Just How Crazy Are the Drivers?
Everywhere we've visited traffic caught our attention. We have seen driving that looked remarkably like here in Florida, and then other driving habits that can only be described a insane. Just for the fun of it, Jackie and I decided to kind's rank driving habits in places we've visited from 1= very normal and comfortable, to 10 = no rules, no courtesy, horns a blazing, crazy as loons, everyone out for themselves.
Now, we know that no one city or just any portion of a country is necessarily representative of the entire driving community, but this is not intended to be a scientific survey. We've discussed our findings with other travelers, and while there may be disagreements on the degree of craziness, there was consensus on the general finding.
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Craziness Range 1 thru 10
Comments
Alaska 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
On the ALCAN we were advised to drive as fast or as
slow as we wished - everyone did. In Fairbanks watch
your turns.
Atlanta 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Pre and Post Olympic Atlanta were two different worlds -
better know how to dodge and/or have time to sit
for hours now. 75 mph in a 50 mph zone - does
anyone care?
Antarctica 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Boats sank and hit icebergs, but no automobile traffic
to report
Australia 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Very courteous, seldom heard a horn. Never saw a near accident.
Would stop is you were within 15 feet of a crossing zone.
Baltimore 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Drove there for 25 years, so it seems normal to me
China 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Never in this world seen anything like traffic in China.
While Beijing was the worst, all the larger cities shared the
insanity. Cars, bikes, motorcycles, buses and pedestrians
all akimbo. At least it is against the law to run down
a cyclist.
District of Columbia 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Circles and one-way streets, horns blaring, pedestrians
and bikers seem to have no rules or common sense
Egypt 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Land of the motorcycle and every type of car
imaginable. Sat and looked down on the longest bridge
in Africa - at midnight - 75% of drivers did not use
head lights. Enough said?
Fiji 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Drive in "Fiji time" that is - slowly. No problem passing for
either party. Polite and careful - except for one bad habit -
driving slowly/sedately until on the drive way or nearing an
entrance - then speed up ad scare folks waiting.
Galapagos 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
On boats or islands most of the time. Traffic in the
couple small towns was inconsequential
Greece 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Traffic here appeared to be fairly sane. Never seemed
to get close to running down anyone and everyone
seemed to be pretty polite and careful.
Ireland 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
I don't care what they say - they're on the wrong side of
the road! Pretty courteous, love the roundabouts, why
such a high toll of traffic fatalities? Don't even think
about finding a place to park
Jordan 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Very calm drivers in the cities, in the desert the roads
are wide open.
Kenya 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Simply a free-for-all! The roads are so bad they
defy description. They use the old "he who blinks their
bright lights first has right-of-way" method, even when
passing. Imagine a highway with modern cars, going
80+ Kph mixed with over-loaded trucks barely making
5 kph, mixed with hand carts, donkey carts, bicycles,
motor bikes and pedestrians. Its a wonder even more
aren't killed and maimed.
London 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Again; wrong side of the road. Crowded streets and
no parking space. When walking, and London is a
superb place to walk, BE CERTAIN to look to the right
at intersections. Drivers don't appear to even
see pedestrians
Peru 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Outside of Lima, drivers seem to be pretty calm
and collected. However, for a thrill, catch a taxi after
dark in Cusco. Do watch out for taxis at places
tourists gather, like town squares, where the taxis gather
like locus, yell and invite you to ride with them, and then
whiz around corners and streets. Taxi drivers were,
all-in-all, very pleasant, hilarious and actually very careful.
Mazatlan 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
OK, I'd drive there, but I'd want eyes in the back of
my head. Lack of turn signals, quick turns and braking
will keep you on your toes.
Morocco 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Lots of traffic, but it appeared to be organized. Land of
the motorbike - they're everywhere. While there was some
"between the lanes" driving, particularly at intersections,
everyone seems to actually use the same set of driving rules
and didn't act very crazy. Do wonder at the intersections
and how they force turns to be made - very strange.
New Zealand - South Island
1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
More a country driving experience, still courteous, well
mannered, stop immediately for pedestrian crossings,
no horn blowing, but a bit fast at times.
New Zealand - North Island
1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
More like "big city" driving as found in the US or other comparable
cities. Rushing from stops at lights, rush to beat lights, horns
blowing, and lane changing to get ahead.
Rome 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Every vehicle seems to have their own ideas of rules of
the road. Yes, there was some yelling and horn blowing,
and going from lane-to-lane was a matter of who was
more macho. I'm uncertain there were traffic lights, per se,
but occasionally some drivers would stop for a moment or
two at intersections - maybe they were tired.
Russia 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Can make Chinese drivers look sane! Imagine coming
to a stop at a three lane intersection. Then watch as
three motorcycles, and maybe a car or two, make
the intersection six or more lanes! Road full ahead?
Then drive on the sidewalk, or the median, or across
a park or front yard - who cares? We had to use
the 8 - 10 lane Moscow to Saint Petersburg highway
to run 1/4 mile south so we could use an underpass
to go north to our boat. It took 45 minutes to get
opposite the place from which we started.
Scotland 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
OK, they drive on the wrong side of the road. That said, they
are the finest drivers I've encountered outside the US. There's
always one or two idiots, but in Scotland, they were rare. They
were polite, ALWAYS used their turn signals, were courteous
and obeyed the rules. Although I was stopped by the police for
making a right turn where none was allowed, I saw only one or two
other traffic stops. I look forward to again driving in Scotland!
Tanzania 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Ditto Kenya - with one very important exception -
Tanzania has good roads.
Turkey 1-----2-----3-----4-----5-----6-----7-----8-----9-----10
Drivers always in a hurry, horns blasting. Absolutely no
regard for pedestrians. Don't be caught trying to cross
in the middle of a block or if the signals turns when
you're 1/2 across the street!