My Lovely Japan Car Accident (Part 2: The Shaming)

The Japanese are fond of an old proverb:

"A pebble thrown in the water creates a ripple eventually felt by the entire pond."  In other words, the Japanese like to do what they can to avoid disrupting society because every action, no matter how small, has its reactions.

It wasn’t until my recent car accident that I finally understood fully what that philosophy means.  You see, I thought the worst of my problems occurred the day of the actual accident  - dealing with the insurance, police, rental cars, and the person I rear-ended…and all in a foreign language of which I understood little.  However, it was the fallout afterward that truly tested my patience and strength of character.

I quickly found out that this accident wasn’t just about me or the person that I hit.  It was the company’s problem because there is an image to uphold, especially as an automotive supplier.  It was my superior’s problem because they are responsible for my training and me.  Finally, it was my peers’ problem because this was a problem within the system.

Perhaps my father’s analogy for the situation explains it best:

"You are part of a machine, and a fly flew into your gear, so now, if this was on the assembly line think of what would happen.  Meetings to evaluate why and how that fly got in there, by the whole work team of course.  And the Manager will have to answer for that fly every day at staff meeting with some sort of action plan.  So, more grease applied daily now, hourly inspection for any more flies, the whole department must spray fly killer every two hours, etc."

So, what was the fallout, list of activities, countermeasures, what-have-you…

1)     The day after the accident, Tuesday, I had to watch a safety driving video showing potential accidents and the damage they can cause.  With my entire division, of course (about 80 people).

2)     The following day, Wednesday, I had to write a report detailing my commute to and from work complete with detailed maps and potential accident locations.  The potential accident locations had to explain what the problem was and what I should do every day to avoid it.

3)     Thursday I stood in front of the department and explained the accident, what my error(s) were, and how they should be avoided in the future.  The speech itself was nerve-racking enough, but doing the speech partially in Japanese was even more humiliating.

4)   Finally, on Friday I got the wonderful news that the department general manager had decided that I could no longer drive to work.  Of course, the length and details of the penalty…ahem…risk management…was unclear, but it was clear that the general manager had spoken and there was no challenging that.

This all came on the heels of news from the police – through my manager – that the report may not be complete before the date I was due to leave (April 29), and thus, I may not be able to leave the country.  That news would not be finalized until a final meeting between the police, and both parties the following week.

So, by last Friday, this pebble had definitely caused some waves, and the wheels were in motion by everyone to calm the waters.  The water seemed pretty calm to me, but I guess that’s what cultural education is all about, and I was definitely feeling the reverberations.

So, what did I learn?  What was my ‘reflection’?  Stay tuned for the final installment…