Arab Traffic

Al-Hayat reports today that Egypt loses $400 million a year due to time wasted in traffic jams.  Having lived in Egypt, I am not surprised.

Al-Ghad reports today that 353 Jordanians have already been killed this year in traffic accidents, with over 38,000 accidents reported.  Having lived in Jordan, I am not surprised.

Allow me to don the Moustache of Understanding: 

You want to know why Arabs are so angry?  Look at their traffic.  In India, I cruise down sleek new highways at 100 km an hour, surrounded by eager businessmen on their cell phones.  But here in Cairo, I sit and stew in a limousine, losing hours upon precious hours in an endless traffic jam.  In Amman, I risk my life every time my driver gets behind the wheel.   How can a country cruise down the fast lane of globalization when its people are stuck in traffic?  As a thoughtful young Arab told me, "Tom, the world is flat.. but the Arab street is bumpy."   Next time someone tells you that Arabs are mad about Iraq, or angry at Israel, or frustrated with America remember this:  it's the traffic jams, stupid. 

What do you think?  New York Times op-ed page, here I come.

Comments

[Abu Sinan]

Arabs and driving not a good mix. lol

[The Lounsbury]

Oh, Jordan is not that bad. At least people stop at the bloody lights.

On the other hand, Egypt is the place where I once saw one of the Lada like clunkers blissfully going the wrong way down the Strada.

Yes, I think you could do an OP Ed out of that.

[praktike]

I actually think Lebanon is far more dangerous to the unwary pedestrian, because at least in Cairo they're going slowly. In Beirut you're liable to get a Mercedes hood ornament implanted in your sternum if you aren't paying close attention.

[John Penta]

Abu Sinan: I don't know if it's Arabs. As I recall, *every one* of the countries around the Mediterranean is noted for the...horrific driving abilities of their populace.

[SP]

What bull about sleek new highways in India. That has to be Tom Friedman, right? He does tend to get carried away with his flat-smooth world imagery. A teeny minority of the roads in India are sleek and new and even those that are have terrible accidents because vehicles of different speeds use them (including the occasional tractor or bullock cart) and because people who live nearby cross them by foot, since the almighty technocrats did not see fit to provide for them. Take that for a metaphor of Indian society (the real India, that is, not the oases of software and outsourcing that Friedman seems to have jetted in and out of).

I think if Friedman made a slight effort to actually think about the correlation between traffic and politics, he would quickly run up against the problem of why Rome doesn't produce angry radicals.

[the aardvark]

SP - that was my parody of Tom Friedman, not Friedman himself... but it's hard to tell the difference, eh? But if I were a betting aardvark, I'd bet that he has used the traffic metaphor for India at some point.

[Anna in Cairo]

Your parody of Friedman is not complete without a taxi driver quote. The thoughtful young Arab was a nice touch but not enough. I guess your mustache needs a bit of tonic. Also, you need a really silly metaphor (preferably mixed) to tie it all together.

[SP]

AA - that was an extremely convincing Tom Friedman! I don't normally fall for fakes - only the real Moustache of Understanding brings out the knee-jerk rant in me. Mabruk