Everyday Car Chaos

Disclaimer: This is somewhat of a soapbox. It's also my perspective as a rider, NOT a driver. So these are my own opinions about what I have seen, felt, or would feel if I was the one behind the wheel. 

I have decided that the traffic here in Lebanon deserves its very own post. This may be a cultural difference, but it is definitely not something I'm likely to miss when I leave Saturday. If you've been here you understand what I'm talking about. IT IS RIDICULOUS! It's a chaotic system that I don't understand and the longer I've been here the crazier it has become. I mean, people, when is the madness going to stop?!

One, pedestrians love reality Frogger; I know it was a fun childhood Nintendo game, but it was okay for him to go SPLAT, not you. Stop weaving through cars and "making a run for it". Also, if you hit (and/or kill) a jaywalker, you automatically go to jail. Hefty fine for something you couldn't control (and trust me, they [the pedestrians] really can't be controlled).

Two, honking. It's everywhere and because people think that where they are going is the most important place in the world, horns become the official weapon in fighting for position on the road. You really could wait more than three seconds to honk after stopping at a stoplight; we can't make the light change any faster than you can make the person in front of you step on the gas to get out of your way, and if they are anything like you they aren't going to budge when it comes to your horny protests.

Three, space. I can, on a normal day, stick my arm out the window and touch the car right next to us, or get pretty close to it. Not that I would ever do that. There was a guy who did tap on our window one morning and it kind of freaked me out. He was only asking for directions though.

Just an example. This is morning traffic too.

Four, merging. People just pull right out, nudging their way in, not caring if you stop because they just expect you to. And it's usually the slow kind of turn, like I'm-going-to-take-my-time-because-I-can kind of a turn and then they continue to go slow. At least go the speed of the flowing traffic. People will pull out and when they see you aren't stopping, they stop, but it's only inches away. 
This and the spacing would make it really really difficult to drive here because I get freaked out when people drive too close to me; I can just see an accident waiting to happen. Which is all the time here because people are crazy (not really, but I question sometimes). Case in point: My aunt and I were at a shop looking for dishware and there was a huge CRASH. Outside, almost directly behind where we parked, an accident between two cars occurred because one of them wasn't going fast enough and passing wasn't necessarily an option.

Five, vespa and other motor scooter riders. They weave in and out of traffic and they are all men, usually with another man on the back. I don't know why I find that somewhat weird, but it also happened in Eastern Europe so I guess it's more common than I think. They basically do whatever they want. They squeeze in between cars and then race through traffic lights that are for the opposite direction. They also like to stop right in front of you if you are at the beginning of the light, and they just sit and wait for the light to change.

There is also another kind of motor bike rider.  These men tend to go really fast on the highway, revving their engines and blowing past you. It really is quite irritating. A story to prove my point: there was this one young man on a dirt bike who keep doing wheelies on the highway, with traffic. And he would just be doing them for long stretches of the road, moving around cars. Why? That is my only question. 

Six, disregard for any driving laws. I don't even know if there are any, and if so then they are not enforced and they aren't obeyed either. Police just stand at the corner and let people do whatever they want. They are usually talking to someone, another officer or some other random dude, but they could care less. And people, because there is no enforcement, do whatever they want. Which leads me to my next point.

Seven, turning. This is probably the most frustrating part of driving...well, riding. People make their own turn lane. There are two turn lanes on the main street before turning onto the road that leads to where the house is. TWO lanes, you think that would be enough. Why would it be? People pull out almost in the middle of the road, turn on their blinker, and sit. They take up a "straight" lane which causes people to honk. Then the people who have patiently waited to get through the light see this and they become more defensive. I would compare it to someone in a drag car race waiting for the green light, or white flag.

This only causes more problems than it solves. Usually there are other people on the other side of the road doing the same thing so then when it comes to actually having the green light, the traffic still hasn't fully cleared the intersection from going straight and you are crunched because of the other people turning left and then you are fighting to turn while trying to beat out the people who made their own turn lane. Stressful? Yes, extremely.

There are FOUR turn lanes here. The one on the left and the one we are in are the legitimate turn lanes. the red van and the green car to the right are illegally turning. Who cares though? No one is going to stop them.