediately came up to me to try to determine how I was doing.  He even offered to shake my hand, which I politely declined because they were covered in blood. The police officer then took my phone and began talking to my husband’s colleague.  To be honest, I am not sure what exactly was said because I was so focused on how I was going to get to the nearest Western medical facility.  I tried to have my husband’s colleague translate where I wanted to be taken to the police officer, but I think the message got lost.

The police officer then went to assess the damage to the other people and cars.  The three drivers were waiting to talk to the police officers.  There was no yelling going on and no negotiating (as far as I could tell).  All three of the drivers had come back to check on me and offer me tissues for my mouth and nose.  Even when the tow truck drivers arrived 10 minutes later, they showed genuine concern for me.  The police officer then was able to get all three cars moved onto the side of the road to get traffic moving again.

Before I knew it, the police officer was opening my door and putting me into another taxi.  He said something in Chinese to the new taxi driver, but again, with my limited Chinese, I had no idea what he said.  I did not want to be taken to a local hospital, I knew that much.  Luckily, I knew exactly where I was in the city.  I decided I need to take my medical care into my own hands at this point.  I began to direct the taxi driver to the Portman, which was ironically my original destination.  I am not sure if the taxi driver was shocked by my appearance or he really did not know where he was going, but I had to direct him in Chinese all the way to the Portman.  I chose the Portman because it was close to where the accident happened and because Parkway has both a medical and dental clinic there.

I had not looked at my face since the accident, but I knew my lower lip was about three times the normal size and I was still bleeding quite a bit. I was seen immediately at the Parkway Medical and Dental Center at the Portman.  I required 12 stitches in and around my mouth.  I am almost healed now, physically.  However, emotionally I still have some work to do.

Looking back on this situation, I have come to several conclusions. 

• You should always carry with you the Chinese/English name cards for several Western medical facilities in Shanghai.
• You should familiarize yourself with where the Western medical facilities are located in Shanghai.
• You should familiarize yourself with what services these medical facilities offer.  Some medical facilities have limited hours or are by appointment only. 
• You should have some key phone numbers programmed into your mobile phone for help with translation and directions.  Even if you have a driver, you might find yourself in a situation where your driver might not be able to communicate. You might need to get into a taxi and get yourself to the hospital. 
• If you have to take a taxi, please sit in the front seat where there is a seatbelt for you to use.  Don’t worry about appearing foolish for wearing a seatbelt, they really do save lives. 

Parkway Health Specialty and Inpatient Center (XinTianDi)

Shanghai United Family Hospitals and Clinics (Chang Ning)