Ivorian driving that blows my freakin' mind
For a brief moment, here and there, I actually drove in the capital of DR Congo, Kinshasa. It was insane, but once you go through the what-the-fuckery of it (like someone passing me in reverse at 40kph), you realized that a) everyone follows one rule that b) there are no rules. Driving was all about watching out for yourself and being the cheekiest.
In Côte d'Ivoire, no matter which seat you're occupying in the car, you're engaged in the driving. Outside of Abidjan, the driving isn't horrid. Taxi are spawn of the devil as they are everywhere, but it's manageable. Within Abidjan the traffic is quite insane and it's mostly due to the taxis again, causing sordid congestion everything their constantly-honking ilk cruise, looking for passengers. I hate them like nothing else I know.
But beyond evil taxis and traffic, there are two driving "rules" that I just don't freaking get.
Roundabouts (aka, the Fuckabout)
The roundabout is a genius system to manage traffic without doing anything more than making the merging lanes go around in a circle. The Ivorians have managed to shoot this in the foot though as it's the circulating traffic in the roundabout that has to wait for the cars merging in from the spokes. I had no idea how this completely backwards implementation of the roundabout happened, but the running theory is that there is a major roundabout at the top of one of the bridges to Plateau which has lights at each merging spoke and it must be that the model for all other roundabouts (where there are no lights) are based on this. Whatever the case, it doesn't work and despite the honking, we refuse to bow to this system as it's loony.
Headlights (aka Local Energy Conservation)
For those who didn't know, headlights can cause optical damage, or so the thinking must go in Côte d'Ivoire where people refuse to turn their headlights on unless it's more than two hours past sunset. To make matters, if you drive with your headlights on so that people hellbent on suicidal passing can see you, people will flash their lights at you.
My pet theory on this is there is great fear that if you have your lights on, then the authorities will require everyone to have their lights on and then they would have to replace them sooner. I don't get it, but what really blew my mind was a a truck flashing us when it was so dark that we couldn't even see him coming at us to only them turn the headlights off again once he was past us. That kind of thing is scary and reason to stay off the roads at night.
Again, we refuse to this insane system. The headlights come on at least a half hour before sunset and people can flash all they want. In fact, I encourage it, so that it wears out their lights faster to defeat this attempt at saving the bulbs which doesn't work.
08 03 2010 4 comments
Tags: abidjan, cars, cote d'ivoire, customs, transportation
Wow, Oroville in a good light
The Chron has featured my home town on a "Sunday Drive" listing. While there is no way that I'd recommend making that trip in a single day, it's a good drive and the wilderness is quite nice up there. Growing up around all of this, you do get spoiled. I realize now why a friend from back East said, "I hate you Californians". It is true, when it comes to easy to reach, great wilderness parks, we kick a rather large amount of ass.
06 07 2009 1 comment
Tags: california, cars, oroville
The Car and its Carhole Cost us $12,000 a Year?
It's no secret that cars cost a lost. From repairs, to insurance, to payments, to simpler things such as gas, parking tickets, a garage, traffic tickets, bridge tolls and the like, the bastards five and twenty (sorry, it's much more than nickel and dime) the hell out of you. I was pointed to this chart which really lays out the cost of having a car versus not having a car. As you can see, in San Francisco, this savings is estimated at $12,476 a year. Other sites put this figure a bit differently, but whatever the case, it's a lot. As you can see on the chart, the savings are even more in a place like New York City, but wherever you live, it's probably the fact that lowly, smelly, untimely, full of "strange" people public transit will save you money, not to mention the stress of driving.
For those interested in seeing just how much it could save, there is a handy calculator to compute this. It's not completely accurate though as it doesn't take in to account the fact that a lot of people in SF have bridge tolls and monthly garage rentals in addition to the daily garage rentals. I also don't know if it takes in to account insurance, which is a fortune for anyone in SF. Another thing that it forgets to mention is that walking saves you even more, which I choose to do more than taking public transportation because of my central location in the city.
This happened to coincide with a chat I had with a friend who is in South Africa that told me a small family can live comfortably on $20,000 a year in Cape Town. That sounds pretty good, but in truth, it doesn't take the two of us much more than that to live in San Francisco. The secret is not having the car. I mean, think about it in terms of what else you could do with that money. If you figure that it's $12,000 a year and say that a dinner for two is $50, that's 240 dinners a year you could have instead of a car. You could literally eat out 2 out of every 3 dinners in SF if you go sans car.
Of course, there is the problem that a lot of people I know don't have the public transit option between where they work and live. And I know how hard it can be to make that option work as was shown with taking BART out to Walnut Creek from SF for nearly two years and having to swallow up that 1 1/2 hour commute each way. But then again, if we make the bus or the subway a more common alternative in our lives (like using it whenever we don't have those commutes), then maybe we'll be able to part with the car more as more routes become available. All I'm saying is that with the exception of maybe 5% (or less now that we're kinda having a rather large crisis) of this country, $12,000 a year is helluva lot of money to just be able to drive these damned cars that have become such a part of American life.
20 03 2009 0 comments
Tags: cars, money, public transit, san francisco
Introducing the Ford Plague
There are times when things just don't translate well or those in marketing at a company don't bother to stop drinking their Starbucks for five minutes to realize that there is a big world out there with a lot of languages. Most people are aware of the blunder in calling a car the Chevy Nova, which while an actual word in Spanish can also mean, "no va" as in, "it doesn't go". Of course, that's not nearly as bad as the Mitsubishi Pajero which most people in the US will know at the Montero because "pajero" means "wanker" in Spanish and while a fitting name for your typical SUV driver, it didn't do much to sell the vehicle in Spain.
Now things have taken on a Slavic twist. As was initially reported in East Ethnia (which is a great read for Balkanophiles), Ford has come out with this car called the Kuga. I'm not exactly sure where they came up with this word, although I think it's one of those things that a computer spits out for them like the Altima. Maybe they thought it was a very 'urban' way of saying 'cougar'? Because, the unfortunate thing about this name is that without any change to the word, it means, "plague" in BCSM. If you don't believe me, check out the Wikipedia page for this thing. I mean, it's only a market of some 25 or 30 million people, but still, it's a bit of an oversight.
28 07 2008 4 comments
Tags: cars, language, marketing
The Issue of Private Mass Transit in San Francisco
We all hate taxis. Even people who love the convenience of taxis, hate taxis. They are the devil and they're pretty much god awful in every corner of the world like Tim Clancy pointed out in Sarajevo where people are getting charged 15€ for a ride of about 700 meters. Of course, there are always alternatives to taxis in the form of public transportation, except in the US where, as all of us who live here know, our public transport system is severely lacking.
So, what do we do? Do we put our vote and dollar in to fixing the ills of public transport here? No. We put our faith in the corporation to do the right thing and take up the slack. The biggest example of this is Google and their Shuttle service throughout the San Francisco Bay Area which picks up employees and drives them the 100km or more to Google's offices. It's a great thing that they do as it eliminates cars from the roads as well as allowing those onboard to use internet the whole ride so that they can work if they wish. But it begs the massive question of, why do we need this?
For the case of Google, it's because there are no public transit lines directly from San Francisco neighborhoods to their offices. But in the case of my most despised entity in San Francisco, the Academy of Art, it just so happens that beyond the fact that San Francisco is quite compact and walkable, there are bus lines that run between all their buildings that spread forth across the city like herpes. Despite this, they run their own bus in San Francisco. There is no need for this. It is redundant and clogs the streets with buses that should only be public buses.
It doesn't matter if it's Google of the Academy; the creation of private mass transit lines is preposterous. The energy taken to create these systems should have been better spent in policy changes to build better public transit lines. In the case of the Academy, their constant spread and disregard of San Francisco communities at large shows that they are very tight with whomever they need to be tight with in order to do what they need doing. Thus, how could they not get the city to run additional bus or metro lines for their needs that we could all use? And in the case of Google, they have more money than god and I'm sure if they had the will, they could run BART up to their doorstep. Now that would be newsworthy. And let me emphasize that there are countless other private entities that have this mentality as well such as the hospitals and hotels in the area.
But the core problem is we the citizens. We put our faith in the private entity more than the government and I don't know why. Despite Google's, "Don't be evil" slogan, their shuttle system isn't just out of the goodness of their hearts. They can control when their workers arrive and they can get them to work more by having internet access on the shuttles. For the Art Academy, it offers then the ability to show the parents of children dishing out $25,000 a year in tuition that their children will be specially treated and won't have to face the "dangers" of the city. It works as a selling point as we all know how many murders and rapes have happened on public transportation in San Francisco: none.
Besides the fact that we are creating dual systems that are wasteful and discriminatory as they are not for the public, there is the issue that the corporation and private entity is fickle. Take for instance Razor Sharp Cutlery. They are a knife shop located directly across from what used to be the Culinary Academy. That Academy moved across town and now this shop is just stranded there having lost their main customer. It makes me wonder as to what will happen to all those who purchase homes along the Google Shuttle route at higher prices because of the Google Effect in that a Google Shuttle Stop makes an area more desirable. If Google changes the route or stop it altogether, won't these homes lose value? It would seem to me that buying a house in the new transit village that has been built around Fruitvale Bart as that Bart stop isn't going to go anywhere, anytime soon. But then again, I just think this way as I'm against the privatization of public transit.
25 07 2008 2 comments
Tags: cars, san francisco, transit
The Cult of Mercedes
A lot of people talk about the cult of personality that is Apple Computers and Steve Jobs. It's true that he's really managed to build up a base of loyal followers that will buy anything Apple craps out no matter how expensive, initially broken, or ridiculous. There are two other companies that I think do an even better job of this, but in different ways. One is Coca Cola, which has such deep market penetration that the military regimens of the world should study their strategy. But they only have one product that never changes and when it does, it flounders (I'm looking at you New Coke on the 80's.) Another company that is a bit more like Apple is Mercedes-Benz. They bring out new models all the time and an undying base of fans snatches them up continually no matter what the reviews say about quality or safety. If there is the "land, sea, and air" emblem on the hood of the car, then it is fit for purchase.
My neighbors up the street from my parents' house were your typical Mercedes owners. Every two years, there was a new Mercedes in the driveway and they bought everything from the sports coupe (for the midlife crisis-addled father) to the SUV's (for the on the go soccer mom). But they're Americans and Americans love any semblance of being a VIP or upper class, so they buy these cars without hesitation and in blind faith.
Such it seems is the case in DR Congo. Mercedes-Benzes are everywhere in Kinshasa and other towns. These are not the Mercedes of my neighbors though. Well, actually, they might be the ones that they had 10 or 15 or even 20 years ago. These things are old and they get older even faster because they're driven ragged over the potholed and dilapidated streets of DR Congo. But it doesn't matter if the muffler is being held on to the car with the muffler of another car or three of the doors can't open because they were smashed in an accident; it's a Mercedes and that means status. With status comes the premise that you can be an asshole. I had to laugh at the fact that every time a Mercedes would cut us off while driving or walking that it reminded me of the same behavior I'd see back in the US. It's true that BMW drivers are the absolute worst assholes in the world, but folks with Mercedes are an incredibly close second. In DR Congo it's a funny concept to see someone driving so fast when in reality there really is nowhere to go, as the vast majority of people are unemployed or not employed through traditional means.
So there you go. Even in a country like DR Congo where the infrastructure is in ruin, corruption is rampant, and a good monthly salary for a family of four is $200, the Mercedes still rules as the car of choice for those on the up and up.
12 05 2008 1 comment
Tags: cars, dr congo, in to africa
The Traffic of Kinshasa
If you're driving to work in San Francisco and you're stuck on one of the many highways around the area, you might often yell, "This traffic is insane!" I would counter with the fact that no, it's quite normal, orderly, and even predictable. I will take the traffic of the US or anywhere in Europe, any day, over what I saw in Kinshasa.
The problem of course revolves around the fact that somehow, despite all the poverty, there are what seem to be millions of cars in the city that are hell-bent on moving around the 10 million inhabitants on a daily basis. The great majority of these cars are not in good shape, so they pollute like it's going out of style. They also break down quite often and are either repaired in the middle of the road or abandoned, which is done in the middle of the road as well.
It's a mess that starts around eight in the morning, gets steadily worse until gridlock sets in, in the middle of the day, and then things smooth out a bit near the end of the day, when it gets dark around six. A lot of these cars are missing headlights, so it's difficult for them to drive after dark. If it rains, the roads are abandoned because probably 90% of the cars simply can't drive when there is a downpour.
But it's how people drive that make the traffic what it is. If you ever get mad at some random jerk who cuts you off on I-880, you shouldn't drive in Kinshasa. That is how people always drive. They just kind of slam their way through all the cars to get where they're going. It's a bit like American individualism on crack. There are surprisingly few accidents though, which I attribute more to the fact you can't drive faster than 60kph anywhere, so it lessens the impacts. I did see one though and it was nasty with both cars folded up in what looked like a direct head-on collision.
There are many mundele who drive though and as amazingly as it is, I drove in all of this as well. It was quite an experience, but because everyone is doing it, it makes driving somewhat easy. I mean this only in the sense that you can kind of handle it if you start driving like the Congolese. Trying to be proper and allowing people to merge or obeying the right of way at four way stops will get you nowhere. No one has gone to driving school, although there is one in the city. Most folks either hop in a car and start driving or pay the $50 to pick up a driver's license. That's all there is to it. You pay the money and you can legally drive. No test. No other rules. I almost bought one as a souvenir, but didn't have the time, nor the inclination to go down and deal with it. It's a cool license though, because where in the US you need a different license to drive different classes of vehicles, the Congolese have streamlined the process and have this license allowing you to drive anything from a motorcycle, to a big rig truck, to a steamroller.
Overall, I'd have to say that I wish to never drive in Kinshasa again. One experience was definitely enough and it can be summed up by the fact that when we were stuck in some detour that was causing a massive juggernaut, I was passed by a guy going 30kph (20mph in metric-so-scary-land), on my left, in reverse. If that doesn't blow your mind, then you should consider a future career as a taxi driver in the center of Kinshasa. They can always use a few more.
05 05 2008 0 comments
Tags: cars, dr congo, in to africa, kinshasa
Nothing Funny About Road Rage
On Thursday, we were getting a lift down the peninsula, when we came across massive traffic on 280 South. While traffic is endemic to life in the Bay Area, it is not a common sight on 280. As we crawled on, we came across the scene of an accident. There was only one car that seemed to have just slowed to a stop on the right hand shoulder. We shrugged it off as a hit and run or a drunk driver or any of the other things that happen on the road, which make it unsafe as hell (a mere 42,642 deaths unsafe in 2006.) The only thing really weird about the accident was that there was about 10 CHP cars there, which is highly extraordinary for any incident with one car.
Getting back home, I was glancing over the news and came across this story wherein a man was shot and killed by another motorist in an apparent bout of road rage and I realized that was the scene we had passed. All those who knew the victim say that he was a calm guy and given the fact he didn't open fire on the other car would seem to support this. He was just a normal guy with his two sons in the car, coming home from a long day at work and was shot by three idiots who will hopefully be found. This has to be one of the saddest things I've read in quite a while.
These types of incidents are on the rise here in the US with three roadway shootings this month alone. What's the cause? I think most all of us would agree that it's guns. Guns, guns, everywhere without the common sense to think.
Is there a solution? Besides getting rid of guns (which never seems to be an option for some reason), the only one I can think of is to ride public transportation. I'm sure that this will whip of some hysteria (which I'll thankfully not be around for, as of Tuesday) and those with SUVs will feel safer for some reason, although they aren't. Nuts are everywhere and while you may not like that homeless guy staring at you on the Bart your whole ride, I'll trade that any day for a group of three thugs in a car raining bullets down on me for cutting them off.
10 04 2008 0 comments
Tags: cars, guns, us america
How Mighty the Topless
I present you a riddle. The top picture in the montage below is:
- A local fisherman taking a midnight cruise throw eel infested waters
- A duck
- A couple of goofballs in their rented Mustang convertible.
Obviously, the correct choice is number two.
It says right at the start of the car rental section in the tour guide that we got that, "While that convertible Mustang may seem really tempting at the rental office, they are a sure sign of a tourist and will undoubtedly be broken in to while parked."
I see why they too the time to mention that. For some reason, I am seeing one after another of these damned things and yes, if I wanted to steal stuff from tourists, I would head straight for these vehicles. "Oooh, the top is up, can't steal nuthin' there. Oh wait, here's my knife."
The most popular color by far and away is red. It's like they've tagged and released you as a tourist in to the wild if you rent one of these things. I mean really, people are free to rent whatever they want, but I just found it really funny. Be free my little tourist, be free!
For our wheels, we picked up some kind of Chevy thing that's pretty weak and feels like someone tried to go offroading with it at some point, but it gets us around, has no pop-top for easy access to our belongings, and most importantly, is pretty cheap, although the gas mileage is typical of any tin box made by GM. By this, I mean that what I'm saving in the cost of the rental is being eaten up a the pump with the nearly $4 a gallon cost for gas here.
12 01 2008 1 comment
Tags: cars, hawaii, maui, tourism
San Francisco Parking Fun
A friend of mine is out of town for a week and during this time, I've managed to get her car so that I can practice every single move from Bullitt within the boundaries of what a Ford Focus will allow. You know what I'm talking about, right? I believe that a good deal of this is Focus-able. You only do these things with friends cars when they're away so that they can only read about on your blog and then shake their heads in disbelief and be thankful they have a low insurance deductible. Ha, ha...
Anyways, I don't really plan on doing all that much driving, other than seeing how fast I can go down the Filbert Steps or up Lombard Street backwards. So, during the time I'm not being a menace, I have to deal with parking. This is crappy thing to deal with in San Francisco and just in time to make me worry was an article from
Have a happy Christmas!
23 12 2007 4 comments
Tags: cars, parking, san francisco
