Consequences

Driving behaviour provides an interesting insight into the local culture. In Saida the car that pulls up abruptly at a T-junction causes the car on the main road to brake, just in case. The three point turn in the crowded street results in temporary grid lock, but just for a while. The close graze from the passing car puts your heart in your mouth.

There is no physical impact, just a rise in blood pressure, taking you closer to that stress threshold, and perhaps outburst. Our actions have physical but also unseen psychological effects. And we all start with the same length of fuse. The Arab approach seems to burn the fuse a little more quickly.


Post script: I saw it to day, on the eight lane highway into Beirut, four each side. All of our lanes were blocked, the traffic just creeping along. Looking to the side, some cars were progressing quite well, in the same direction. For their drivers had decided to create a fifth lane on the other side of the central reservation.

Further down the road, we saw the police.Ticketing drivers? Not at all. Just directing the situation that they had encountered. They had decided to accept and regulate the illegality. It shows that laws are only enforceable if they enjoy the support of the populace.