So I was warned that driving in Saudi was a very risky activity.  I thought,”how bad can it be?”!  Let’s just say that what I was told doesn’t really tell you what it’s really like!  Part of my agreement to be here was that I would be assigned a car for both work and personal use.  The company would pay for all expenses, insurance and maintenance.  All I would need to pay for is my gas when I use the car for personal trips.  Sounded like a pretty good deal to me!  So here is my perspective on driving in Saudi.  There are no actual traffic laws or at least ones that are enforced.  I have witnessed on multiple occasions now where at traffic lights there are 5 lanes; a left turn lane, three that go straight and a right turn lane – an individual in the right turn lane decides to turn LEFT, yes, left across 4 other lanes!  Oh, did I mention that this also occurred while the light was still red?!  Drivers will regularly turn in front of you, cut you off, stop in the middle of the road, you name it!  There is also a common practice of passing on the left shoulder.  The left lane is NOT for the sane or weak of heart.  If you choose to drive in the left lane you are viewed as a “challenger”, so look out!  So far the most important “rule of the road” is – Never, never make eye contact with another driver!!  Another rule; never be the first one to proceed after a red light turns green.  It is most likely one or more will run the light.  The safe thing to do is wait about 3 to 5 seconds before preceding.  You might get drivers behind you honking but at least you’ll more likely avoid getting hit!

In Saudi the statistic is 23 people per day die in traffic accidents.  That might not seem too significant until you consider there are fewer people in this country than there are in Southern California!  Just Tuesday I believe there were 8 killed and 28 hospitalized when a pickup ran a red light and T-boned a bus.  Lots of people are killed while driving at night through the desert.  Once out of the urban areas it is free range and camels will wonder onto the highways and if hit will most like kill all occupants in the car.  They weigh up to a ton and when they are hit by cars they land on the windshield.  Think about 2000lbs hitting your car at 75 or 80 mile per hour!

I was in a “Defensive Driving” class this past week where someone needs to do a better job of putting it together actually based on where we are!  I found it funny there were slides addressing the hazards of driving in snow, a very pretty girl putting on makeup while driving, obvious road signs from the US, etc.  One thing you should remember about Saudi; women are not allowed to drive – period!  So when you think about all the accidents and fatalities remember there are no women driving nor is there any alcohol!  Could you even imagine how bad the roads would be if there was the element of alcohol???!!  Wow.

I decided to go for a drive this morning.  It’s Saturday and the last day of the weekend.  I checked out the roads surrounding the apartment and they appeared almost deserted.  Quick…get out there before all the nuts!!  I ended up finding the gas station we have to use (it’s still full service here, I didn’t even get out of the car!) and guess how much gas is!  About $.50/gal.  Of course it’s sold in litres here so I’m trying to guesstimate on the gallon price.  After filling up I just started driving the streets trying to figure out how to get around in town.  Ended up finding the ONLY IKEA in the Middle East!  So of course I had to go in.  I ended up leaving with about $200 worth of stuff for my apartment.  But before I left the store I went back for a cheap lunch.  I had a cold salmon fillet salad for about $8.  You know, IKEA is the same no matter where in the world you are.  Except they didn’t serve the meatballs!!

So here is a picture of my new car.  Ok, well no pictures again tonight.  For some reason it’s not working again.