20 Rules For Driving In Northern Cyprus, Does this sound familiar?

baldeagle


Joined: 04/02/2009
Posts: 354

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 16:15

1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A real TC driver never uses them.

2. Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.

3. Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane-change is considered going with the flow.

4. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.

5. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will inevitably result in you being rear ended. If you want your insurance company to pay for a new rear bumper, come to a complete stop at all stop signs.

6. A left lane construction closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line by passing you on the left as you sit in the right lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the construction barrels.

baldeagle


Joined: 04/02/2009
Posts: 354

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 16:16

7. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive bodywork. NC is a no-fault insurance country and the other guy doesn't have anything to lose.

8. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.

9. Never pass on the right when you can pass on the left. It's a good way to scare people entering the highway.

10. Speed limits are to be regarded as targets, not limits.

11. Just because you're in the right lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a TC driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.

12. Please remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut during rush-hour traffic in NC

13. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire.

baldeagle


Joined: 04/02/2009
Posts: 354

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 16:18

14. Learn to swerve abruptly. NC is the home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the Highway Department, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keep them on their toes.

15. It is traditional in NC to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant before the traffic lights change.

16. Never take a green light at face value. Always look right and left before proceeding.

17. Breakdown lanes are not for breaking down, but for speeding, especially during rush hour. Breakdown lanes may also end without warning causing traffic jams as people merge back in.

18. Making eye contact revokes your right of way.

19. Remember that the goal of every TC driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.

20. Whenever possible, stop in the middle of a crossing to ensure inconveniencing as many pedestrians as possible. And if a pedestrian ahead of you steps in the road, speed up loudly and chase him back up on the curb. Pedestrians have no rights.

britvic



Joined: 05/09/2008
Posts: 3039

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 16:26

I tried to cross a Zebra crossing outside of the Pia bella, it was like crossing a crocodile infested lake. And whilst driving I foolishly stopped at a red light, and got shouted at for it.



You have to laugh.



Vicki

mrcyprus


Joined: 26/06/2009
Posts: 270

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 16:27

love it steve ;) .. but ive got some of them habits from driving here lol

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 16:34

If you want to cross a road safely then make sure you have a child in your arms and just step out into the road. It works every time.

JohnW


Joined: 23/04/2009
Posts: 601

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 17:08

I was rear ended at traffic lights. When I gave my statement at the police station and said "As I approached the lights they turned to red so I stopped........." everybody including the police laughed like mad, they clearly thought I was very odd.



When it was discovered that the other driver was uninsured I had a good moan about that and how seriously that would be taken in the UK one of the policemen piped up and said "Yes, I know, my brother is in prison in the UK for driving uninsured." LOL

Corbo



Joined: 13/09/2009
Posts: 627

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 17:41

Yes..it's pretty bad here but I found the Italians worse on the jouney over. Many were like 5 year old spoilt brats driving.

sloan



Joined: 24/02/2009
Posts: 808

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 17:45

I must look really old! I tend to step into the road and cars just stop and wave me across. It would not happen in the UK.

Sid447


Joined: 15/05/2009
Posts: 141

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 19:04

Drive defensively,



Try to avoid getting angry, it has no effect. It's no good using 1st world reasoning in a 3rd world country.



If you think the TRNC is bad, try the UAE or Saudi Arabia. The UAE has the 3rd highest road fatality rate on the planet, S.A. is number 1.

matula


Joined: 07/07/2008
Posts: 647

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 19:56

21. Always be on your mobile phone.

22. Never fasten your seatbelt.

23. If you have a small child in the car make sure they are in the front seat with no seatbelt on.

Jeannie


Joined: 04/08/2009
Posts: 3283

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 20:04

24. And don't forget to keep use of indicators to an absolute minimum - preferably don't use them at all, if possible.

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 20:05

AJ Msg 6



When crossing the road with baby in pram please ensure baby & pram protrude first onto the highway before the parent so if swiped by a passing car it's just the baby in the pram that cops it!



Richard

Woodspeckie


Joined: 25/01/2009
Posts: 2263

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 22:01

Never let oncoming traffic pass when you stop before turning right.

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 23:01

26 JUST PULL OUT THE GUY COMMING TOWARDS YOU HAS BREAKS!!!

27 PARK ANY WHERE BUT WITHIN THE DESIOGNATED PARKING SPACE

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 23:02

i just hate driving here. It scares me to death x

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
21/11/2009 23:46

28. Always park on the zebra crossings whenever convenient.

29. Always park near road junctions to make it exciting to drivers coming from the side road.

ismet

nurseawful



Joined: 06/02/2009
Posts: 5934

Message Posted:
22/11/2009 07:41

When our son was over 4 years ago we loaned him our car and he reckons the drivers over here were far more courteous than they are in the UK. That was until he drove a rental car and he said they were awful.

Tenakoutou



Joined: 27/07/2009
Posts: 4110

Message Posted:
22/11/2009 09:54

When entering a main road from a side road, always look left, a quick glance right, then left again and, if it is clear to your left, pull out.



When doing so, make sure your vehicle is always half its body length into the main road before stopping, so oncoming vehicles from your right are forced to swerve around you.



Cyps North & South share this trait, even though they've been apart for 30 odd years - so it must be the right thing to do!

LaptaMike


Joined: 07/10/2009
Posts: 1679

Message Posted:
20/06/2010 22:17

re msg19. Thats not just Cyprus, its everywhere. Just people trying to get out because no b****r will let them.

deputydawg


Joined: 30/03/2010
Posts: 1727

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 00:35

Only comence overtaking if your car is over 15 years old, below 1 litre engine, unroadworthy, full of children, and you are certain that you are close enough to a blind bend to have an excellent chance of impacting oncoming vehicles before or on the bend having ensured you do not complicate any ensuing trafffic accident investigation by having requisite documentation such as insurance, road tax, MOT etc. A leaking exhaust helpful as it lays down a smoke screen to confuse potential witnesses to the stupidity.

Lilli



Joined: 21/07/2008
Posts: 13081

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 01:24

john msg 7 try being in a car with a real itilian behing them. my heart is in pieces xxxxxxxxxxx

sunshine22



Joined: 07/06/2010
Posts: 251

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 05:35

sid447 msg10........looks like I am going to drive like I was still in Dubai then, ah the bliss of it

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2919

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 12:09

If you have only ever driven in the UK and the occasional vacation abroad then NC will look really bad. If however you have tried some major european cities, the middle east or worst of all (IMO) Egypt, Pakistan or India then NC is absolutely fine.

Uk drivers are taught to be corteous after all, half of the information in the highway code is guideline based and not legal requirement. In most other countries you are taught defensive driving, for those of you who don't know what that means: Assume the other driver will do exactly what you don't want them to do or the most unsafe act and be prepared for it.

Being injured or killed just because you thought the other driver would never do that is no concolation, just try to think "what would a complete idiot do in this situation" and act appropriately to avoid it.



For those Dubai based guys, think Bur Dubai in light traffic without the 6 litre 4x4's they all drive there, it is actually pretty sedate in NC compared to that.



Paul

sunshine22



Joined: 07/06/2010
Posts: 251

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 15:15

Och! a walk in the park on a good day then, nae bother :o)

Blackbird



Joined: 11/08/2009
Posts: 1432

Message Posted:
21/06/2010 22:31

Yep - all this is familiar - just like driving here in North Wales.....