During our two-week holiday, our family travelled to Thailand. Since Thailand, like the UK, drives on the left-hand side of the road with right-hand drive vehicles, I decided to rent a car and planned to drive from Bangkok to Hua Hin. However, once I arrived in Bangkok and got a sense of the local driving culture, road system, and road conditions, I lost confidence in being able to handle it and ultimately cancelled the car reservation. Indeed, being a passenger felt much more relaxing—without the pressure and stress of being the driver, having to stay alert and unable to rest during the journey.
I thought that by avoiding driving in an unfamiliar place, I could protect my own safety. Yet, unexpectedly, I encountered an accident right after returning to a familiar environment. I got back to the UK last Sunday, and on Monday, while driving home from church and passing the M602, I failed to notice the slow-moving traffic ahead. I couldn’t brake in time and crashed into the car in front. Thankfully, in that split second, I swerved into the hard shoulder, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision that could have caused a pile-up. Although it was just a scrape, the other car’s left rear tire was completely knocked off, my airbag deployed, the right-side mirror was damaged, and the car body was deformed. I skidded along the shoulder for a bit before stopping. While I was still shaken, a paramedic appeared by my car to check if I was injured. Soon after, highway personnel and police arrived, quickly took control of traffic, moved both cars to a safe location, and helped me arrange for a tow truck.
I’m deeply grateful because throughout the entire accident, I saw the Lord’s protection—my body was completely unharmed, and no one was injured. I was surprised at how quickly the ambulance arrived. It turned out that an off-duty ambulance happened to be driving behind me and stopped immediately when they saw the accident. I had thought it would take ages to sort everything out, but from the time of the crash to the tow truck’s arrival was just over an hour. I didn’t have to wait helplessly by the roadside for long, and the police even helped facilitate communication and the exchange of information between the other driver and me. In the end, the police deemed it a simple two-car collision and told us to contact our insurance companies to handle it.
Accidents are, by nature, unpredictable. No matter how hard we try to avoid disasters—some might choose not to go to Japan to avoid earthquakes, others might avoid Thailand for fear of falling into human trafficking traps and being sold to places like KK Park—no amount of planning can prevent mishaps from happening in places we think are the safest.
As a Christian, I firmly believe that the Lord’s protection in times of danger and the peace He gives amid trouble to face adversity with His strength are far more important than trying to avoid all unpleasant things.
Rev. Chiu