Thursday, October 16, 2008

Driving in Jordan

Yesterday my brother was in his way to pick me up after work... He was driving on a main road... as he spotted a taxi coming from a perpendicular minor road to his left... My brother who had the priority to keep moving... started alarming the taxi with horns...
Regardless of the horns and the big [STOP] sign... the Taxi driver decided to cut off the road... my brother couldn't do much at the point...
He said... [suddenly it all went black] and just like that... an accident occurred...
Thanks to God's Grace my brother was wearing the safety belt as he should and nothing happened to him... if the accident took place one second after... the taxi would have squashed my brother... Instead it was the car's front...

Road accidents are a daily routine in Amman's traffic scene... I don't remember the statics but I know they are horrifying enough...

I always think about traffic and how to solve the problem... and here are a list of things I suggest people in charge should take into consideration...
:: All Taxi drivers should give up their driving licenses and enroll in a [driving rehab] center... where they are subjected to proper training on how to drive... anyone who fails... should change his career...
:: Same should happen to bus drivers... though the whole public transportation buses should be re-thought and re-done... we need more than bigger brighter looking buses... we need good drivers... we need established and well distributed bus routes... and we need regular schedule... this is an ABC thing in any modernized urban city...
:: We need to make the laws of driving actually efficient by not making anyone above or beyond the laws...

This last one is a bit different... but since I always think of it... I thought to mention it here... [[though a bit out of the context... ]]
:: There should be a law that regulates the purchase of 4x4 cars... if you look around you'll find so many people driving these big cars... and the drivers are young guys and girls.... who probably bought it to show off...
The problem with these big cars is that they consume more fuel and there are a long list of the harms of consuming more fuel on top is Earth's health... also these cars take up larger space on the roads causing more traffic jams...
4x4s are cool cars... but I think they were invented more for suburban family life style... and not an urbanized cramped city...

My brother Alhamdullilah was saved... but I know many others were/will not....

There are many other things that SHOULD be done to solve the problem of road accidents... we have many campaigns... but awareness is not doing much...

It is time for ACTION... hopefully before it is too late for someone...

1 comment:

BuJ said...

oh dear.. salamet a5oook/i :)

btw, i had the very same incident on dubai's streets but on a traffic light junction AND with a TRUCK.. hmm it was scary i tell you.. i had a green light and the truck had red, but he kept going at over 80kmh and i braked at the last moments or i know i would be killed. i really hope the police caught the fuc*er but i doubt it.