Traffic as Usual

I guess if I had to describe Bandung traffic in a word, it would be chaos. The streets are shared by regular cars, motors (we call them scooters), trucks, becaks (pedicabs), pedestrians, men pushing carts and people just trying to cross the street on foot. I know I have talked about this before, but it truly is something to behold.

I asked Ronnie how he would describe the traffic here and his reply was "they are all going the same way, and you don't want to get in front of them. And the biggest one always wins."

Without red lights, you might wonder how anyone ever makes a turn. Well, they do make turns and the way they do it is inch. by. inch. You have to convince people that you are turning and that they should stop because you are coming through. Motors trickle between cars like water moving around stationery objects. They sometimes knock your side mirror or occasionally scrape your car.

Drivers honk, but usually not out of rudeness so much as just to let another driver know they are there. Perhaps because Muslims are not supposed to show anger or any type of outward emotion, I never observe anyone cursing at another driver or throwing them the finger. They just patiently work it. And though we used to get honked at a lot with our previous driver who seemed to have a problem picking a lane, we have yet to get honked at with our new one. Speaking of lanes, we sometimes wonder why they exist at all, as they rarely seem to be  observed. We are constantly amazed that we don't see more accidents! In that sense, I would have to save that Bandung drivers are very good!

If there is an accident, it is always the fault of the larger vehicle, no matter what. Most accident payments are worked out right there at the scene. Ronnie's associate Pak Dwi (Dept. Head at ITB) says he does not carry insurance except when his car is brand new. The person with the money pays. Period. Of course if you are white and American, you are "rich" and you pay (regardless of who is at fault). These are just some of the reasons we chose not to attempt driving here - we certainly didn't want that liability.

It's scary the first time you ever try to cross the street as a pedestrian. That is a learned skill too. Even young girls will venture across traffic alone, looking for an opening while at the same time holding their hand out to let motorists know they are crossing. Somehow it all works. Amazingly well, considering the number of people on the streets at any given moment.

Now that you have an idea of what the streets are like, remember that this is rainy season. I'm talking torrential downpours, and often flooding. This of course does nothing to help the traffic move along.

It's funny the things you see people carrying on their motors. Unfortunately, traffic is such a constantly changing scene and I am rarely able to see something and snap a photo before it has changed. I know I've mentioned before that it is common to see 4 persons riding on a motor and occasionally we do see 5. We actually saw 4 kids and 2 adults (count 'em, that makes 6!) on one motor. Amazing...


I guess the weirdest thing we've seen in traffic was a ram riding on a motor. Not driving, mind you, just riding. It is common to see heavy loads of various things - building materials, boxes of goods, many bottles of water or propane and pretty much anything one can imagine. The other day I saw a man carrying an infant in one arm and driving one handed.



Getting stuck in traffic is never a boring proposition, as there is always such interesting things happening around you. People watching in Bandung is always interesting and watching the Indonesians as they go about their daily rounines is never boring.

The rare red lights in the city (usually located along the freeway) are spots where sales people and entertainers congregate and perform for a few cents. Traffic is heavy at all times of the day. I always wonder where on earth all these people are going? Being stuck in traffic really doesn't bother me because there is always something interesting to see out the window. What you see is people doing any and everything and there is always something interesting about that!

The condition of most roads is exactly what you'd expect - pot hole after pot hole.