April 2009. Our first visit to the US and we’re driving through the streets of suburban Tuscon, Arizona. Morning time, almost no traffic, lanes so wide you’re not sure if you’re going forward or sideways, and our GPS is making us confused. Naturally, I pull over, so we can have a look at the map.
A lone cyclist is coming from behind us. He goes past the car, then stops, and drives back towards us and knocks on my window. Ok, this is America, where they shoot people on the streets, so naturally I’m timid, but I’m thinking he probably wants to help us seeing as we are looking at a map, so I roll the window down.
“Excuse me, your car is in the bicycle lane.”
Duh. I knew that – not like I can’t see there’s a picture of a bicycle drawn on it.
“Well, do you expect us to be standing in the middle of the road? We’re only stopping for a couple of minutes to check the map and there’s no problem for you to past us.” Yes, I am a bit annoyed. What is he now? a policeman?
Fortunately, IsraeliDad intervenes, apologizes to the cyclist and makes me drive on away from there.
I was reminded of this incident, driving through the streets of my town this afternoon. I’m going through a roundabout and there’s a car standing pretty much in the middle of it. I think she was checking for something in the newspaper. And nobody honks, everyone just maneuvers around her.
We have a different, and much more flexible concept of driving here. Cars move between lanes, drivers pull over in the weirdest of places. I know foreigners find this intimidating at first, and I imagine it could be if you’re used to people driving strictly by the rules. For myself, I prefer the Israeli style and here’s why -
Accuracy of Movement
Over here, you can pull over where you really need to. After all, as long as you don’t actually block others, and leave them some room to maneuver around you, no harm done. So what if that American cyclist had to go around the car? what is the big deal with that?
Problem Solving and Taking the Initiative
When there are traffic problems, people sort them out more efficiently. When you have to, you move to the lane across from you, go off road when necessary and do whatever it takes to move forward. It means less gridlocks on the road, if you react properly and quickly enough. Initiative, folks, is what makes Israel such a great country and why we have such a high percentage of start-ups. We use it on the road too.
The Extreme Sports Factor
The way we drive here makes for a more challenging driving experience. Let’s face it, driving in America was too easy. LA was the only place where it posed a little bit of a challenge and even that was nothing compared to Tel Aviv. In Israel, every time I get my kids to school, it’s like one of those off-road 4WD races: an extreme driving challenge (especially on days like today when you have to guess which water-filled pothole is shallow enough for a family car to go through).
I am guessing since most of the people reading this blog are native speakers of English, i.e. learned to drive in one of those cautious boring driving cultures, they may disagree. Well, go on, share your insights and tell me why you think driving in Israel is or isn’t fun.
on Jan 20th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I remember thinking my life was in danger, sitting in a taxi and plowing at 40 MPH through the side streets of South Korea, dodging oxen, kids, grandads and shoppers. After that, anything is tame.
Steve´s last blog ..Random Pictures Of Blooms and Projects
on Jan 20th, 2010 at 12:59 pm
Most people that bother to stop in the U.S. actually try to help especially the police and truckers.
Bicyclists seem to be a rather impolite group of people in the U.S. They appear to be very self-centered and don’t like anything that gets in their way. The worst ones are those who have all the “gear” and take every “r” in rpm a little too seriously.
IsraeliMom Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Interesting. I think over here cyclists are just grateful not to be run over
He wasn’t extremely rude, but it was weird.
on Jan 20th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
We have a different, and much more flexible concept of driving here.
Try driving in Naples, Italy someday! They are even more flexible, especially with regards to stoplights (and parking, sidewalks, etc).
on Jan 20th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Ha! Funny story!
I’ve driven in a few countries around the world, and I agree that the US is unique. It’s so odd that, despite all of our rules, and wide lanes, and huge highways, we have one of the highest rates of fatal car accidents in the world.
I think it is BECAUSE it seems so easy to drive in the US. We expect everybody to follow the rules, and the streets seem safe, so we don’t pay attention. Just like you said above, we don’t have to treat it like a sport, we can just turn our brain off and let the car head down the road. People in the US feel so safe driving that we regularly text on our phones, eat whole meals, dress and put make-up on in our cars. And then, something happens that we don’t expect, we aren’t paying attention, and BLAM somebody dies.
It’s a weird irony, but the less safe you feel while driving, the more likely you are to actually pay attention, and the less likely you are to get in an accident!
IsraeliMom Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Good point. I once read that people who opt for what they feel is a safer car (like a big Volvo) tend to drive less carefully. It’s like they’re “compensating” in a way.