Dear Readers,
So far I reckon I have survived six narrow escapes with the latest being one of the most scary of them all.
In the car park of the Harbour Bay Mall in Cape Town I was
walking towards the entrance to the main building when this white Toyota car was
backed out of its parking bay driven by Renee Hobbis. She was speeding like a
racing driver at the start of a race and she was coming straight at me. Her car
must have just touched me as I jumped backwards and landed in the road on my
back. It was then driven rapidly for about 50 metres, giving some more people a
close call, before it went into the entrance of a small yard to crash head on
into a wall.
I spent the next half hour or so
lying in the road being attended to by paramedics with a little shop assistant
from the nearby Pic n Pay holding my hand. The paramedics wanted to take me to
hospital, but after about half an hour I felt well enough to drive to my home about
15 kms away. I had a delayed action sore leg, some other aches and pains as
well as a graze on the top of my head which disappeared quickly.
Mrs Hobbis of 31 Dolphin Way, Simonstown, was the only occupant of the car. I didn’t see her but I was told that after the crash she was found sitting in her vehicle saying that she had a “sugar problem”. Nobody was at home when I later called at her house but a neighbour told me she was a “very bad diabetic.”
Most of the roads where she lives are really scary as they
are incredible steep being on the side of the mountain.
After getting her phone number from the Police I phoned her
and she told me to speak to her husband Chris. When he came on the line I told him
that I felt his wife should no longer be driving and he agreed with me.
When I spoke to her again I emphasised that she should no
longer be driving because somebody would die if she again drove the way she had
done at the Mall. She said she would
“think” about giving up driving and that she had not driven since the incident
at the Mall.
I know its very difficult to accept that you should no
longer drive but if Mrs Hobbis, who I was told is about 60 ever drives like that
again she would surely be putting death on the road in some form or another.
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| My only visible injury a graze on the back of my head where it hit the road. It healed up quite quickly |
Her car was insured by Santam so I put some questions to Fanus Coetzee its Chief Executive Officer, Santam Broker Solutions. After giving him brief details about what happened I included a video of the incident.`
I
then asked him if Mrs Hobbis had disclosed to his company that she might drive
like this because I was told she suffered from very bad diabetes. I also asked
if his company would insure her again and I told him what the opinion of her
husband Chris was about her driving future. And what she told me. I added that
they live on the mountainside in Simonstown where most of the roads are
dangerously steep and this made it even more imperative that she should stop
driving.
He
replied saying: “Thank you for making me aware of the scenario and the
potential misrepresentation of this possible client. But I cannot divulge any
of the information to you that you are requesting from me.” He added: “I want
to thank you for the information and we will have it investigated and address
the matter appropriately.”
He
also told me that their clients were expected to disclose any risks that might
affect the underwriting “whether at inception of the policy or thereafter.
“If
the change is material to the claim against the acceptance of the risk or a
claim thereafter, and it was not disclosed, we retain the right to void the
cover or reject the claim.”
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| WHERE RENEE'S CAR EVENTUALLY LANDED UP |
P.S. Watch out for some more posts about the narrow
escapes I have had in my life. Well I suppose these are what you must expect if
you live till 90 or more.
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