Earlier this week, maybe after another close call, I asked our taxi driver, Benjamin, how many accidents he has been involved in since he began working here, in 2008.

“Eight, sir. And none were my fault.”

Make that nine.

Granted, Benjamin spends nearly all his waking hours behind the wheel of his silver Camry, and has since he arrived here from the Philippines in 2008.

But eight accidents?

Uh, make that nine.

The latest? Just two days ago.

He was waiting for me outside the house, and as soon as I got in he began giggling weirdly … and, in retrospect, perhaps the way any of us might be if we been involved in another serious, adrenaline-leaking wreck.

I didn’t realize till a day later that his Camry (well, his company’s Camry) had been smashed up just a few hours before he came to get me.

He was giggling as he said, “Nine times I have been wrecked now! Nine times!”

The last time, a woman just pulled out into traffic, from a side street, and plowed into the right-rear of his vehicle. A female passenger who was sitting in the right rear got out, as I recall him telling the story, and began shouting at the woman who caused the accident.

This time, he was coming up to a red light.

At most major intersections in this town, when a light is about to go red … the green light begins to flash. That generally means it will go red in about three seconds.

Benjamin applied the brakes. Running a light is a major issue here, and especially if you are a cabbie. Moving violations. Very bad idea. Expensive, too. The intelligent driver errs on the side of caution.

So, he eased onto the brake and stopped before the intersection.

The woman behind him, he said, also stopped.

But the man behind her was still going at a significant rate of speed in an SUV …

And plowed into the rear of the woman’s car, which was pushed into the rear of Benjamin’s car.

The impact not only nearly tore off the rear bumper on Benjamin’s Camry, it threw his passenger nearly into the front seat of his car … and gave him neck pain that sounded a lot like whiplash.

The woman who was in the middle car was taken to the hospital. The passenger in Benjamin’s car probably was headed there, too. She also complained of neck pain.

And only a week before, Benjamin was lauding the advantages of having your own car in Abu Dhabi. And I told him, “It would freak me out, driving with these lunatics.”

Driving here is a contact sport. The country has one of the highest road-death rates in the world. Everyone is in a huge hurry, the road often are jammed and more than a few people have little or no experience behind the wheel. It is a recipe for … nine accidents in two years.

A week after that chat, Benjamin was taking Panadol to deal with his stiff neck, hoping his rear bumper didn’t fall off before his shift ended and wondering when his car would be prepared.

Nine accidents in two years. None of them his fault. But every one … an indication of the madness on the streets of this town.