Argh.

Well, it was not a total surprise to us that the decision of the transit police went against us, in regard to Russell's traffic accident. Although things seemed to be going our way, nothing is certain until the decision comes down, and it didn't come down our way. We will be paying for the repair of our own vehicle, and for a certain amount of the damage on the other vehicle (less than $1000).

According to the transit police, the law in Honduras states that you cannot ever pass another vehicle when they are making a left turn. This seems to make sense, until you factor in the part where the left-turning vehicle was on the right shoulder, almost stopped, and not signaling.

Was the decision against us influenced by the fact that we are gringos, and presumed (correctly, I might add) to be wealthier than your average Honduran? Almost certainly, would be my guess. Was there some bribery on the part of the other driver? We don't have any way to know this, but it is always a possibility in Honduras.

In general, we just need to be relieved that the accident was relatively minor. It is not uncommon in traffic mishaps involving severe injury or loss of life, for the family of the victim to take revenge against the driver of the vehicle, regardless of where the blame lies in the accident. Sometimes, when the driver is a gringo, the gringo feels the need to flee the country after such an incident, in fear for their life.

So, we're happy that in this case, our only loss is monetary.