DRIVING HABITS OF SIMFEROPOL

DRIVING HABITS OF SIMFEROPOL

I have waited until we only have one day left here before mentioning this country’s driving habits. Mama would have worried too much. Let me just start by saying there is no way to completely explain. It is something you would have to experience to completely understand but I wanted to try. All drivers give new meaning to tailgating, nose clipping, weaving in and out of traffic, and lane switching just to gain one car length. Speaking of cars, I was misleading on the types of cars here. At first I just noticed most of the rundown old cars maybe due to area we were in. But after further inspection, there are quiet a few Mercedes Benz, BMW’s, Lexus, and Cadillac’s just to mention a few. There are a lot of mid size Buses (Mercedes Benz) and Vans that are used like a taxi service.

These drivers are skilled drivers to be able to drive the way they do and not have any major accidents that we have seen and only 5 minor ones. I don’t know if I can explain this and it be understood but the drivers around here drive wherever they want to. If you are suppose to have two-lane traffic (one car going in each direction) you will most likely have three with cars parked on the side of road. You can literally reach out and touch the car next to you. And when I say they drive wherever they want that includes driving and parking on the sidewalk. I asked Sasha about this and he said there wasn’t enough parking on the streets so they use the sidewalks too.

Watch out peds. You had better be fast crossing the road. Most drivers don’t slow down. It looked like one our taxi drivers came within an inch of hitting a guy walking down the road. We weren’t going fast but I’m sure it still would have hurt the guy.

Then there are the daring little Moped drivers that aren’t required to wear helmets (and they don’t). No one seems to wear seatbelts either and they don’t have carseats.

We have even seen two guys in wheelchairs wheeling down the road with the traffic. One of them was asking for money.

Sharon (who was here in January) mentioned in the blog comments that a red and yellow traffic light means “Go” to some drivers that can’t seem to wait for green. I had to laugh when I read it. It is so true no matter what region of Ukraine you are in.

Most speed limits are the same as ours, except the freeway in Kiev. It is 100 mph (not km). There are very few traffic lights and stop signs. Mostly yield signs, which I’m not sure they pay much attention to. Then there are the around-abouts, which are a couple of circle type intersection, which everyone just merges into wherever they find space. It truly amazes me there isn’t a pile-up everyday.

Believe it or not, most of the time I wasn’t scared riding around town. Mama, don’t worry only one or two more car ride and we are on our way HOME.