Cairo roads

The roads in Cairo are an experience and a half.

Let's start with using the horn. In the UK you might use your horn once a month to warn someone of your position. Here you use your horn every few minutes. You beep to let someone know you are behind them; they then beep to let you know they've seen you and then you beep to acknowledge them. You beep to let someone know you are coming up on the inside, or the outside, or just that you are near by. Basically instead of "mirror, signal, manoeuvre" in Cairo it is "manoeuvre, beep, manoeuvre".

But this doesn't mean that they don't use their mirrors – oh no, quite the opposite. We’ve heard that if two cars run into each other, it is always seen that the driver in front who is at fault. So most drivers in Cairo spend their time looking in their mirrors at what is going on behind them, rather than what is happening in front of them. Most cabs we have been in have either an extra-large rear-view mirror, or multiple mirrors on the door frame – the most we have seen so far is five mirrors, but I am sure that will be topped soon.

Now to inside the taxis as a passenger. Getting into the cab - I haven’t found a taxi yet where the door to the back seat on the drivers side still works – most of them must have been bashed in at some point. It goes without saying that the black and white cabs don’t have air conditioning; so once in the back seat (or passenger seat beside the driver if you are feeling brave – and a bloke) you might want to open or close the window. Whilst this might seem a straightforward activity in most taxis, in Cairo we’ve found that a god proportion of taxis only have one window handle, that then has to be shared and passed around the cab to open or close the windows. For a general idea about the condition of taxis, of the taxis that we have been in only two have had a working speedometer and one was started by putting two wires together under the dashboard.

And then there are the rules of the road. The roads technically look similar to the UK; there are traffic lights and lane markings for example. It is just the interpretation of these that differ. Lane markings aren’t seen as holding any more function than simply decoration. Our route to work for example goes along the ring road, which has four lanes marked, but normally traffic flows in at least six lanes. This feat is repeated on local roads and local roundabouts which might accommodate two lanes of traffic in the UK but can manage at least three here. The traffic lights though are not only ignored, but possibly for good reason. Instead of the Green – Amber – Red combination of most countries, Egypt has gone for Amber – Amber – Amber. These flash in sequence, the meaning of which is lost to all motorists who just drive on regardless.

I must talk about one of the other road users though, who are the boys working for dry cleaning / laundry firms. These lads have adapted their bicycles to their work in the most ingenious way. On the back of their bikes they have attached a little clothes rail that is just the right height to hang ironed shirts and trousers on.

Oh, and a new law in Cairo means that all vehicals must have an emergency triangle. This means a roaring trade has started for this nieche market. Here is a picture of my favourite sign....

! There's been an accident! Brilliant!