Its been a long time since I had a good traffic story. The roads just don't run that way here in Abidjan, and maybe I spend a bit less time in a car as well. The roads are so well organized here that I have even caught myself telling a taxi driver to be more cautious (or whatever he interprets from my impassioned- "S'il vous plait!")
Today however I have a bona fide traffic story to share. We were on our way to see Mohamed, who has been in the hospital with a nasty case of malaria that won't seem to go away. The clinic is downtown and costs a billion dollars to get to. The commute, which might be short in my own car, feels long in a cab.
Our driver was swiftly speeding there when a cop on a motorcycle turned his bike to place it in front of us, thereby blocking our path. He got off the bike, came to the window, grabbed the drivers license and then sped off. The taxi followed suit and pulled over where indicated. The driver got out of the vehicle and went to meet the officer. (On our way home a different taxi driver was listening to a series on the radio that was presenting satire on this very arrangement. I hadn't ever really considered the difference between here and Europe or the US, where the police approach the vehicle. Here, you must approach the cop. mal garée ou quoi.)
Some exchange took place and before long we were speeding off again. But then, events took a different turn. The same cop passed us and the driver sped up honking his horn as he passed the police officer. A few seconds later, he pulled off the side of the road and turned to go back to where the officer had stopped.
I should mention, at this point, that we were on a four lane thruway - the type with a concrete divider down the middle, very American, very unable to make a U-turn and be on the right side of the road. When I say he turned around, I mean he turned around into oncoming traffic and sped towards the police officer on the wrong side of the road- with 3 lanes of traffic coming at us. Just like Kinshasa except not really because Kinshasa doesn't even have 4 lane highways (that small stretch on the way to the airport perhaps.) The most you could see coming at you directly is one car in the wrong lane,with maybe a line behind it, but not usually. Usually it's one or two rogue drivers.
In this case, we were the rogue driver and there was a whole battalion of cars coming our way. The story doesn't end there, naturally. We pulled up alongside the cop and the driver got out. He paid 2000franc, received a receipt with official looking stamp and his permit.
I asked him what the infraction was and he said the police officer informed him he should have turned with the light, back at the intersection, and not whatever shortcut he apparently took.
"But it's ok you drove the wrong way down the road just now? He didn't say anything about that?"
"Oh, no," he laughed. "That's nothing, but he, he is a voleur. He wanted 2000 for my permit . Voleur." And he shook his head while I marveled at the logic of it all.
Showing posts with label traffic rules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label traffic rules. Show all posts
7.2.15
28.7.13
New Toys in the Backseat
Kinshasa police have a new toy. I have spotted the simple yet sleek design at various traffic crossings throughout the city. I've even tried capturing a photo (it's another of those needs to be seen to really be believed items) but no luck so far.
The device appears to be an alternative to the chunky traffic boot. It is long and slim, can be applied in seconds and requires no bending under the car or near the tire. The handle looks like a black rubber strap or bungee cord but is straight- kind of like an invisible dog leash.
Instead of sporting an invisible dog at the end of the leash, however, the policemen and women of Kinshasa have something much more lethal. A piece of wood or iron is found at the end of the rubber strap and it hosts a mob of spiky nails an inch thick or more. It is a portable, handheld version of the tire spike strip.
I've been noticing them around and hoping fervently not to be stopped by one while at the same time wondering why my heart races just a little faster at the thought of it. I did manage a narrow escape while rounding a turn out by the large bakery (known locally as Mama Poto I think) on the way to Victoire. The policeman knocked on my passenger side window and showed me what he was going to do, which allowed me just enough time (and luckily there was space) to speed up and maneuver away from him.
We weren't so lucky yesterday afternoon, however, on our way to meet some friends. I had made a right turn on red (as did the car in front of me) just by the Safricas intersection (Mercedes circle if you are from that generation of Kinois) when one of the police stepped in front of me (as they did with the car who had just passed. They usually never go for two cars in a row but somehow he wasn't stopped for very long.) I thought maybe the problem was my right on red (really not sure if that is legal here in Kin even if it is necessary at times) but our conversation didn't get very far. Soon enough, a cop appeared with the portable tire strip and placed it just behind my front wheel. So I turned off the car, getting ready to dig in my heels and wait things out. My car was in the middle of the road, completely blocking all traffic, which I took to be a great advantage on my part.
As the cars honked and made lanes around either side us, we tried to figure out our traffic infraction. Mohamed thought they were telling him to sit in the back so he undid his seat belt and climbed over the seat. I couldn't really imagine that to be the problem and just as I was telling him to sit back down, so did one of the police from outside (no get back in front, he gestured, that's not it.) Around this time, they removed the strip and motioned for me to pull over- out from the middle of the road.
Of course, this was my only advantage so I advanced slowly with one policeman in front of me and the other motioning me to pull over, which I absolutely refused to do. It seemed, even if we advanced at this slow rate, I could eventually make my way to my destination with the policeman walking backwards in front of me the whole time. Just when I had this cheery thought, a beige jeep pulled up from the side cutting me off. I turned off the car again, now two cars deep cutting off traffic in the middle of the road and began to wait. All requests for an explanation about what the problem was were ignored. The man in the jeep got out, off duty if he was an officer, it's completely unclear who he was or why he was there, and walked up to the car.
"Tell the kid to get in the back and it's finished. That easy," he said. Except of course we'd already tried that and it hadn't finished nor been that easy. I couldn't really understand the logic of this anyway. "He's too little," the man said. Too little? He's eleven years old, I thought, out of car seats for ages. Is he really too little for the front seat? In my five years of Kinshasa life and driving, I have never heard this.
A little research does suggest backseat placement for ages 8-12. Especially in a car with front air bags- though I have been thinking our school cars do not have airbags. Booster seats or car seats for ages up to 8, in the back of course. I have never seen any child in a car seat in Kinshasa except those of ex-pats and usually they are toddlers or infants. When I asked a friend (after finally arriving) he said 18 was the age in Kinshasa for riding in the front. 18? Really? I found this hard to believe and after some intense questioning he backed down a bit. He said the kid had to "be big." I guess determining big is dependent upon the viewer. I am ready to comply with this new law (oh the fights and "I call shotgun-dibs-blended-locked-it-and-googled-it" I have just been saved from) but I am mostly incredulous that it's taken 5 years to figure this one out.
In the end, Mohamed jumped over the seat into the back and this time it worked. They shooed us on our way. I'm guessing it was a combination of the helpful stranger and me refusing to get out of the line of traffic but in reality, you can never actually tell why you've been pulled over or why you've been let go. And I would love to see the car seat rules take effect here. Happy to do my part in spiking tires and stopping traffic to make that happen.
The device appears to be an alternative to the chunky traffic boot. It is long and slim, can be applied in seconds and requires no bending under the car or near the tire. The handle looks like a black rubber strap or bungee cord but is straight- kind of like an invisible dog leash.
 |
| Invisible dog walker |
 | |
| Kin strips require no bending and appear much hardier than this traffic spike. Photo found at this all-in-one supply site |
We weren't so lucky yesterday afternoon, however, on our way to meet some friends. I had made a right turn on red (as did the car in front of me) just by the Safricas intersection (Mercedes circle if you are from that generation of Kinois) when one of the police stepped in front of me (as they did with the car who had just passed. They usually never go for two cars in a row but somehow he wasn't stopped for very long.) I thought maybe the problem was my right on red (really not sure if that is legal here in Kin even if it is necessary at times) but our conversation didn't get very far. Soon enough, a cop appeared with the portable tire strip and placed it just behind my front wheel. So I turned off the car, getting ready to dig in my heels and wait things out. My car was in the middle of the road, completely blocking all traffic, which I took to be a great advantage on my part.
As the cars honked and made lanes around either side us, we tried to figure out our traffic infraction. Mohamed thought they were telling him to sit in the back so he undid his seat belt and climbed over the seat. I couldn't really imagine that to be the problem and just as I was telling him to sit back down, so did one of the police from outside (no get back in front, he gestured, that's not it.) Around this time, they removed the strip and motioned for me to pull over- out from the middle of the road.
Of course, this was my only advantage so I advanced slowly with one policeman in front of me and the other motioning me to pull over, which I absolutely refused to do. It seemed, even if we advanced at this slow rate, I could eventually make my way to my destination with the policeman walking backwards in front of me the whole time. Just when I had this cheery thought, a beige jeep pulled up from the side cutting me off. I turned off the car again, now two cars deep cutting off traffic in the middle of the road and began to wait. All requests for an explanation about what the problem was were ignored. The man in the jeep got out, off duty if he was an officer, it's completely unclear who he was or why he was there, and walked up to the car.
"Tell the kid to get in the back and it's finished. That easy," he said. Except of course we'd already tried that and it hadn't finished nor been that easy. I couldn't really understand the logic of this anyway. "He's too little," the man said. Too little? He's eleven years old, I thought, out of car seats for ages. Is he really too little for the front seat? In my five years of Kinshasa life and driving, I have never heard this.
A little research does suggest backseat placement for ages 8-12. Especially in a car with front air bags- though I have been thinking our school cars do not have airbags. Booster seats or car seats for ages up to 8, in the back of course. I have never seen any child in a car seat in Kinshasa except those of ex-pats and usually they are toddlers or infants. When I asked a friend (after finally arriving) he said 18 was the age in Kinshasa for riding in the front. 18? Really? I found this hard to believe and after some intense questioning he backed down a bit. He said the kid had to "be big." I guess determining big is dependent upon the viewer. I am ready to comply with this new law (oh the fights and "I call shotgun-dibs-blended-locked-it-and-googled-it" I have just been saved from) but I am mostly incredulous that it's taken 5 years to figure this one out.
In the end, Mohamed jumped over the seat into the back and this time it worked. They shooed us on our way. I'm guessing it was a combination of the helpful stranger and me refusing to get out of the line of traffic but in reality, you can never actually tell why you've been pulled over or why you've been let go. And I would love to see the car seat rules take effect here. Happy to do my part in spiking tires and stopping traffic to make that happen.
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