On Christmas Tree Lights and I Must Be Getting Used to Driving Here29 ноября 2011

If you’ve ever gone to a drag race in the US you’re familiar with the Christmas Tree Lights. At the starting line the racer looks at a series of colored lights that light up sequentially from top to bottom. When the top light lights the driver gets ready and starts to rev his engine. When the last light at the bottom lights up, that’s the signal to go. It takes no more than two seconds for each light to light up the Christmas Tree. Here on Mockva we have something similar. The orange/amber light in the middle of a three-light traffic light (they look the same as the ones in the US) lights up when there’s a stop coming and does the same when you’re stopped and ready to receive a go signal. The only difference is for both stops and starts the amber light only blinks twice before the red or green light lights up. As I was driving home today it occurred to me that traffic lights on Mockva roads are like the Christmas Tree at a drag race.


I’ve mentioned in previous posts that driving in Mockva is the Wild West: What rules exist are usually ignored; people think nothing of cutting you off even if you’re driving 90km/hr (about 60 mph); and jack-rabbit starts when the light turns green are pretty much standard procedure.


So here you are poised at a stop light. You are looking at the red light then the amber (middle) light blinks twice and then the green light lights just like the Christmas Tree at a drag race. Off you go trying to beat out the guy next to you lest he gets a head start. The only thing that’s missing are the smoking “slick” tires; in Mockva since it’s usually cloudy and the road surface is wet from rain or snow (I noticed that there was about two inches of slushy, wet snow on the road when I got into my car this afternoon) your tires don’t tend to smoke when your car jumps off the start line. Otherwise, it feels just like a US drag race…

I must be getting used to driving here. During the first few weeks it was hard not to get really pissed off when someone cut you off, pulled out in front of you without signaling; or started beeping his horn at you for no apparent reason. I just seemed to take it all personally.


Most of that has changed by now 3+ months into my Mockva driving experience. Today, just after I got onto the highway leading to our apartment I was driving along when the guy three lanes to my right decided he needed to get into the left-hand turn lane two lanes to my left all within about 100 meters. Naturally, he pulled in front of me without a turn signal. We were going about 40km/hr. He swerved in front of me changing all five lanes (three to my right; two to my left) in about two seconds. I thought nothing of it. I just leaned on my horn, hard and swerved a bit to my right to avoid running up his rear bumper, probably making the guy behind me swerve to his right and thought nothing of it. My blood pressure and pulse remained the same, I didn’t get pissed off and just took the whole maneuver in stride.


Then, right before the turn off for our neighborhood there is a major three lane merge into the three lanes of the road I’m on. The guy to my right jutted out in front of me cutting me off without a signal. I tried to pull the nose of my car ahead of his. This is the usual game of chicken you play at these merges and this time I blinked and he got in front of me where-upon he darted across two more lanes to the left cutting off everyone else he got in front of. No sweat; steady as she goes. I just took it for granted and wiggled my way in front of three other cars that were also doing the blind merge maneuver. I wasn’t upset and just took it in stride – another day at the office…no problem…


There are a lot of well-to-do people here in Mockva and there are many, many expensive Mercedes, BMWs and even Cadillacs on the road. As I think I’ve mentioned our car is a 2000 Nissan Almera with several dents and a good bit of rust. Washing the car only reveals new rust spots so we usually drive it dirty. I feel I have an advantage when playing chicken with those high-end merging cars. I figure I can get a bit closer when trying to outdo a blindly merging Mercedes – even if I scraped his fender I’ve got a lot less to lose than he does.


So, my driving experience here has seemed to have matured lately I just take everything in stride – they’re going to cut you off anyway so why fight it…go with the flow…this is the Wild West…you make up your own rules as you drive along…


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