My reader has said it all. This comment on my previous Ramadan Driving post was too good not to share.
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" Hey, as an expat here in Salalah I have to say that this place has the worst drivers of any I've ever seen, including Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Italy, West Africa and China. Well done! .
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WHY can't people here judge distances and speeds of oncoming cars when they pull out?
WHY can't people use their indicators. Do they think that other drivers are psychic and can guess their intentions.
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WHY the hell would you over take on the left a vehicle which is turning to the left?
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WHAT IN THE WORLD makes the people here so addicted to using their mobile ohones while driving? Sure, people all over the world do this, but Dhofaris seem to wait until they get into a car to start phoning people. As a cautionary measure, they'll slow down. on a highway. In a 120km zone. That's safe.
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AND WHAT THE HELL IS IT WITH KIDS. People, your children are precious. They are not protected from car accidents by some magic voodoo. And they distract you. Put them in the back with seatbelts on, not on your lap while driving. And not, as I saw the other day, in the back of your sideless pick-up truck going round the clock roundabout at 60 k an hour. The two children in question here were both younger than 6, I'd say. Maybe their parents didn't want them any more?
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AS FOR THE COMMENTS ABOVE from an outsider's perspective, almost all the problems in this region stem from your menfolk. Women rock! This particularly applies to driving. Every single case of unbelievable stupidity behind the wheel has been a man in my experience. the few women drivers I encounter are cautious, sure, but not unsafe or idiotic or selfish or distracted.
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And I'm sure they didn't aquire their licenses out of a cornflakes packet, which is where I think the majority of Dhofari mens licences come from. Especially those belonging to 12 year old boys and ancient bearded mountain men in pick-up trucks who seem to exist in a parrallel trafic universe.....My rant for the day!! Thanks for the opportunity!"
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Dear Reader, thanks for your rant. You made my day. I was getting around to writing about driving in Salalah, but you've done it for me. However, you forgot to mention the people who flash their lights at you and speed like maniacs, yet you both end up at the roundabout or traffic lights at the SAME TIME. You also forgot to mention the people who pass you on a one-lane road that is no longer than 100 metres, just to get to the intersection before you do. Also, my last rant is about men who proceed to put on their turbans WHILE DRIVING during morning rush hour. They're controlling the steering wheel with their knees on a highway and first they get out their lime-green plastic combs and comb their hair, then they put on their turbans. Sometimes I wish I had ready-made signs in my car that I can wave at other drivers when needed. Examples:.
Sign (1) : would be"LOSER".
.Sign (2) would be "Flash all you like. I'm not moving".
.Sign (3) would be 'Life is precious you jerk".
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Sign (4): would be 'Just because you have a 35,000 Rial Lexus doesn't mean I'm going to let you pass'.
.Sign (5): would be "I.N.D.I.C.A.T.E'
.More suggestions?
Hi Nadia
ReplyDeleteThis is S.E.G.R.E.G.A.T.I.O.N against men
M.D
Dear M.D,
ReplyDeleteWomen don't pass, flash their lights, turn without indicating, or apply turbans while driving. Nor do we talk on the phone of drive with one hand on the steering while and the other out the window with a cigarette. Face it. Reality Hurts.
I can explain all what you said against men in one word! They are more CONFIDENT in driving than women, thats why women try to follow the rules.
ReplyDeleteThe most dangerous accidents are caused by women because when they confuse they lose control of their cars. Am sorry to say that..FACTS.
M.D
Thats not true Mr. M.D, most fatal accidents are caused by men and this explains the high number of young men (18-25) who die in car accidents.
ReplyDeleteUm3azzan, I think men don't realize how cautious women are in life. When a woman has a child or a family, do you think she'll be careless and 'confident' on the road? of course not. Women feel responsible for their families and for others. This is why most deaths by car accident are young men. They don't feel responsible for their own lives, let alone the lives of others. Only mothers/women/fathers may feel that. Just because a woman sometimes can't back into a parking space doesn't make her a bad driver.
ReplyDeleteYou have to come to Muscat and see how the driving is similar. =)
ReplyDeleteThey don't care about safety or anything but themselves. They don't know how to drive and usually end up doing lots of mistakes and get angry over it by BLAMING the others!
I was once driving in a roundabout and was on the left side, guess what happened?
Someone was on the right and was supposed to get out from the 2nd exit (since it was a 4 exit roundabout) but no, she made a FULL TURN and I was so close to bump her and was FORCED to quickly do a full turn as well...
These days, be it a girl or boy, most of the drivers don't know how to drive at all.
I wish the police would actually catch them and force them to have another driving test to see if they are trully worthy of having a driver's license or not.
i LOVE the sign idea!! Seriously!! I think my fave would be "Go back to ketcha school!!!" or "its 120 here, 80 is two lanes over!" and my absolute must have sign would be "HELLO, CAR SEAT!!!"
ReplyDeleteAre you all talking about the Brazilian drivers? Because it really sounds like. Different continent, same rules apply.
ReplyDeleteDear Um3azzan,
ReplyDeleteSince the majority of drivers are men, it is normal to have more accidents by them, but this does not mean that they are careless!
Women always gentle on the road but their accidents are horrible!
M.D
Men think that they came out of their mother's womb driving a car so they are confident that they can do anything while on the road/street, LOL!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, women driver are more cautious than men. I also read somewhere that men are more prone to road rage,are very aggresive. Though women have their faults too but atleast we do admit it unlike the men who think its their God given right to drive and to *bully* women drivers. sf
Forgot to add a sign, how about M.O.R.O.N!! sf
ReplyDeleteHear hear for M.O.R.O.N!! Sorry, M.D, in this discussion, women rule. You're out.
ReplyDeleteMen and Women. Both don't know how to drive.
ReplyDeleteMen complain that girls don't know how to drive while talking on the phone. What about guys?
Some of them don't even pay attention to the road when they are talking on the phone!
Think of both sides people.
Loving the Loser sign idea.
ReplyDeleteAnd trust me, things aren't any better here in Muscat.
But I've seen much worse, like in Egypt. That was HORRIFIC. I think I've been scarred for life by being in a taxi in Egypt.
Many years ago, I had a housemate who had a long stick that she kept in her car.
ReplyDeleteOn the end of the stick was a hand.
When she encountered a driver in need of education, she would poke the stick out of the window with hand in the air.
Then when she had the attention of the other driver, she would pull a little lever on her end of the stick.
All of the fingers on the hand would curl down into the palm. All of the fingers but one, that is.
i wont say anything abt men or else i will be labelled!
ReplyDeleteNadia, I've had the same idea as you for a long time. Well almost. I had this idea of every car having a screen and being able to beam people preset messages which you (probably) write while safely parked.
ReplyDeleteHere are my picks:
Move over FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
You have your high beams on you idiot.. I cant see a damn thing
And similarly....
Stop flashing your highbeams at me! I dont have mine on! These are HIDs!!
Leave me alone! I've got a girlfriend and hopefully lots of kids!
Tyre pressure... Ever heard of it?
The highway is not your private race track
Apart from those things why do people see sports cars and get agressive? I hate kids revving at me in civics, corollas and not what not...
Women stop accusing men of reckless driving; It has been proved scientifically that women have poorer judgment of distances while driving.
ReplyDeleteNadia and the other sisters are giving an angelic picture of women drivers, Guess what your not. In fact angelic ought to be replaced with naive.
The following joke explains it all
"Magistrate: 'But if you saw the lady driving towards you, why didn't you give her half the road?'
Motorist: 'I was going to, Your Honour, as soon as I could find out which half she wanted.'"
BTW, fast lanes are called fast for the obvious purpose of driving fast Dah! So when ppl flash their lights at you from behind then you’re obstructing traffic. Therefore move away "lorries and women drive to the right".
With all due respect to the reader who commented on driving in Salalah, I’m quite sure you haven't been to the places you compared Salalah to. Come on at least remove Egypt and India from your list (driving in these two countries is considered suicide).
Be realistic and stop being racial to men.
looool sorry india was no in the list my bad (replaced with Greece or Turkey)
ReplyDeleteFdayooh no 1 kmayooh,
ReplyDeleteSo are you Falcons of California or not?
And about the driving, .. allow me to say
W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R!!
ياخي عطينا احساس شوي ومشينا
No I'm the falcon of Iteen, 9aqer Albrari wa mra3ab el3rari fdayooh no1 kmayooh elmu3a'6am 7afi'6aho allaho wa ra3ah.
ReplyDeletelooooooool ok,,, you win, women are excellent drivers...nooooooot.
Nadia I will look for your pinki grilled shades on the road and I will flash my lights at you,,,, watch out
Your Majesty, Fdayooh, ya5i seriously I met a Dhofari studying engineering in the UK back in 2004 who called himself 'Fdayooh no 1 kmayoo'. It was such a weird name that I rmemeber it. And here is another similar person again.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear my pink grilled shades on the road. How would I see? I'm a good driver by the way. (good as in .. I speed?)
Sorry to disappoint you, I'm not him. Though we've lots in common.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of good driving, the other day I was really shocked when I saw a she-daredevil, overtaking another car using the road shoulder on the highway. She just stepped up the speed and went flaying through a tiny gap between the other car and the kerbstone (ra9eef). that wouldn’t be you Nadia, would it?!!