Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Dhaka traffic


Here is a glimpse of traffic on my ride home. Traffic in Dhaka can get pretty ugly. When we lived here in the 80's there were often more cows than cars on the road in the suburbs. Not any more. But there is still diversity on the road. Cars, buses, bicycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws (called CNGs because they now run on compressed natural gas), motorcycles, bicycles, transport trucks, and the occasional tractor. Today it took about 40 minutes to go 10 miles.


There are a few rules to remember when driving in Dhaka:


1. Might is right.

2. Keep both eyes on the road and one hand on the horn at all times.

3. Green means go, yellow means nothing, and red means stop unless you're in a hurry.

4. Keep a safe distance from other moving vehicles to avoid collision. Six inches is enough.

5. There's no such thing as a 'lane'.

6. Therefore, there is no such thing as a 'turn lane'. You may turn in any direction from anywhere at any time.


If you can drive here, you can drive anywhere!

2 comments:

Lacey said...

sadly, most of those apply here now too! The rat race is so DEPRESSING!

jlindsey said...

You forgot to mention the smog...always have that scarfie thingie from your shalwar kameez to cover your face. I miss you!