South America Traffic

So much fun! I love taxi rides, you never know when you'll get that party taxi. Bus rides not as great, but still fun. The cops all around South America are also pretty awesome. They don't care at all about traffic violations and drinking, which means that they probably won't bother me. And it also means they're probably spending time on more important things, like possible violence.

I was in taxis that blew past cops at speeds I thought could easily be above the speed limit, as well as blowing through red lights as they passed cops who also ran the lights. Speaking of the red lights, people use such good common sense with them. During the day and peak hours, people follow them. During the night when no one is around they go through them full speed if they can see who's coming. And if it's a blind corner they slow down and almost stop sometimes, but if no one's coming they go through. It makes complete sense, and it's annoying that I can't do that in the states. Yeah yeah so maybe they have a few more accidents, but I wonder how much of them are really due to someone running a red light and slamming into cross traffic. I haven't checked hah.

When I was in Buenos Aires, I was surprised at the amount of efficiency on the main streets. Those lights were timed so perfectly that it felt like we drove for miles without stopping when there was a light every city block. At one point my cab was on the end running yellow and red lights, but he sped up a little to catch up with the timing.

Buses in Rio are quite an adventure. First off, there are HUNDREDS of bus lines. I don't know how anyone could understand them all. Even with other Brazilian locals who lived in Rio their entire life they were asking the bus drivers if they went to a certain place. This absurd amount of bus lines means you can get everywhere if you know how, but I can't really use the website that tells you what to take because it's in portuguese and unfortunately google maps isn't hooked into their transit system. This also means that there are so many buses everywhere flying through the city. The bus drivers mean business, and they're not slowing down for anything. They slam on the accelerator and then slam on the brake when some other car cuts in front of them. It's like a roller coaster ride, and it's especially exciting when you just get on and you're still trying to pay for the bus while being rocked around. If the transmission is bad on the bus it can be even worse. Every bus also has a turnstyle so no one can jump it. It only releases once you pay, and it's quite a tight fit. If it's a tight fit for me, then I can't imagine what it's like for anyone who's at all overweight. What about the pregnant women!