Moroccan driving guide

Moroccan Driving Guide
From: Jim Owens Subject: Moroccan driving guide Date: Apr 27, 2010
With my previous letters about driving in Morocco, I ‘m sure many of you are booking your reservation with Hertz or Avis, so I wanted to give you a few helpful hints to make your driving more enjoyable and productive.

1. Round-abouts
In Europe round-abouts are simple and boring. The driver in the circle has the right of way and drivers entering must yield to those already in the round-about. This is old world thinking and should be abandoned forthwith. Technically, in Morocco drivers entering the roundabout from the right have the right-of-way. Since it is impossible to enter from the left, this rule does not apply. Hence, drivers should approach, enter, and depart round-abouts in the same way as I do in “Discussions” with my wife. When approaching the circle, judge the speed of the cars, just as I judge the intensity of Carol’s voice. If you can enter, do it. But once in the circle or “Discussion,” you must have an exit strategy. Cars, will be entering from other directions, just as new areas of "logic" will appear in a discussion. If the cars entering waver, again, go for it, but if they maintain the same speed and seem to have the advantage, yield. As with Carol, if she falters, I continue, if her intensity remains the same or intensifies, I back off. In either case the best rule of thumb is to “Approach with extreme caution.”

2. Traffic lights
You are probably locked into the linear thinking of “Stop on the red, go on the green.” This is extremely uncreative and unproductive since it means that no one can show any ingenuity. Try to be first at the light, that way you will not necessarily be cut off from a disappearing lane of traffic. Most importantly, cast off all assumptions to use visual cues at traffic lights. Traffic lights are Auditory here. Somewhere between a nanosecond and a millisecond from the moment it is time to proceed you will receive auditory confirmation from the vehicle directly behind you. If you are lucky, the vehicle will be a bus or a truck and you will receive a very LOUD signal which helps you know it is time to go.

3. Do not Speed

There are numerous ways Moroccan traffic police have to enforce the maximum speed limit. They do not patrol the highways in clearly colored vehicle with a rack of distinctive lights on them for easy identification. Rather they like to be at the bottom of a hill around a blind corner were the car naturally picks up speed as it descends. This way you are always speeding and you are always guilty, and thank you very much for your instantaneous payment of $50. Contrasting this is the fact that there is no minimum speed, as you will painfully become aware of as soon as you approach a long hill or a curvy road.

4. Flashing headlights
Flashing headlights are not a sign that you are driving with your lights on high beam. Rather they are the creative way Moroccan drivers have of warning you that the aforementioned speed trap is just ahead. This does help in cutting down on your disadvantage when dealing with the police. If I had known this fact, I would be a couple of bottles of vintage port ahead.

5. There is no such thing as a left turn lane
Left turn lanes simply restrict the flow of traffic because all the cars wishing to go left have to back up behind the first driver, and they can only cross the line of traffic one car at a time. This severely blocks traffic and can lead to grid lock. When wishing to turn left at an intersection and there is a car with his turn signal on, or not, move beside him on his right. Other cars will follow suit according to how much room there is in the intersection. The normal rule is to leave enough room so that very small cars can still go straight, thus keeping traffic flowing. For you and the other cars wishing to turn left, as soon as there is a gap in the oncoming traffic, it is imperative that you move forward and cross the intersection. You must do this because
A. Everybody behind you assumes you are going to do so and failure will result in the trunk of your car being damaged, and
B.You have four or five cars lined up side by side and they will all be moving forward as the five lines suddenly become two lanes, one of which is invariably blocked by

a. Parked cars
b. Donkey carts
c. Horse drawn carriages
d. Groups of people standing in the road talking
e. Bicycles pointed across the lane of traffic
f. Use your imagination and you will probably be right.

6. The end of speed zones
Signs posting the reducing maximum speed are clearly marked and should be adhered to Strictly. See rule #3. Less clearly marked are the ends to such restrictions. However, Moroccans have solved this problem simply by making sure all vehicles are in a state of being catalytic converter deprived. Therefore, when you see a cloud of black (diesel) or white (gas powered) smoke emanating from the tailpipe of the car in front of you, you will know that not only is it time to speed up, but you must do so with gusto for cars behind you assume you will. See rule 5A.

7.Pedestrians are fair game
Let’s be honest here. Pedestrians are losers. If they weren’t, they’d be driving some sort of motorized transportation. They’d have their own car or at least a motor bike, and if they were really hip they’d have their own taxi so that no rules applied to them at all. Therefore, you should not be intimidated by the fact that pedestrians are in the white crossing zones. This means that they are in the street - your street - and have no rights. If they want to be safe they should stay on the sidewalk, until such time as you want to park there.
Further, because they have no rights, do not let sloppy laws such as red lights for cars or “Green Man” for pedestrian crossings at corners restrict the even flow of traffic. Best that they should cross the street at their own peril, preferably in the middle of the block where so they can get where they want to be. There is a double yellow line in the middle of the street which (usually) traffic does not enter. It is clearly wide enough for a person to stand in. The even flow of air blowing from traffic whizzing by in both directions just inches from them equalizes pressure and wind effect, thereby ensuring they will not be blown into oncoming traffic.

I hope the above guide will help all you coming to experience the ultimate thrill, driving in Morocco. I may have missed a few points here for the sake of brevity, but, if so, I will include them in future updates.

We are, still alive, and still living large,

Carol and Jim