Where a green light does not necessarily mean “GO”!

One of the main things that
• shock
• stress
• confuse
• frighten
• and horrify
first-time visitors to Egypt is the traffic.

Why?

It is a ceaseless cacophony: crowded, completely random, constantly weaving, inconsiderate and confusing!
This is mainly because visitors tend to apply what they have come to believe are the norms for responsible traffic. It does well, however, to completely disregard the exams you had to sit to get your license, the words of wisdom shrieked at you by whoever taught you to drive and indeed, your own experience and natural instincts!
In Egypt, we drive as Egyptians drive!!

How?

As one of our Egyptian friends explained to us,
‘We all drive trying to maximise the space available on the road!’
So basically, you have far too many cars, squashed together on a far too limited strip of road, all trying to squeeze into any available gap that appears, as quickly and as fast as possible. The aim is to try and get into the free space before any other car, bus, donkey, delivery bike or bicycle does. And, of course, at the same time, trying to second guess what the other vehicles around, behind, in front and almost on top of you are going to do about that minuscule gap in the flow in front of you.

And the lanes?

One of the salesmen at a local car dealership doubled over with laughter as he heard that one foreigner had driven for half an hour along the corniche, staying in her lanes the whole way! This was a source of great merriment as the story gained momentum around the sales-floor. When asked, what are the lanes for then, if not to regulate the flow of traffic, the salesman sincerely replied:
‘Well, of course, that is to help us find the road when there is thick fog!’
And on asking how often this happens, after discussion with his colleagues, replied:
‘Maybe 4 or 5 times a year, and only in the mornings!’

The resultant effect…

It is rather like a full speed Mario-Kart type computer game, with some vehicles even as odd-looking as those in the game! There is constant swerving, sharp breaking, cross-lane weaving, no indicating, all at rather high speed. Horns are constantly in use, along with much angry arm-waving when someone takes your gap in the traffic, and even shouting across cars. One-way streets mean nothing, cutting across 4 layers of cars to turn off the road is completely normal, and even suddenly seeing a car coming towards you on the wrong side of the road is usual! Short-cuts are expected, as every driver is trying to shave off those extra couple of minutes on his journey. But this is really pointless, as traffic regularly grinds to a halt. Traffic jams are a daily occurrence, through most of the day.

What is a safe stopping distance?

There is no such thing! Most drivers try to avoid actual contact with the cars surrounding them. However, this is not always possible, and results in heated conversations between the drivers. Almost every car has wonderful scars somewhere on the body, to testify to frequent run-ins with other vehicles!
And parking is literally by touch! Drivers mostly leave the hand-brakes off so that if necessary the cars can be pushed slightly so that others can try and ease out of the parking spaces. Cars are so tightly packed that they are literally bumper to bumper! When you park your car, you must fold in your wing mirrors, or else passing cars (who pass very close) will break them off.

How do you cross a road?

Forget everything you mother ever taught you, ignore your natural instinct to flee, and never, ever try and cross a street alone! If you wait for a break in traffic, well, you might spend your entire day waiting on the side of the road. Our best advice is to stand close to a local person, and when they cross the road, you walk with them.
Cars generally will not slow down for the faint-hearted. But once you step out, they will tend to think about avoiding you. Never expect traffic to stop, even if a police-man holds up his hand.no-Traffic lights are regularly treated as optional. So keep alert in all directions all the time.

But do not fear, if you stand paralysed on the side of the street for longer than a few minutes, a nearby shopkeeper, police-man, or helpful young Egyptian will take your hand or arm and guide you safely across the road! This is what they do.

You will get the hang of it

The sooner you understand the sights, smells, feel and vibe of the 24/7 traffic, the quicker you will get to enjoy your travel experience. The roads are like a crazy daily dodgem, which might leave you gasping in shock and horror. But that is how the traffic rolls here