More on Driving

I've mentioned several times that I don't drive over here. I usually offer the explanations of 'why' in a boastful and arrogant manner to paint the picture of how smart I am and how much money we save by not driving.

Well... there is another reason I don't drive. Too many drivers honk at each other. I don't like the idea of being honked at while I hesitate to decide who has the right of way in the roundabout when the cars are all on the wrong side of the road. The slightest hesitation and <HONK>! Forget it. I don't need the humiliation and stress. There it is. Full confession.

This brings me to today... I walked out of our office this morning to attend a meeting across town. A few steps down the sidewalk and I heard two horns simultaneously. That's not very unusual. But then I heard a crash and grind as the two cars came together. They were headed the same direction and the car on the left was in a "turn only" lane and decided to go straight instead - but there was another car in that lane and the two cars crunched together and came grinding to a noisy stop in the middle of the intersection.

All of this happened just a few feet from where I was. Heads spun around when the crash happened. People stopped in their tracks. The other cars, buses, and taxis all stopped.

During this frozen-in-time moment of eerie silence in the Central Business District, the cars were wedged side-by-side, door-to-door. I could see their windows were open and the two drivers were sitting a mere 5 feet apart. Do you know what happened next?

They honked at each other one last time. Taking turns. No words, even though they were close enough to have an intimate conversation with each other through their open windows. No eye contact. Each trying to establish the righteousness of their position with the final "honk". As if to present their case to the stunned on-lookers:

one medium long honk - "didn't you hear me honk?!"

one short dismissive honk - "yeah, whatever. bite me!"

As the accident was happening - I doubt that either driver ever, even for one millisecond, considered using their brakes instead of their horns. That's just not how things are done over here.