Driving Like an Israeli

Israeli drivers are terrible. They are simply unaware. The whole road is their domain, and they aggressively, or obliviously, travel all over it. Driving aggressively isn't bad, exactly, but when you start to view a foot of space between two cars as an "opening," you're in trouble! The horn is the most valuable part of the car, and they use it with the opposite frequency that they use their turn signals. Of course, the roads don't always help as lanes can magically disappear, three straight-bound lanes can, without warning, merge down to one lane that has suddenly become a turn lane, etc. You can enter an intersection in one lane, and when you exit the intersection on the other side, it will be gone or you will be straddling the line between two lanes, trying desperately to decide which one is yours and where the cars on either side of you belong.

Last Saturday, I drove to church and was able to drive three friends home who either lived in Tel Aviv or were catching a ride from there. With each one, I found myself adopting the habits of those around me. You know how you sometimes have to run in somewhere for just a second (I promise!), but there is no curb side parking available. No problem for an Israeli! They simply turn on their emergency blinkers, stop in the lane, and double park next to the cars parked along the curb and run in fast. It's so common that few people even honk at them anymore, they just merge over into the second lane or wait for that free moment to whip around them in the oncoming traffic lane and continue on their way. Well, that's exactly what I did each time. I justified it because I never left the car so I could easily move if necessary and because there were two lanes and I parked in the far right one, leaving one lane for all the cars to move around me. Two of the girls were Israeli and didn't say a word about it, but the third girl was a student from the States who had only been here a month. As we sat on the road, blinkers flashing, her gathering her things, and us exchanging information, she kept asking if I was in the way where I was parked, and if would I get honked at. It's no problem - there's plenty of room for them to get around me is what I assured her. Oh, dear. These bad driving habits need to be left here when I come home!