In between all the visits with family, I’ve also managed to get some shopping done. I had already received my assignment from Saeeda, and in return for being allowed to take this week off by myself to visit Pakistan, I was to bring back some things that are hard to find Stateside. As part of the treasure hunt that I’ve been on, I’ve had to survive the daily Dance with Death that is Karachi traffic.
I’ve realized that I no longer have the stomach for the game of chicken that takes place on the roads. Basically, the larger or faster the moving body, the more legitimate its claim to the “right of way.” Throw in a transportation infrastructure that is not built to handle the daily volume of traffic, and ignite it with ridiculously poor planning (intersecting thoroughfares with no exits) and you have the explosive mess that is Karachi traffic.
The irony is that this is the city where I first learned to drive, but I now cringe in the passenger seat when the driver takes actions considered basic Driving Commandments of Karachi: “Thou shalt never give way”; “Thou shalt take the color of the traffic light as a suggestion only”; “If the shortest distance between your current location and your destination requires driving into oncoming traffic, thou shalt do so” and so on.
What I found myself amazed by on this trip was the ability of the people to defy the laws of Physics and squeeze multiple cars into a lane already choked off by double-parked cars and motorcycles (normal in high traffic shopping areas). I’d be sitting in the passenger seat, watching an oncoming SUV bear down on us on a strip of roadway that in no way could accommodate our two cars, and yet somehow my dad and the SUV would create space without hitting each other or the aforementioned double-parked vehicles. This phenomenon has definitely given me greater appreciation for the amount of elbow room we enjoy in the US, and of the fact that laws of Physics are just a relative thing.
I’ve realized that I no longer have the stomach for the game of chicken that takes place on the roads. Basically, the larger or faster the moving body, the more legitimate its claim to the “right of way.” Throw in a transportation infrastructure that is not built to handle the daily volume of traffic, and ignite it with ridiculously poor planning (intersecting thoroughfares with no exits) and you have the explosive mess that is Karachi traffic.
The irony is that this is the city where I first learned to drive, but I now cringe in the passenger seat when the driver takes actions considered basic Driving Commandments of Karachi: “Thou shalt never give way”; “Thou shalt take the color of the traffic light as a suggestion only”; “If the shortest distance between your current location and your destination requires driving into oncoming traffic, thou shalt do so” and so on.
What I found myself amazed by on this trip was the ability of the people to defy the laws of Physics and squeeze multiple cars into a lane already choked off by double-parked cars and motorcycles (normal in high traffic shopping areas). I’d be sitting in the passenger seat, watching an oncoming SUV bear down on us on a strip of roadway that in no way could accommodate our two cars, and yet somehow my dad and the SUV would create space without hitting each other or the aforementioned double-parked vehicles. This phenomenon has definitely given me greater appreciation for the amount of elbow room we enjoy in the US, and of the fact that laws of Physics are just a relative thing.
The aforementioned narrow lane full of double-parked cars. It was here that my car faced off against the world's largest SUV, and both of us squeezed by each other by the skin of our teeth.
No comments:
Post a Comment