CLOSE ENCOUNTER OF THE WORST KIND

At an intersection, in a traffic jam, turning a corner, trying to fend off cars butting into line -- a common practice here -- behind a very large truck which drifted back when traffic began to move, catching the hood with  a protruding step that opened it like a sardine can. I join the group I have tried hard to avoid. Everyone her seems to have had these close encounters.

Side view. No one stops or thinks anything of it. Drivers just go on, knowing that it is par for the course. A car without battle scars is a car never driven in Kinshasa. Lesson learned. Let people butt in, and don't drive so close to big trucks. I dread having a new truck when the Toyota arrives next month. It is traumatic to be the first one to scratch a new vehicle. This one already has a huge rumple behind the passenger side rear wheel well, from past drivers.