Windhoek Wins for Worst Drivers

NYC, DC, and Beijing all have some pretty scary drivers. Windhoek, I think, has the scariest of them all.

NYC usually has enough traffic or enough other drivers to cross the road without fearing for your life. Similarly in Beijing, unbelievably dense traffic flowed in some sort of controlled chaos, and there were usually enough people to practice “shielding” (a technique I learned from Lucien on our China trip – basically, you find an old local woman or woman with a baby also crossing the street, walk awkwardly close to them and make sure they are between you and the on-coming traffic).

Unlike these cities, Windhoek lacks the traffic congestion that forces a foot close to the brake and the multitude of lawyers ready to sue in case of an accident. Even worse, people drive big cars here. It's one thing to have a close encounter with a Chinese man on a bike, it's quite another to have an elevated full-size pick-up truck inches from your right foot. Not that either would be a pleasant experience - but we're talking about a serious difference in the fear factor here.

Regardless of what the lights say, pedestrians never have the right of way here. If you dare to cross the road at all, you are in the way, so do not expect anyone to stop or slow down for you. Believe me, this isn't the Bergen talking here! I walked to work every day in DC and dealt with a lot of near-accident experiences - impatient cab drivers or confused tourists who are busy gazing at their maps, the monuments, or baffled by the circular intersections - but I honestly don't believe any of them try to hit / terrorize pedestrians. At first I thought drivers were picking on me - I'm obviously foreign, and maybe it was entertaining to see the look of fear / shock / horror when nearly flattened by a turning car. I even thought about carrying my insurance card in my pocket, just in case. After several weeks of crossing awkwardly and uncomfortably close to anyone who looked like a local and still coming close to a few accidents (one day I even had to stop and console a UNAM student for several minutes after she was nearly hit by an SUV), I know it's not me and have come to accept that drivers here always have the right of way, so be patient.

I still walk to and from work every day - I need (and enjoy) that mental space between home and the office. At every intersection though, I sprint when it's time to cross the street. I probably look crazy, but I'm determined to make it home in one piece!