Planes, Trains and Automobiles Pt. 3 (finally)

Ok, lets talk cars. There are only 4 words you need to know when driving (or riding) in a car here: There are no rules. Like the bus drivers, people using cars are only concerned about themselves. They drive where the want, they park where they want and they go when the want. Pay attention to the conclusion of this series, this is how not to drive.

All my comments come from being a passenger in a taxi or some one's personal vehicle, but Im pretty sure I wouldnt want to drive here. Lets start with moving forward, which means everyone else move out of the way. Cars drive everywhere here, on the sidewalk, over the curb and even through red lights. Best of all, no one cares because everyone does it. The rule of thumb is that if no one else is coming, you can go. This means blatant disregard for green, yellow and red lights, which I dont mind if Im in a hurry. It also results in a lot of honking. To increase their chances of success, they also stop pretty much in the intersection, so they either have to go to avoid being hit by turning traffic or are able to proceed at the first available moment. Ive seen a few close calls, mostly involving motorcycles and cars, but no wrecks (amazingly).

Again, like the buses, cars refuse to yield to emergency vehicles and cut them off often which is surprisingly tolerated. For some reason, all cops/fire fighters/ EMS people leave their lights on 24/7, I guess to be seen, but it can only add to the confusion when trying to determine whether there is an actual emergency. If, for some reason, a car does decide to yield, it typically pulls onto the side, but never actually comes to a stop. Instead, it proceeds to drive on the shoulder or sidewalk, honking at pedestrians to move the entire time. Ive personally witnessed a car tailgate a bicycler, on the sidewalk, because the biker refused to move for the car.

Finally, whenever the car reaches its destination, they park in the closest available spot. Often, this is not a parking spot and can be anything from the side of the road to a roadside patio. This only leads to more confusion when they leave since they have to navigate through the people so they can reenter the highway at some point.


Oh, one more thing: U-turns are more popular than rice here, its not uncommon to have a taxi pull a U-turn by crossing over two lanes into oncoming traffic just because he realized he was going the wrong way. Mind you, these are the good drivers, the bad ones try to get more money out of doing things the legal way and driving a bit further.

Good luck if you ever come here and hope to drive.