Malfunction Junction

I think the #1 risk we encounter is road safety. This can be said in many places, but I do think that the driving here can be more dangerous than any other place I’ve encountered. I tend to feel this way when we’re joining a young (testosterone-filled, macho) male in his taxi. These guys bob and weave through traffic like they’re in Hollywood car chases. Unfortunately, the other cars haven't rehearsed the choreography.

The reason I think driving is more dangerous here than elsewhere is that there is enough infrastructure to supports high speeds. Whereas in other parts of Africa potholes, dirt roads, and dilapidated vehicles limit the speed cars can reach, here the main highway is in fairly good shape and newly imported cars can travel at excessive speeds. This is a problem because there is not a long history of driving culture to establish certain life-preserving ‘rules’ of driving, or to facilitate much beyond white-knuckle driving experiences. As you can imagine, driving cars is quite different than driving the camels and horses they are replacing.

That isn't to say that there aren't any road rules. For example, the rule at roundabouts is that you yeild to those entering the roundabout. If you try this, you'll see how difficult it is because it requires the drivers to turn around in their seats and look backwards; further, it encourages those approaching the roundabout to enter it at full speed as though it were just a part of their own road. However, roundabouts are often ignored altogether, with drivers driving "straight" and thus heading into oncoming traffic. At our big intersection there is one lane that was designed to be either and on, or an off ramp to the roundabout. It, however, functions as both, which makes for many near-misses.

These are popular names for a few local traffic points that sum up the situation: "malfunction junction," "death roundabout" and "suicide slipway."