Libyans & Their Crazy Driving!
Last Friday, woke up at 9am and decided to go and get fresh bread for breakfast from the bakery on Gergarish St. right after Al Emary market, and found the following:
The thing that baffles me, not that there's an accident at 9am on a Friday morning when the streets are virtually empty, no, but its the fact that this accident happened as a cause of making a U-turn?!!! as you can see from the pictures, the driver must have been accelerating for this kind of damage to happen, and the car is a Mercedez Benz, obviously an older version when companies used to make them much more stronger! so how can someone accelerate with a U-turn?!?!?!!
I couldn't take pics of the other car, which was a Toyota mini van, because the cops were standing next to it and didnt want to arouse their interest!
Why do they drive to recklessly in this country??? It's a daily battle with them I swear to you; you never know when they're coming to get you! According to the Tripoli Post, there was an estimate of 2,138 fatalities due to road accidents!!! and guess what, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Libya has the second highest number of road accident in the Arab world!!!
Shell is doing "Road Safety" awareness videos, posters, bill boards, you name it, but do you think anything is sinking in???
I get so frustrated when I drive here that I, more often than not, want to beat the sh** out of them! I really can't let go and forgive when driving; if i had a gun, I kid you not, we would come first on the number of road accidents in the Arab world!!! See what a nice girl I am? 
at least I'm being honest!
at least I'm being honest!Be safe and careful, and preferrably gun-free! hehehe
July 25, 2009 at 10:38 p.m.
I think it's the way licenses are given out they really don't test the drivers and there isn't a proper penalty system; your license will never be suspended or canceled no matter what you do.
Even though people will always blame speed for the accidents I think it's the opposite. To me it's the slow drivers who don't know the rules of driving and stop randomly in the middle of the roundabouts or make illegal u-turns like the one in this case. I mean who makes a u-turn in such a place ? and this accident happens in the same place at least once a week it's chronic.
By the way there is a facebook group trying to raise awareness of this issue, here it is :
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23941492314
If we managed to reduce the deaths from traffic accidents we could end up with a death rate so low that it could be the lowest in the world. Currently we are ranked at 215 out of 221 where 1 is the highest death rate.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/20https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2066rank.html?countryName=Libya&countryCode=ly®ionCode=af#ly66rank.html?countryName=Libya&countryCode=ly®ionCode=af#ly
salaam and thanks for the photo's ;)
July 26, 2009 at 2:38 p.m.
Well PH, i really do hope that people join this facebook group with the heart of change and not just for it to be another group they joined to increase their list!
I know i know, im bit too skeptical!
I'm glad that Shell is very conscientious about road safety, Mani is helping out with that too btw :)
and sa7, ma3ak 7ag, there is no penalty system for such individuals to feel like they've got something to loose! Rules are there for a reason, you have to make them be scared here for them to abide by those rules, and what a better way than ask them to pay?!
Thanks for dropping by PH!
July 28, 2009 at 7:02 p.m.
Their excuse is that they don't have means of leisure in Libya, so they use the roads as amusement parks. Today I see many crazy things happening on roads. They harass girls, they follow them, they try to intimidate them and show off by being crazy trying to be cool. Rabi Yister!!!
July 30, 2009 at 2:21 a.m.
"and what a better way than ask them to pay?! "
or suspend their license ;).
"I'm glad that Shell is very conscientious about road safety, Mani is helping out with that too btw :)"
Yeah I heard about their public image initiatives; but I always have issues with the real intentions behind companies actions :).
November 28, 2009 at 12:35 a.m.
" Yeah I heard about their public image initiatives; but I always have issues with the real intentions behind companies actions "
True say, I feel the same about them as well.
But you guys know something, if the state decides to make our roads safer they can do it overnight, just like what we've seen happen with the safety belt law, everyone was wearing them the next day afraid they're going to loose their money.
November 30, 2009 at 9:00 p.m.
Bass from What's On, thanks for dropping by. True that the state has the most power in minimizing those horrific accidents... but we cant just hope on that "if". And also true that since May 1st (seatbelt law was effective) ppl started wearing their seatbelts reasonably more... and im glad that its getting in their minds and our culture... and i still do believe that if we implemented a higher penalty system + efficeint security system, ppl will abide to it. No one likes to pay 500LYD in penalty!
Thanks again for dropping by!
December 9, 2009 at 1:57 p.m.
that is good topic
"Libyans & Their Crazy Driving!"
anis:http://darkanis.wordpress.com
January 10, 2010 at 10:26 p.m.
DarkAnis, thanks for stopping by :)
January 17, 2010 at 3:35 p.m.
يوم بعد يوك السواقة في ليبيا تولي أكثر من مأساة مافيش احترام لقواعد القيادة ولا احترام للسائق الي جنبك ولا حد يحترم حد
بس شيء مؤسف ان ليبيا قد تكون أكثر بلاد يصير فيها حوادث سير واصتطدام وقتل وموت ياللطيف وخلاص وربي يحمينا جميعاً