Driving in Tunisia

It’s a challenge, but there aren’t many people outside of Tunis, so it isn’t so bad in the countryside. Minibus drivers are, as usual, pretty insane. They speed, tailgate, and pass recklessly, but everybody else is unremarkable. They’ll tailgate and honk at you if you drive the speed limit, but they’re pretty conservative about passing, only doing so when it’s all clear ahead.

This was not my experience in southern Africa, where people seemed determined to pass no matter what the oncoming traffic looked like. I recall being in a car in Zimbabwe on a two-lane road when the driver swerved into oncoming traffic, saw a car coming straight for her, and actually veered onto the opposite shoulder to avoid it and complete the pass. So at one point the two-lane road had three cars abreast, two going one way and a third, in the middle, going the opposite way.

Even though Tunisia seems tame in comparison, I did have a couple of scrapes, both in the lazy, small fishing town of Tabarka. The first involved the only nice car I saw on my trip -- a new silver Land Rover. I was driving down a narrow road that may or may not have been meant for two-way traffic. The Land Rover approached me and I darted between two parked cars to let him pass. Unfortunately, the rear of my car didn’t get all the way into the spot, so it was still sticking out into the narrow passageway. The Land Rover kept on coming, nearly hitting both the parked car on one side and me on the other. I told the guy to go slow or, better yet, back up and let me pass. He said (in French) “Don’t worry. Calm down.” And then he went forward and scraped the side of my car. I shouted at him and he repeated: “Calm down.” He scraped it a bit more, and off he went, never to be seen again.

The next little incident happened a lot faster. I was driving on another narrow road in Tabarka and a taxi was coming right at me. I slowed down, but it didn’t. As it passed me, its left-hand mirror connected squarely with my left-hand mirror and BANG! my mirror popped right out of its housing, flew through my open window, and hit me in the chest as I yelled out in shock. The mirror came to rest in my lap. Again, the taxi kept right on moving. I pulled over to inspect the damage. The housing for the mirror was plastic and appeared fine; it just bent inward on impact, and I straightened it back to where it belonged. The mirror, still in my lap, also appeared plastic and intact. I popped it back where it belonged -- no harm done -- and kept on driving myself.

The good news is that my car rental guy took a look at my car and deemed it in substantially the condition I took it. Two accidents might be about average for five days in a rental car around here.

One last oddity about driving: Everyone walks in the road here, especially in small cities. Even where there are sidewalks, people prefer to stroll in the street. And they're in no hurry to get out of the way of traffic. Neither, for that matter, are cows, dogs, goats, sheep, mules, chickens, tractors, motorbikes, or any of the other beasts and vehicles I have encountered in the countryside.