Having picked up Kate's parents in Sanaa and visited a few of the sites there, we started the six hour journey back to Taiz. The journey is only 150 miles but there are a lot of mountains on the way with steep, windy roads and slow, difficult-to-overtake trucks. Apparently a Beegot (Peugeot Taxi) can do the journey in 3 hours but they are very crazy drivers. In a recent Arabic lesson we learnt the phrase for "The road of death" and agreed that catching a Beegot to Sanaa falls into this category.
As we left, we were just thinking that it was surprising that we hadn't seen any accidents despite all the crazy road activity we had witnessed in Sanaa including driving the wrong way down dual carriageways, sudden U-turns in front of us and pedestrians standing in the road oblivious of impending danger. Driving in Yemen requires a lot of concentration and prayer.
What happens after the accident can be more dangerous than the accident itself
Just as we were leaving Sanaa, Kate's mum noted that the roads were much clearer and easier to drive along at 8.00 in the morning. No sooner had she made this comment when we drove by the aftermath of 2 crashes within a few hundred metres of each other. There were many onlookers and police just standing in the road watching what was going on. In Yemen the person to blame for an accident is usually related to which driver is the most well-connected person, or which driver gives the biggest bribe to the policeman. It rarely has anything to do with what actually happened. An English friend of ours recently had a car accident which left a pedestrian with minor injuries. The police impounded his car until that man had been treated in hospital and our friend had paid for it. They would have put him in jail if an influential local friend of his had not signed a letter guaranteeing that the hospital costs would be paid.
As we drove past the second accident Paul glanced briefly at what was happening and then had to swerve to avoid an oblivious pedestrian crossing the road.
No roadworks signs
Another hazard on the roads of Yemen is roadworks, which appear suddenly without any warning signs and sometimes even send you onto the opposite carriageway without warning drivers coming in the other direction. This happened to us on the way into Sanaa the previous week and we had to move over to avoid hitting oncoming vehicles which were driving down our carriageway. Kate instructed Paul to do likewise on the return journey, thinking that it was the only way to get from the roadworks onto the road to Taiz. It turned out that there was a side road we could have taken to avoid this, but how could we have known this without any diversion signs to tell us.
Roast and Bakery Tourism
About halfway through the journey we had a break at a restaurant, which is one of the few places on the route with decent toilets. Opposite the restaurant was another restaurant called the "Al Khaleeg Restaurant Roast and Bakery Tourism" (see attached photo) and wondered what is involved in "Roast and Bakery Tourism".
You never know what is coming around the corner
As we continued through the mountains Paul had to concentrate hard to avoid hitting vehicles overtaking on blind corners or where there was no gap to overtake in. He pondered that driving in Yemen is like life because you never know what is coming around the corner.
Kate's Mum & Dad enjoyed all the spectacular views through the mountains of Yemen despite the slightly murky day. About three quarters of the way through the journey, we stopped for lunch with a family who are friends of ours and then we continued and arrived in Taiz at about 4 pm. Driving in Yemen can be a bit hazardous but thankfully we have a legion of angels surrounding us.
10 rules for safe driving in Yemen
- Never assume you have the right of way
- Never assume that anyone has seen you
- Never assume that traffic only goes in one direction in your lane
- Never assume that other drivers will obey the traffic lights
- Always beep while overtaking or passing pedestrians
- Always look in all directions for cars passing on either side and for pedestrians or animals running into the road
- Always flash your lights at oncoming vehicles overtaking to let them know that they ought to pull in before they hit you.
- Always be prepared to perform any manoeuvre necessary to negotiate roadworks
- Always pray at the start of a long journey
- Always make sure you are accompanied by several guardian angels.
