Traffic Culture Shock

One of the biggest culture shocks I've experienced while back in Malta is the Traffic Culture Shock...... there definitely is one between Belgium, Malta and Cairo, but somehow, as Libya is the only country in which I drove for a long period of time (after Malta) this trip back home made me realise that its not that easy to adapt from one country's driving habits to another.

- firstly there is the driving direction..... why the hell does Malta have to drive on left when all its surrounding countries drive on the right!!!! - Ah we're just unique. I somehow thought that it will be hard for me to adapt my driving from left to right and not have that much of a problem adapting back from right to left...... alas... all those mirrors I've knocked and friends I've terrified by subconsciously driving in the opposite direction and losing my sense of calculation while in Malta this weekend...... coming back to Libya and driving back on the right was somehow a relief..... I'm losing my Maltese Driving skills....nooooooooooooo

- you have to stop on zebra crossings and traffic lights.... and you have to be nice to people in other cars and let them pass..... this is not the habit in Libya.... people don't stop for you when someone wants to cross the road, let alone let you go through when coming out of a side street..... so I did it the Libya way in Malta, which made me seem rude and also dangerous, as people expect you to stop. Traffic lights are worse!!!! Traffic police in Malta are stricter and you actually do get a fine if you cross on Red (the police would just appear out of nowhere!!)

- Parking ... parking in Malta is hard you have to obey the yellow lines and no parking signs and cannot just double park.... putting on hazard lights also doesn't count... hazard lights doesn't mean that you are allowed to park anywhere..... while the opposite applies in Libya... in Libya people also park in the actual driving lane thus obstructing one of the two lanes (or very often the only lane) in the street!!! Then they complain about traffic!!!!

- Crossing the road is a nightmare in Tripoli and Cairo.... these countries have taught me how to close your eyes and run for your life so as to get to the other side of the road.... this is not applicable in Malta....... you don't only terrorise your little sister who is holding your hand and screaming all the way while you cross the road but you also frighten the drivers, as they don't expect people to jump out in the middle of the road.... they would have actually stopped for you!!!

- Police men do stop women in Malta..... I have been told that Police men here in Libya are not allowed to stop women driving on their own......... however no such law applies in Malta.... so no airs!!

- Finally the blessed roundabouts!!! I have learnt my lesson last Christmas through a little accident, but it seems as though the 'learning though your mistakes' expression does not work for me!!!!! Ideally you should stop at roundabouts, cause the car going round the roundabout has the right of way..... not like in Libya where drivers have decided that the car coming out of the side streets have the right of way and cars going round the roundabout should stop!!!