Friday Find of the Week

Traffic here in Dar es Salaam is quite an experience. This city of four million has no freeways and few four lane roads though due to poverty has far fewer cars than an equally sized western city. However, traffic is constantly heavy, even on a Sunday afternoon. I spend three to four hours per day in a vehicle. There are few stoplights or stop signs. People use common sense to determine who has the right of way. There is a language of honking, signals, and arm waves to communicate, request and deny intentions. There is an incredible mix of cars, busses, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians all sharing the same roadway. In this picture below an accident ahead has nearly stopped traffic. I am not parked on the shoulder; instead, the shoulder has become a new lane (the correct lane is on the left, British-style).

One driver told me that to avoid an accident it is not enough to watch what others are doing; you must be in their mind and imagine what they may do next. This flexible pattern has led to a traffic innovation – the three lane road. The middle lane is for left turns or whichever direction has the heaviest traffic load at that moment or whoever has the least fear. Close calls by American standards are continuous. But it does allow for much more traffic in the same space.