Forget warnings about muggings, malaria and HIV. Newcomers to Maputo should watch out for those 4 – and sometimes 2 – wheeled bandits when crossing the busy streets of Maputo. Contrary to the bylaws in Toronto, it appears that in Maputo cars have the ABSOLUTE right of way. By that I mean you better run, and run fast, when you see a car approaching. Because if it decides to turn on the driveway you are crossing it ain’t stoppin’!!!!
I sometimes find myself falling into my suburbian ways and expect cars to stop 5 meters from me as I cross a street. Because back in Milton it is terribly rude to even try and hurry a pedestrian as they cross the street. Drivers who attempt to hurry pedestrians are greeted with frowns and shouts of profanities in addition to the you better stop standing position. This is when you begin crossing a street, and you see a car approaching that doesn’t seem like it wants to stop. So what do you do, you stop dead in your tracks and make sure they know you mean business and they had better stop. These antics will get you killed in Maputo pretty quickly.
Rules of the road #1 – cars have the right of way. If you see one, keep your eyes on it until it passes you because you never know when he or she might decide to turn. And without brakes or a horn its kind of difficult to warn straying pedestrians.
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