*honk*
Islamic Republic of Pakistan:
Crossing the road used to be a bit of an ordeal for me, and still is for a few people I know who don't have to do it on a regular basis. I, however, have now mastered the whole process, at least in Karachi, Pakistan. The trick is to know just when to stop and when to go. If you're good at it, you'll be several yards away by the time a car whizzes by the very spot you were stationary in five seconds ago. If you're really good, you'll feel the slight pressure of the wind from a car that just scraped by your side and you're still alive. *experienced*
It happens almost everyday during my summer breaks that I have to cross over numerous times within few hours for various reasons. The closest intersection is far away and much more complicated so I cross the road from wherever I want to. The way I describe it, “you must cross roads in pieces in Karachi”. There are rarely any lanes unless you get to the road that leads to the airport. When there are no lanes, cars aren’t really following any lines either so all you see is a mass exodus of all sorts of vehicles ranging from trucks, cars, public buses, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, gadhagaris (donkey-carts), and, if you’re as lucky as I am, numbers of thelay with thela drivers exhausting themselves, trying to compete against each other and keep up with the speed of others on the very freakin road where all other vehicles are running. My two cents If you wanna cross a road are as follows: what you do is cross two imaginary lanes, i.e. 25% of the road at one time, stand in the middle and wait to cross the next 20% as soon as you see an opening. Once you’re done with 45%, you work out the rest of it the same way. If you’re really really lucky as I have been sometimes, you would be able to cross the rest of it within one piece, I warn you, that’s very rare though. For those who don't get to do it that often, you are certainly missing out.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Being a nineties-kid, there was never much traffic in the Eastern Province for me to deal with. There would be proper traffic lights - just like it is supposed to be around the world - and less need of crossing roads every now and then. It was rarely a bit of hassle. If you got yourself into trouble often even then, you really needed to learn how to walk basically.
Now, there are more cars and much more traffic but it is quite organized at least in the cities. Highways are ridiculous and are infamous for fatal accidents but who in the right mind would cross highways as an everyday task. To say the least, roads over here are extremely boring with people minding their own businesses and just driving along.
United States of America
I would say the safest but meanest of all. In Pakistan, if you violate any “road crossing” laws, the driver just takes out his frustration on the spot and moves on mumbling under his lips. You think that it was the driver’s fault anyway and you move on. Everything is fine and you forget about it. In Saudi Arabia, it rarely happens that you need to stop at the Xing. In Detroit, Michigan, and quite a few places elsewhere all the way to the western coast I’ve been to, *sometimes* even though you’ll get a “go ahead” eye contact signal from the driver, the look would be so mean that makes you feel guilty that why did you even step on the ground at the first place? As amusing as it is, at least for me, the driver keeps on staring until you cross the road. I have learned not to look back in such situations and keep walking onwards. Overall, it is really safe physically :)
In general:
The one thing that I still haven't been able to master about crossing roads, though, through sheer distrust of the “human” species as a whole, is the easiest trick of all for most people: having a car actually stop and the driver give you that vague "go ahead" signal. Most people would take the driver's word and start crossing before the car has even slowed down, much less come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. I can't bring myself to do that. My initial reaction is much like my reaction at those insistent "Win a FREE iPod" ads that keep popping into my inbox from time to time: "yeah RIGHT!”
So there we are, me still safely at the side and the car, slowing down, but not quite at a standstill yet. The driver hesitates. He/she wants to drive without slowing down or stopping to allow me to cross, but is now honor-bound to prove to me that my distrust is unnecessary and he/she did plan to stop instead of run me over. In the end, the driver will actually come to a complete halt in the middle of a busy road, with several cars honking behind him/her. We have reached the proverbial stalemate. I'm wondering if I dare risk it to cross even now, lest the irate driver may decide to run me over for being such a distrustful dumb head. It is, at this point, that I give in and actually cross the road very quickly and embarrassedly for having caused all the bother for the now half dozen cars in a line behind the benevolent soul that stopped.
Crossing the road used to be a bit of an ordeal for me, and still is for a few people I know who don't have to do it on a regular basis. I, however, have now mastered the whole process, at least in Karachi, Pakistan. The trick is to know just when to stop and when to go. If you're good at it, you'll be several yards away by the time a car whizzes by the very spot you were stationary in five seconds ago. If you're really good, you'll feel the slight pressure of the wind from a car that just scraped by your side and you're still alive. *experienced*
It happens almost everyday during my summer breaks that I have to cross over numerous times within few hours for various reasons. The closest intersection is far away and much more complicated so I cross the road from wherever I want to. The way I describe it, “you must cross roads in pieces in Karachi”. There are rarely any lanes unless you get to the road that leads to the airport. When there are no lanes, cars aren’t really following any lines either so all you see is a mass exodus of all sorts of vehicles ranging from trucks, cars, public buses, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, gadhagaris (donkey-carts), and, if you’re as lucky as I am, numbers of thelay with thela drivers exhausting themselves, trying to compete against each other and keep up with the speed of others on the very freakin road where all other vehicles are running. My two cents If you wanna cross a road are as follows: what you do is cross two imaginary lanes, i.e. 25% of the road at one time, stand in the middle and wait to cross the next 20% as soon as you see an opening. Once you’re done with 45%, you work out the rest of it the same way. If you’re really really lucky as I have been sometimes, you would be able to cross the rest of it within one piece, I warn you, that’s very rare though. For those who don't get to do it that often, you are certainly missing out.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Being a nineties-kid, there was never much traffic in the Eastern Province for me to deal with. There would be proper traffic lights - just like it is supposed to be around the world - and less need of crossing roads every now and then. It was rarely a bit of hassle. If you got yourself into trouble often even then, you really needed to learn how to walk basically.
Now, there are more cars and much more traffic but it is quite organized at least in the cities. Highways are ridiculous and are infamous for fatal accidents but who in the right mind would cross highways as an everyday task. To say the least, roads over here are extremely boring with people minding their own businesses and just driving along.
United States of America
I would say the safest but meanest of all. In Pakistan, if you violate any “road crossing” laws, the driver just takes out his frustration on the spot and moves on mumbling under his lips. You think that it was the driver’s fault anyway and you move on. Everything is fine and you forget about it. In Saudi Arabia, it rarely happens that you need to stop at the Xing. In Detroit, Michigan, and quite a few places elsewhere all the way to the western coast I’ve been to, *sometimes* even though you’ll get a “go ahead” eye contact signal from the driver, the look would be so mean that makes you feel guilty that why did you even step on the ground at the first place? As amusing as it is, at least for me, the driver keeps on staring until you cross the road. I have learned not to look back in such situations and keep walking onwards. Overall, it is really safe physically :)
In general:
The one thing that I still haven't been able to master about crossing roads, though, through sheer distrust of the “human” species as a whole, is the easiest trick of all for most people: having a car actually stop and the driver give you that vague "go ahead" signal. Most people would take the driver's word and start crossing before the car has even slowed down, much less come to a complete stop in the middle of the road. I can't bring myself to do that. My initial reaction is much like my reaction at those insistent "Win a FREE iPod" ads that keep popping into my inbox from time to time: "yeah RIGHT!”
So there we are, me still safely at the side and the car, slowing down, but not quite at a standstill yet. The driver hesitates. He/she wants to drive without slowing down or stopping to allow me to cross, but is now honor-bound to prove to me that my distrust is unnecessary and he/she did plan to stop instead of run me over. In the end, the driver will actually come to a complete halt in the middle of a busy road, with several cars honking behind him/her. We have reached the proverbial stalemate. I'm wondering if I dare risk it to cross even now, lest the irate driver may decide to run me over for being such a distrustful dumb head. It is, at this point, that I give in and actually cross the road very quickly and embarrassedly for having caused all the bother for the now half dozen cars in a line behind the benevolent soul that stopped.
posted by feveri at
9:26 PM
2 Comments:
Yeah man. I remember when I went to Pakistan back in December of 04. I was used to the comfortable and safe road crossing here in Canada and the "Pakistani" way took me by surprise. I could feel the heart beating against my chest everytime I set foot on the road because no one would even freaking care whether you got run over or not. :P
By
Anonymous, at 3/28/2006 12:59 AM
hasan - i think people eventually will notice. It's not that they won't care but it's a thrill of its own to cross roads in Pakistan :p I mean cars usually aren't even going fast enough to knock you down to death...yea fatal injury might be a possibility but yea....experience that can't be experienced anywhere else.
By
feveri, at 3/28/2006 10:33 PM
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