Behind the wheel

Driving here is a very scary experience.
I honestly fear the road.
Many factors attribute to this fear.
& since I am a list-lover, I will jot down in list form why driving in Oman scares the heck out of me!

1.  Excessive speeds.  Most everyone drives a minimum of 120 Km/hr (that is about 74 MPH). And this is not just on the motorway--this is in town, everywhere!

2.   Tail gating.  This is the worst!  Cars, especially taxis, love to get right behind you!  Someone here told me that apparently they think that is if or when you collide, the closer you are to the other car, the less damage.  Not sure about that theory.

3.  Horn beeping.  And once they are within feet of your bumper cruising at high speeds, they honk if they think you are going too slow.

4.  Passing.  After riding you & honking, they will then go around you...yes, on 2 lane curvy roads! Many times you see a car headed right at you in your lane.  Not much of a shoulder to get off onto either.

5.  Brake lights mean nothing.  If you don't want to be rear ended, you better use your hazard lights any time you slow down.

6.  Roaming goats.  With all of the above, you better watch out for animals crossing the road too.

7.  No child restraint laws.  Kids are bee-bopping all over inside the cars.  I see babies on the laps of the drivers and kids hanging onto dashboards-daily.  We get so many "what, are you crazy?!" stares while buckling in our 3 into carseats & boosters.

8.  Many, many deaths here that are related to auto accidents.  A weekly newspaper actually has a section of the reported number of collisions & deaths for that week alone.

So, each time we drive anywhere I say a prayer, buckle up & stay alert.

Heaven forbid I may have to sneeze!