More Traffic

In the previous blog I talked about the traffic. Well, I got stuck in some morning traffic and had the opportunity to snap some photos. I am going to try to explain what is happening.

Look at this photo.

I am in the correct lane of traffic, naturally. There is supposed to be another lane of oncoming traffic. On the left you will note a white Toyota pick-up truck who decided he did not want to wait for traffic. He has decided to go "off road" and use the "sidewalk." If you look to the right of the pick-up truck (in the middle of the photo), you will notice a blue sedan. That lovely vehicle has also decided to not wait for traffic and it is attempting to merge into my lane of traffic. So a two lane has now become a three lane. But wait! There's more!

Ta-da! The other lane of traffic is no longer blocked and is attempting to flow. But it is now officially blocked by the white Toyota pick-up truck and now a Jeep. Neither vehicle was willing to lose their precious ground so they parked. Now our sneaky little blue sedan has merged into our lane leaving an "opening" between the Toyota truck who is on the "sidewalk" and our lane of traffic. A motorcycle proved that a vehicle could drive through and is making headway. So the oncoming flow of traffic is now attempting to also squeeze in between that little "opening."

Meanwhile, there is a road on the right. There is no stop sign, it is simply an "Every Man For Himself" rule when it comes to side roads. In your view, there is a large white bus who decided to not hesitate and force himself into my lane of traffic. There was no merging involved. It is pretty much like a game of chicken. He who hesitates is he who loses the game. The bus won. 

Now you have had a small taste of traffic in Kinshasa. 

Traffic, Traffic, Traffic

In a city of an estimated 8 million people, there are going to be lots of cars. And by a lot of cars, I mean more than you can imagine. In an early post, we talked about the "10 Commandments of Driving," but what I failed to mention was the wait time required when driving. The nearest grocery store is about 5 kilometers away (give or take a few blocks). If the streets were empty, I could get there in less than 15 minutes. If there is traffic, the commute can be hours. Yes, hours with an "s."

There are many causes for traffic. There could be a new "pothole" that makes everyone slow down to drive across safely, there could be a car that has broken down and they left it where it was to repair, there could be 3 lanes of people trying to cut one another off instead of one lane of traffic, or it could just be that there are too many cars on the road going in the same direction.

That being said, I got stuck in traffic the other day and decided to take two photos. If you look closely at my side mirror, you will see that I was in the middle of the traffic.

Pausing from making cement bricks to watch
everyone argue about how best to solve the car puzzle

The cause for the traffic jam was a taxi driver. The driver decided to go around another slow driver, except he did not beat the driver facing him. They both slammed on their brakes but the taxi driver swerved and was blocking both lanes of traffic. No vehicles touched and no one was hurt. There was lots of yelling as people tried to figure out how to unblock the other cars, who at this point, were following so closely that the taxi was blocked in. (*I did not take a photo of the incident because I did not think a crowd of people wanted me in their way, snapping photos while they were arguing).

As I grew bored of waiting for the giant puzzle to be solved, I turned to my right and noticed two adorable children playing with a broken box.

Doesn't this melt your heart?

The one in blue pretended to repair the box with a rock and the one in white kept climbing up and down the box. It is amazing how much fun children can have even when they appear to have nothing.

A Rainy Day

When it rains here, life appears to stop. Everyone and everything moves in slow motion. The vendors who sell on the side of the road wait for the rain to cease before setting up, leaving the streets eerily vacant. The peddlers who walk among the cars are holding their items while standing in doorways and under vendor umbrellas staring. People who are walking places go much slower trying to avoid puddles and the occasional fall. The same can be said for driving.

The cars on the road after and during a rain move at a snail's pace. The drivers of the cars are trying to pay close attention to the puddles in the road, which could be masking a much deeper hole that could cause some damage to a vehicle. The drivers also make an effort to not go quickly through smaller puddles which could splash water everywhere and on everyone. Let's face it, if you splash someone with your car it is rude in any country!

So this morning I left extra early in anticipation of the slower traffic but I took advantage of it and took a few photos while driving. (*Please note in one of the photos that my speedometer is not even registering speed because we were either stopped or were going too slow. I would not attempt to take a photo while the vehicle is in motion placing others in danger.)

A taxi will just stop in the road to pick up
 people requiring others to drive around

This road is only one lane of traffic on each side.
The taxi (right) attempted to go around the slow poke in front.

The black truck is carefully driving over a large
puddle which IS masking a large crater