Driving Salone Style

As a VSO volunteer I have to rely on public transport to traverse the city on a daily basis.  My preferred method of transportation is walking but sometimes I have to take a taxi or an okada.  Taxis are my preferred method as the okadas employ their own rules which seldom match the laws of the land so going the wrong way up and down streets is the norm.

Last night I was off to the Senagalese restaurant with Aoife (on a visit from Makeni).  The restaurant is on Wilkinson Road which is a tarmaced four lane road (this is important).  We picked up a taxi which was going in the opposite direction from the way we wanted to go but the driver calmly performed a three point turn in the dual carriageway – this should have triggered alarm bells.

So off we went up Wilkinson Road and in a few moments the traffic was backing up badly.  All of a sudden the driver indicated left to, I thought, take a side street. Oh no he was pulling into the oncoming traffic on the other side of the carriage way in order to pass the lines of cars. I was incredulous.  “Can this really be happening?”  “ Surely this will end badly”  “We will hit another car”.  All these thoughts were coursing through my head. 

I hardly dared look at Aoife as my eyes were fixed on the headlights coming towards us – mesmerised may be the best word to use.  I was also laughing in a hysterical fashion as the driver shouted at the other drivers to get out of his way.  Surreal!

Our fellow passengers seemed unperturbed by the whole experience finding our dismay very funny.  Their reaction was that the journey would have taken much longer if we had been stuck in the traffic so it was the obvious action for the driver to take.  Obviously I’ve not been here long enough to look at things that way.

Another great Salone experience but not one which I would like to repeat.